Muse & Love Combined: In Praise of Sappho, Greek Anthology 26.310

Name:   Damocharis Date:      5th - 6th century CE Region:     Cos [modern Greece] Citation: Greek Anthology 26.310

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.

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

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.

Translated into Latin by Hugo Grottius

 Little is known about the poet Damocharis except that he lived in Cos during the late 5^th through early 6^th century CE. Only a handful of his poems are preserved in the Greek Anthology; nothing else of his is still extant.