Editio princeps. 1513 Pindari (Pindar), Greek Olympic victory odes, among others

The editio princeps (first printed edition) of the Ancient Greek author Pindar's victory odes glorifying the Ancient Olympic Games, arranged by the four cities in which the panhellenic games took place; this work was gathered, edited and published (in Greek) by the seminal Aldus Manutius in 1513.

The work also includes Kallimachos' Hymnoi (not the first appearance, but the second), a geographical treatise by a Dionysius (second apeparance; see Bauer) and Lykophronos' Alexandra (editio princeps).

Of note, the bottom edge still has the 16th century method of manuscript labelling the book along it's text block, to be kept flat on the shelf with the bottom-edge outward; between this manuscript label and the large margins, it's likely this book has seen little trimming by binders. And with that in mind, the red edges indicate it has been well-kept.

About the Olympic Odes (edited from Wiki) -

Almost all Pindar's victory odes are celebrations of triumphs gained by competitors in Panhellenic festivals such as the Olympian Games. The establishment of these athletic and musical festivals was among the greatest achievements of the Greek aristocracies. Even in the 5th century BC, when there was an increased tendency towards professionalism, they were predominantly aristocratic assemblies, reflecting the expense and leisure needed to attend such events either as a competitor or spectator. Attendance was an opportunity for display and self-promotion, and the prestige of victory, requiring commitment in time and/or wealth.

Pindar's strongly individual genius is apparent in all his extant compositions but, unlike Simonides and Stesichorus for example, he created no new lyrical genres. He was however innovative in his use of the genres he inherited – for example, in one of his victory odes (Olympian 3), he announces his invention of a new type of musical accompaniment, combining lyre, flute and human voice.

The first ode was positioned at the beginning of the collection by Aristophanes of Byzantium since it included praise for the games as well as of Pelops, who first competed at Elis (the polis or city-state in which the festival was later staged). It was the most quoted in antiquity and was hailed as the "best of all the odes" by Lucian. Pindar composed the epinikion in honour of his then patron Hieron I, tyrant of Syracuse, whose horse Pherenikos and its jockey were victorious in the single horse race in 476 BC.

About Pindar (edited from Wiki) -

An Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar is by far the greatest, in virtue of his inspired magnificence, the beauty of his thoughts and figures, the rich exuberance of his language and matter, and his rolling flood of eloquence, characteristics which, as Horace rightly held, make him inimitable."

About Aldus Manutius and This Printing -

Aldus Pius Manutius was an Italian printer and humanist who founded the Aldine Press. Manutius devoted the later part of his life to publishing and disseminating rare texts. His interest in and preservation of Greek manuscripts mark him as an innovative publisher of his age dedicated to the editions he produced. Aldus Manutius introduced the small portable book format with his enchiridia, which revolutionized personal reading and are the predecessor of the modern paperback book. He also helped to standardize use of punctuation including the comma and the semicolon. - Wiki

Regarding editing this Pindar - “As with nearly all Classical authors, myriad fragmentary and often conflicting manuscripts of Pindar were strewn, then as now, among widespread collections like shards of a Greek vase, but Aldus’s letter to readers is mute on efforts collate them. Inasmuch as his texts of the Olympian, Pythian, Nemean, and Isthmian odes are noticeably heterogeneous, no one extant manuscript could have sufficed. Editing Pindar, it must also be understood, is complicated by a need to make sense not only of written words but also of the meters that constrained the poet. One manuscript may thus have provided metrical guidance where another was needed for its verbal testimony. Therefore, spirited debate about the specific sources Aldus employed has been inevitable.” – Bauer, Problems in the Aldine Pindar, page 12, 2015

About the Other Works (from wiki) -

Lycophon’s Alexandra or Cassandra, has been preserved in its complete form. The first mention of Alexandra is from the first century A.D. by The ancient scholiast, whose report is traced back to Theon, an Alexandrian Grammarian (first century A.D.). Alexandra runs at 1474 iambic trimeters. It consists of a prophecy uttered by Cassandra and relates the later fortunes of Troy and of the Greek and Trojan heroes. References to events of mythical and later times are introduced, and the poem ends with a reference to Alexander the Great, who was to unite Asia and Europe in his world-wide empire.

Dionysius, also known as Dionysius of Alexandria or Dionysius the African, was the author of a description of the then-known world in Greek hexameter verse. He is believed to have been from Alexandria and to have lived around the time of Hadrian (r. 117–138), though some date his lifetime as late as the end of the 3rd century.

Callimachus hymns - Among the oldest forms of religious writing, hymns were "formal addresses to a god or group of gods on behalf of a community". Cultic hymns were written and performed in honour of a particular god; examples of this genre can be found in most Greek lyric poets. A typical hymn would contain an invocation of the god, praise of his or her attributes, and a concluding prayer with a request for a favour. Callimachus wrote six such hymns

Bibliographic Details -

Universal Short Title Catalogue (USTC) number 848778, found in 58 of the world's best libraries.

Worldcat OCLC number 44822748 has a great description of the book.

Physical Attributes -

Printed in eight (octavo). Measures approx. 15.8 x 10.7 x 2.7 cm. Leaves measure approximately 15.4 x 9.8 cm. Hardcover with decorative paper covering the boards and a paper label on the spine. Lifted endpapers reveal re-used leather binding (rebound with the boards to the inside). All edges red. Manuscript author written on bottom edge.

Page 305 numbered 30.

Signatures numbered, not lettered (a brief Aldine printing idea).

Pages - (16), 373, (colophon to verso of 373)

Collation - *8, 23 gatherings of eight leaves, the 24th gathering was of four, but the last blank leaf is not extant here (so gathering 24 is 3 leaves in length).

Condition -

See pictures. Fresh clamshell case, with one small bump at top of rear board and a little thumbing to inner lining. Some worming throughout (not excessive) and to the binding. Pastedowns lifted to reveal tooled leather binding used as boards. Note on flyleaf stating that it's missing the last blank leaf. Some toning, thumbing, occasional rust spot, dog-eared pages, etc. throughout. The worm holes are worst at first and last leaf, and quickly subside (no holes at center). There's an occasional light bump along the text block. A little separation at the gutter of last extant leaf. One corner chipped. Very nice wide margins. Some of the sheets are surprisingly bright, the pages may have been washed.