From Sappho to Aphrodite: Fragments

Fragment LV (Cox 1925 version # 84)

Dormivi in somnis una cum Cypride

Προσελεξάμης όναρ κυπρογενεία

I have lain beside Aphrodite in dream...

Fragment XIII: (Cox 1925 version #56)

Sappho, cur omniopulentiam Venerem…?

Πσάπφοι τί τὰν πολύολβον Ἀφρόδιταν; 

Sappho, why does [no verb] many-gifted Venus?

 --Translated from the Greek by Johannis Christianus Wolfius

 

SAPPHO	MAP:
Name:  Σαπφώ / Sappho Date:  630 – 570 BCE Works:  <lost: only fragments remain>	REGION  5
BIO:	Timeline:
Sappho was universally applauded by the ancient world as the “Tenth Muse.” Because she was one of the earliest Greek lyric poets, there is very little definitive information on Sappho’s life.  It is generally agreed that Sappho was a wealthy noblewoman from the island of Lesbos who had three brothers and a daughter named Kleis. She used her prominent social position to support a cohort of other women artists, and composed many poems about them, expressing her love for them, praising their beauty, and celebrating their marriages. Whereas earlier Greek poetry was epic poetry with serious themes of gods, warfare, and the state, Sappho’s lyric poetry is emotional, intimate and personal. Her poetry centers around womanhood and womanly love, providing rare insight into social mores of the time period. The modern term “lesbian” (a woman who is attracted to another woman) reveals the longevity of her impact upon western culture [NOTE: Although “lesbian” is the accepted term in modern English, authors in the ancient world used a different word for a homosexual woman, and only occasionally used the term “lesbian” euphemistically]. Unfortunately, although her poetry was universally revered by the Greeks and Romans alike, Sappho’s works only exist as fragments, adding mysterious allure to her larger-than-life status but unfortunately hindering our understanding of her life and thoughts.	Archaic Greek