Sappho

Sappho (Attic Greek Σαπφω, Aeolic Greek Ψαπφα, Sapphô) (born c.630-612 BC; died sometime after 581 BC) Greek poet ; A prolific and much acclaimed writer, she is credited with either seven or nine long books of poetry, but over a thousand years of neglect and hostility destroyed most of her work. She is preserved in fragments, in citations in the works of classical authors, and on strips of papyrus found in Egypt. Many translators have attempted to fill in the gaps with their own interpretation of Sappho's style, thus a complete collection of her work is not feasible.

Table of contents

1 The Willis Barnstone Translations 1.1 Dream 1.2 Exhortation to Learning 1.3 Old Age 1.4 Supreme Sight on the Black Earth 1.5 To a Handsome Man 2 External links

The Willis Barnstone Translations

Dream

O dream on your black wings
you come when I am sleeping.

Sweet is the god but still I am
in agony and far from my strength.

for I had hope (none now) to share
something of the blessed gods,

nor was I so foolish
as to scorn pleasant toys.

Now may I have
all these things.

Exhortation to Learning

A handsome man guards his image a while;
a good man will one day take on beauty.

Old Age

Of course I am downcast and tremble
with pity for my state
when old age and wrinkles cover me,

when Eros flies about
and I pursue the glorious young.
Pick up your lyre

and sing to us of her who wears
violets on her breasts. Sing especially
of her who is wandering.

Supreme Sight on the Black Earth

Some say calvary and others claim
infantry or a fleet of long oars
is the supreme sight on the black earth.
I say it is

the one you love. And easily proved.
Didn't Helen, who far surpassed all
mortals in beauty, desert the best
of men, her king,

and sail off to Troy and forget
her daughter and her dear parents? Merely
Aphrodite's gaze made her readily bend
and led her far

from her path. These tales remind me now
of Anaktoria who isn't here,
yet I
for one

would rather see her warm supple step
and the sparkle in her face than watch all
the chariots in Lydia and footsoldiers armored
in glittering bronze.

To a Handsome Man

If you are my friend, stand up before me
and scatter the grace that's in your eyes.

External links

• Fragment one
• Historical Lesbian Poetry
• SAPPHO: The World of Lesbian Poetry
• Sappho in Unicode-encoded Greek and English translation
• Sappho the Tenth Muse