In Praise of Sappho & Erinna: Greek Anthology 2.69-71 & 2.106-108

The following poem depicts statues that were on display in public in Thebes:

2.69

And the Muse-like, famous-voiced honeybee Sappho

Of Lesbos sat there; it seemed like she was working on a honey-sweet song;

Her heart set on the Muses.

Pierica clara-voce apis sedebat Sappho

Lesboa, quieta; melos autem canorum texere

videbatur, animo ad silentes Musas intent

Πιερικὴ δὲ μέλισσα λιγύθροος ἕζετο Σαπφὼ

Λεσβιάς, ἠρεμέουσα: μέλος δ᾽ εὔϋμνον ὑφαίνειν

σιγαλέαις δοκέεσκεν ἀναψαμένη φρένα Μούσαις.

***

Here sits Erinna, a maiden who was a talented singer;

There wasn’t a Distaff* in her hand, but bee-like

She quietly dripped nectar from her silent heart.

* This is a pun of her famous poem, The Distaff

Hic Erinna sedet, virgo cantare perita:

pensa manu non tractat: apis sed sedula more

Pierium tacito destillat pectore nectar.

παρθενικὴ δ᾽ Ἤριννα λιγύθροος ἕζετο κούρη,

οὐ μίτον ἀμφαφόωσα πολύπλοκον, ἀλλ᾽ ἐνὶ σιγῇ

Πιερικῆς ῥαθάμιγγας ἀποσταλάουσα μελίσσης

--Greek Anthology 2.69-71, 106-108; Translated into Latin by Hugo Grotius

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 10^th century CE and one from the 14^th century CE. The anthology contains authors spanning the entirety of Greek literature, from archaic poets to Byzantine Christian poets.