Monthly Archives: August 2016

Poetry Corner – Pindar, 4th Olympian Ode

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Chariot racing on a black-figure hydria from Attica, ca. 510 BC

Chariot racing on a black-figure hydria from Attica, ca. 510 BC photo by Marie-Lan Nguyen (Wikipedia)

The 5th-century BCE Greek poet Pindar is best known for his victory odes, written for champions of the Olympic and Pythian Games. As we are in the thick of our 2016 Olympic Games, I submit Pindar’s 4th Olympian victory ode, written for Psaumis of Camarina, chariot race winner in 452 BCE.

For Psaumis of Camarina
Charioteer of the thundercloud with untiring feet, highest Zeus!
Your Seasons, whirling to the embroidered notes of the lyre’s song,
sent me as a witness of the most lofty games.

When friends are successful, the noble immediately smile on the sweet announcement. Son of Cronus, you who hold Aetna, the wind-swept weight on terrible hundred-headed Typhon, receive, for the sake of the Graces, this Olympic victory-procession, this most enduring light of widely powerful excellence.

For the procession comes in honor of Psaumis’ chariot; Psaumis, who, crowned with the olive of Pisa, hurries to rouse glory for Camarina. May the god be gracious to his future prayers, since I praise a man who is most eager in the raising of horses, who rejoices in being hospitable to all guests, and whose pure thoughts are turned towards city-loving peace.

I will not stain my words with lies. Perseverance is what puts men to the test, and what saved the son of Clymenus from the contempt of the Lemnian women. He won the foot race in bronze armor, and said to Hypsipyle as he went to take the garland: “Such is my swiftness; and I have hands and heart to match. Even on young men gray hair often grows, even before the expected age.”

 Odes. Pindar. Diane Arnson Svarlien. 1990.

NAME THAT COUNTRY Episode 109

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A great way to see our mystery country is to cruise its legendary river. Weekly 3 and 4 night cruises travel between Luxor and Aswan in the south of the country. Cruises spend the better part of each day in port to allow passengers to see the sites. These cruises are not destinations in and of themselves but floating hotels moving passengers between the centers of touring along the river. Daily group tours are included in the cruise fare. Tour highlights include some of the most awesome cultural/historical remains anywhere. Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings top that list. Traditional life, little changed through the millennia, continues on the river banks, and is as impressed on my memory as any of the country’s grand monuments.

Can you name that county? 
See below for answers.

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Majorelle Garden, Marrakech

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Jacques Majorelle's villa/studio, now the Berber Museum

Jacques Majorelle’s villa/studio, now the Berber Museum

Beginning in the 1920s and for nearly 40 years thereafter, French ex-pat painter Jacques Majorelle lovingly designed and planted his exotic garden on the fringes of central Marrakech. Over the years, his original 4 acres became 10 acres, but the high cost of maintenance forced him to sell off pieces of the property one by one until 1961, when he sold the last, 2-acre parcel.

Fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé were instantly enchanted by the garden when they first visited in 1966. They bought it in 1980 after hearing it was to be destroyed.

Inside the garden, the dusty, blazing intensity of Marrakech seems a world away. Only 2 acres, the garden feels intimate, even secret. Benches hide among the palm and bamboo groves. Babbling fountains sooth and refresh.

Jacques Majorelle painted structural elements in bold primary colors, against which the garden greenery really pops. The distinct blue used on his 1931 Cubist villa/studio and throughout the garden is now known as Majorelle Blue. In 2011 a very good little Berber Museum opened in the villa displaying items from the collection of YSL and Pierre Bergé.

Also in the garden, the Galerie Love displays the Love posters designed by Yves Saint Laurent, Boutique Majorelle sells pricey but quality gifts and mementos, and a shady café serves breakfast and lunch (but is best for a cold drink).

An hour is more than enough time to stroll the gardens and the small museum, but I’ve heard tales of hours lost in this leafy sanctuary.

The Majorelle Garden is located in Marrakech’s Ville Nouvelle, about a 5-minute drive or a 20-minute walk from the medina.