ISTHMIAN 2: COMMODITY OR GIFT?

Isthmian 2 was composed for Xenokrates of Akragas' chariot victory, probably in 471-470 bc. The winner was dead by the time that the ode was performed, and as a result the recipient of the ode was his son, Thrasyboulos. The victor's family, the Emmenidai, was politically prominent and one of the founding families of Akragas: Theron, son of Ainesidamos and tyrant of Akragas (488-487 bc), was Xenokrates' brother, and Xenokrates is also commemorated by Pindar in Pythian 6 for his victory at a chariot race (490 bc).