Based on a study of the versions of Pinder and Sophocles, and placing Holderlin's practice in its eighteenth-century context, this book explores the meaning of translation for Holderlin's work as a whole, devoting particular attention to the poetry. The author draws links between translations, individual poems, essays, and Holderlin's working techniques, and suggests that translation, both as figure and practice, is at the centre of Holderlin's imaginative world.