On 2 July Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, declaimed the ancient Greek Ode he had commissioned from Dr. Armand D’Angour, Tutor in Classics at Jesus College Oxford,  for the London Olympics 2012. To see and hear Boris perform, click here.

The Road to the Ode

Dr D’Angour is an expert in the composition of ancient Greek verse in authentic dialects and metres. In 2004 he was commissioned by the International Olympic Committee to write a Pindaric Ode for the Athens Olympics, which was read out at the closing session of the IOC at the Olympic Games.

Pindar was the most celebrated poet of Victory Odes in ancient Greece. From around 500 BC to 450 BC he composed the words and music of over 40 Odes, the text of which has survived intact. They are poems of great beauty and complexity, but hard for modern readers to understand and appreciate.

Further information, including links to the full text of the Ode and to the Pindaric Ode to Athens of 2004, can be found on www.armand-dangour.com.