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How did Pindar compare poetry with statues as a way to preserve fame?

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Hear a reading of ancient Greek poet Pindar's first Olympic ode, commissioned by Sicilian prince Hiero — Pindar Pindar's first Olympic ode, its context, and the significance of the victory ode, or epinicion.

Pindar argued that poetry was superior to statues as a medium for preserving fame because of its ability to reach a wider audience and endure through time. While a statue could only transmit its message to those physically present to view it, Pindar believed that his songs could spread a subject's legacy further throughout the community and into the future.1

In his epinician poetry, Pindar emphasized that his work mediated between a person's memorable achievements and their deserved glory. By celebrating these deeds, his poems gave them a permanent existence and value, effectively allowing the poet to act as a guardian of fame that transcended the transient nature of the victory itself.1