O.5.17-18

The final triad opens with an invocation to the third deity of the ode, Zeus Soter. He is explicitly localized in Olympia, inhabiting the hill of Kronos and honoring the wide-flowing Alpheos and the sacred cave of Ida. The following lines make it clear that the invocation is still made from the deictic origo in Kamarina, confirming that the general geographical ubiquity of Greek gods can be assumed whenever they are entreated, even if one location—Olympia, in this case—is more foregrounded than others. The three successive invocations take the audience progressively from a distinctly local context (Lake Kamarina) via a Panhellenic deity with a local cult (Pallas Athena) to the broadly Panhellenic perspective represented in the principal god honored at the Panhellenic Olympic competitions and festivities (Zeus, here in his manifestation as ‘Savior’ [Sotēr]).

Most of the stones from the Temple of Athena in Kamarina were used for the masonry of the 19th century building, which now houses the Museo Archeologico Regionale di Camarina, quite literally incorporating the temple remains! Image via Wikimedia Commons.