Dedication by Hieron of Syracuse in Olympia
abstract
The inscription, carved on a bronze Etruscan helmet, was found in 1817 among the ruins of Olympia. The text of the inscription is a dedication to Zeus made by Hieron, tyrant of Syracuse, after his naval victory over the Etruscans at Kyme (474-473 BC). The inscription provides scholars with informations about both Deinomenid’s communicative strategies in a Panhellenic context and Hieron’s politics at the beginning of the fifth century BC. A comparison between the inscription and Pindar’s Pythian I allows scholars to study two very different ways of celebration of the same military event.
Keywords: Pindar • Dedication • Tyrrhenians • Helmet • Deinomenids • Olympia • Hieron • Syracuse • Kyme • Persian Wars