Sappho

Sappho lived c.600 BC on the island of Lesbos, in the eastern Aegean sea off the coast of Asia Minor (Modern Turkey), probably in Mytilene, its largest city. Beyond this little else is known. Her poetry mentions a daughter, Cleis, an unamed mother and brother and it can only be assumed that theseare her own. The lifestyle described in these poems suggests that she was a member of the wealthy, ruling aristocracy.

Love shook my heart
like the wind on the mountain
rushing over the oak trees

Love makes me tremble yet again
sapping all the strength from my limbs;

bittersweet, undefeated creature -
against you there is no defence

stand up and look at me face to face,
friend to friend;
unfurl the loveliness in your eyes

on a soft cushion
I will soothe my tired body

(I ran after you)
like a child
flying to her mother

I tell you;
in time to come,
someone will remind us

(From our love)
I want neither
the sweetness of honey
nor the sting of the bees

I do not expect
to touch the sky

(My advice to you is:)
the don't disturb
the jetsam
(on the beach)

I do not have a spiteful temper
but a tender heart

Beautiful women,
my feelings for you
will never falter

My you sleep on the breast
of your tender companion

Night crept up on them
black sheep closed their eyes

for whenever I look at you,
it seems to me that not even
Hermione is equal;
no, far better to compare you
to Helen, whose hair was golden

I do not believe
the light of day will ever see
another woman,
now, or in time to come, who will
rival your skill

bind together, Dicca, with your slender hands, shoots of dill,
wreathe garlands around your lovely hair;
for the Graces favour a woman crowned with blossom
but turn away from those who go ungarlanded

for you, I will leave behind
(all that I love...)