Muse & Love Combined: In Praise of Sappho, Greek Anthology XXVI.310

In imaginem Sapphus:

Ipsa tibi fingendi peritia Natura tradidit informandam

Mytilenaeam, o pictor, Pieridem.

Scaturit splendor in oculis: hoc autem aperte

monstrat imaginationem, plenam sollertiae.

Natura vero laevisque et non extra-modum efferens-se

caro subindicatam simplicitatem habet.

Simul autem ex hilari et ex intelligente vultu

Musam prodit Cypridi commixtam.

Αυτή σου πλάστειρα Φύσις παρέδωκε τυπώσαι

 την Μυτιληναίαν ζωγράφε Πιερίδα

Πηγάζει το διαυγές εν όμμασι τούτο δ εναργώς

δηλοί φαντασίην έμπλεον ευστοχίας

Αυτομάτως δ ομαλή τε και ού περίεργα κομώσα

σαρξ υποδεικνυμένην την αφέλειαν έχει

Αμμιγα δ εξ ιλαροίο και εκ νοεροίο προσώπου

Μούσαν απαγγέλλει Κύπριοι μιγνυμένην

-- Damocharis, Greek Anthology XXVI.310; translated into Latin by Hugo Grottius

O artist,

The expert craftsman Nature herself

has presented to you

the Lesbian Muse, Sappho.

The sparkle of her eye clearly reveals

her soul brimming with creativity.

We see her carefree nature and self confident body language

from her cheerful and intelligent expression:

the artist reveals a Muse "mixed with*"  Venus.  

The poet deliberately uses the sexually charged word μιγνυμένην [commixtam] to show Sappho in a relationship with the goddess Venus.

DAMOCHARIS	MAP:
Name:  Damocharis Date:  5th – 6th c. CE Works:  Greek Anthology	REGION  5
BIO:	Timeline:
Little is known about the poet Damocharis except that he lived in Cos during the late 5th through early 6th century CE. Only a handful of his poems are preserved in the Greek Anthology; nothing else of his is still extant.	BYZANTINE / LATE GREEK LITERATURE

GREEK ANTHOLOGY	MAP:
Name:  ???? Date:  Works:  Greek Anthology; Anthologia Graeca; Florilegii Graecii	REGION  UNKNOWN
BIO:	Timeline:
The Greek Anthology is a modern collection of Greek lyric poetry compiled from various sources over the course of Greco-Roman literature. The current collection was created from two major sources, one from the 10th century CE and one from the 14th century CE. The anthology contains authors spanning the entirety of Greek literature, from archaic poets to Byzantine Christian poets.	BBYZANTINE / LATE GREEK LITERATURE