SAPPHO
(Lobel-Page 96 – Σαπφώ – English translation)
NOTE: The Geraistion is a temple to Poseidon in Geraestus, Euboea.
] from Sardis [
] often hither her thoughts would cling,
As how once we used to live. She'd gone, and beheld
You as though a goddess were your equal – one of
Renown; – and yours she most relished among the songs.
And now amidst the Lydians, she stands out
From their women – as whenever the Sun
Has set, the rosy-fingered Moon would: in
Full she'd surpass the stars. And the light
Spreads out over the sea, upon its saltiness,
And likewise upon the rich-flowering fields.
And the dew's beautifully dripped off; come
Abloom, too, are the roses and the delicate
Chervils and the sweet-clover in flower.
And often meandering about, her gentle one she
Recalls to mind – her Atthis – with a yearning
Faint someplace in her breast, her heart by agitation devoured.
So thither come, us two! – shrilly she cries to us, and isn't
Received in deafness: the Night with many ears has
Voiced it for us, through to the other side of the sea.
An easy thing it truly isn't, for us to find for the goddesses'
Forms – so lovely they are – any equals among our own;
And if your looks have something of [Adonis'
]
Precious [⠀⠀⠀] for heaven
And [⠀⠀⠀] Aphrodite
] has nectar poured from a
Golden [
] arms of Peitho
] she
] often
] learned
] the Geraistion
] dear
] unheard by nobody
] desire attained