The scholar Michael Schmidt, in the book The First Poets, calls Pindar “the most careful architect that poetry has ever had.” Pindar was active around fifth century BCE and was the master of victory odes, or epinikia, which honored athletes and Olympic crown winners. He most likely wrote these songs on the lyre or the aulos, ancient pipes with double-reeds like oboes. 45 of these victory songs survive today; the first written for a winner of the 400-yard dash and last for a wrestling champion. It seems that Pindar was one of the first artists to see a way of cashing-in on the “cult of sportsmanship” that sprung up in Greek society.