User:Haukurth/Ode to Aphrodite 1

User:Haukurth/Ode to AphroditeOde to Aphrodite, Fragment 1 or Sappho 1 is a lyric poem by the Greek poet Sappho.

PreservationThe main witness to the text of the poem is a full quotation by Dionysius of Halicarnassus (1st century BCE) whilesome lines are quoted by Hephaestion of Alexandria (2nd century CE) and other authors.[1] [2] A papyrus fragmentfrom Oxyrynchus (P. Oxy. 2288, early 2nd century CE) contains scraps of lines 1-21. Because Hephaestion uses thepoem to illustrate the Sapphic stanza, it is believed to have been the first poem of book 1 in the Alexandrine editionof Sappho's poems.[1]

Text and textual notes

Stanza 1Ποικιλόθρον', ἀθάνατ' Ἀφρόδιτα,παῖ Δίος, δολόπλοκε, λίσσομαί σεμή μ' ἄσαισι μήτ' ὀνίαισι δάμνα,πότνια, θῦμον·

Immortal Aphrodite of the broidered throne, daughter of Zeus, weaver of wiles, I pray thee break not my spirit withanguish and distress, O Queen.[3]

The first word of the poem, rendered above as Ποικιλόθρον' (poikilóthron'), has been the source of substantialscholarly commentary. The most common view is that it refers to Aphrodite's throne and can be translated withwords such as "ornate-throned" (Campbell), "elaborate-throned" (Chandler p.3) or "splendour-throned" (EdwinArnold, quoted in Whorton p. 57). Another view holds that θρον' (thron') here refers not to the common wordθρόνος (thrónos), meaning "throne", but to a rare neuter word θρόνον, occurring in the Iliad and the second Idyll ofTheocritus. This would potentially lead to Ποικιλόθρον' meaning "of the rich or flowery robe".[4] A third view isthat the reading Ποικιλόφρον (poikilóphron), found in some manuscripts, should be preferred, giving a meaning of"mind" rather than "throne" for the second part of the compound.[5]

That multiple adjectives are used to describe the goddess at the beginning of the poem is reminiscent of the use ofepithets at the beginning of some of the Homeric Hymns but contrary to those, Sappho addresses Aphrodite directlyrather than in the third person.[6]

Stanza 2ἀλλὰ τυῖδ' ἔλθ', αἴποτα κἀτέρωτατᾶς ἔμας αὔδως ἀΐοισα πήλυιἒκλυες, πάτρος δὲ δόμον λίποισαχρύσιον ἦλθες

But come hither, if ever before thou didst hear my voice afar, and listen, and leaving thy father's golden house[3]

The adjective "golden" can be taken to refer either to the house of Zeus, as in Whorton's translation above, or to"chariot" in the third stanza.[7]

Sappho here starts referring to an earlier occasion where Aphrodite listened to her request. It was customary in songsof prayer to remind the deity invoked of a past benevolence, in the hope that it would be repeated.[8]

User:Haukurth/Ode to Aphrodite 2

Stanza 3ἄρμ' ὐποζεύξαισα· κάλοι δέ σ' ἆγονὤκεες στροῦθοι περὶ γᾶς μελαίναςπύκνα δινεῦντες πτέρ' ἀπ' ὠράνω αἴθε-ρας διὰ μέσσω.

camest with chariot yoked, and fair fleet sparrows drew thee, flapping fast their wings around the dark earth, fromheaven through mid sky.[3]

The flight of the sparrows is described in terms familiar from Homeric poetry.[9]

Stanza 4αἶψα δ' ἐξίκοντο· τὺ δ', ὦ μάκαιρα,μειδιάσαισ' ἀθανάτῳ προσώπῳ,ἤρε', ὄττι δηὖτε πέπονθα κὤττιδηὖτε κάλημι,Quickly arrived they ; and thou, blessed one, smiling with immortal countenance, didst ask What now isbefallen me, and Why now I call,[3]

Stanza 5κὤττι μοι μάλιστα θέλω γένεσθαιμαινόλᾳ θύμῳ· τίνα δηὖτε Πείθωμαῖς ἄγην ἐς σὰν φιλότατα, τίς σ', ὦΨάπφ', ἀδικήει;and What I in my mad heart most desire to see. 'What Beauty now wouldst thou draw to love thee? Whowrongs thee, Sappho?[3]

Stanza 6καὶ γὰρ αἰ φεύγει, ταχέως διώξει,αἰ δὲ δῶρα μὴ δέκετ' ἀλλὰ δώσει,αἰ δὲ μὴ φίλει, ταχέως φιλήσεικωὐκ ἐθέλοισα.For even if she flies she shall soon follow, and if she rejects gifts shall yet give, and if she loves not shall soonlove, however loth.' [3]

User:Haukurth/Ode to Aphrodite 3

Stanza 7ἔλθε μοι καὶ νῦν, χαλεπᾶν δὲ λῦσονἐκ μεριμνᾶν, ὄσσα δέ μοι τελέσσαιθῦμος ἰμέρρει, τέλεσον· σὺ δ' αὔτασύμμαχος ἔσσο.Come, I pray thee, now too, and release me from cruel cares ; and all that my heart desires to accomplish,accomplish thou, and be thyself my ally.[3]

Notes[1] Campbell 1982:52–55[2] Wharton 1907:64[3] Whorton 1895:50[4] Throna and Sappho, passim[5] Winkler p. 581[6] Page p. 17[7] Page p. 7[8] Fränkel p. 177[9] Page p. 8.

References• Campbell, D. A. (ed.) (1982), Greek Lyric 1: Sappho and Alcaeus (Loeb Classical Library No. 142), Harvard

University Press, Cambridge, Mass., ISBN 0-674-99157-5• Whorton 1895

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Article Sources and ContributorsUser:Haukurth/Ode to Aphrodite  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=258000758  Contributors: Haukurth

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