W/W: Equal to the Gods, Sappho, Fr. 31

Equal to the Gods I: Sappho’s Original

Name:      Sappho Date:        d. 570 BCE Region:    Lesbos [modern Greece] Citation:  Fragment 31

To a Woman Loved by Sappho:

That man seems to me

To be equal to the gods,

Who gets to sit across from you

And hear you flirting and laughing sweetly.

When I see you,

The heart in my chest gets thrown out of whack,

My voice gets stuck in my throat,

I can’t talk.

I'm tongue-tied.

A hot flash flows through my skin,

My eyes stop working,

And humming fills up my ears.

Cold sweat overtakes me,

My entire body shakes,

I get greener than grass.

I'm not far from death; I seem to be dying.

But I gotta shoot my shot, because wretched...

Equal to the Gods I: Sappho’s Original

φάινεταί μοι κῆνος ἴσος θέοισιν ἔμμεν ὤνερ, ὄττις ἐναντιός τοι ἰσδάνει καὶ πλασίον ἆδυ φωνείσας ὐπακούει καὶ γαλαίσας ἰμμερόεν, τὸ μ’ ἦ᾽μὰν καρδίαν ἐν στήθεσιν ἐπτόαισεν, ὠς γὰρ εὔιδον βροχέ’ ὠς με, φώνη- σ’ οὐδὲν ἔτ᾽ ἔικει, ἀλλὰ κὰμ μὲν γλῶσσα ἔαγε, λέπτον δ᾽ αὔτικα χρῶι πῦρ ὐπαδεδρόμακεν, ὀππάτεσσι δ᾽ οὐδὲν ὂρημμ᾽, ἐπιρρόμβεισι δ᾽ ἄκουαι. κὰδ’ δ’ ἴδρως ψῦχρος χέεται, τρόμος δὲ παῖσαν ἄγρει χλωροτέρα δὲ ποίας ἔμμι, τεθνάκην δ᾽ ὀλιγω ᾽πιδεύης φαίνομ’ ἔμ’ αὔται. ἀλλὰ πὰν τόλματον...

Ad mulierem adamatam. Videtur ille mihi par Divis  vir esse, qui adversus te sedet, & propius dulce profantem  te auscultat et ridentem amabiliter, quod mihi cor in pectoribus obstupescit; ut enim vidi te, in fauces mihi vocis nihil amplius venit. Imo quidem lingua fracta est, & per tenuem Protinus cutem ignis demanavit; oculisque nihil video; bombitantque  mihi aures. Et gelidus sudor defluit; tremorque occupant totam, pallidiorque herba sum: a moriendo paululum absens videor exanimis. Sed quidvis audendum est, quia egentem... Translated into Latin by Christian Wolff

Sappho [d. 570 BCE, modern Greece] was universally applauded by the ancient world as the “Tenth Muse.” Because she was one of the earliest Greek lyric poets, there is very little definitive information on Sappho’s life.  It is generally agreed that Sappho was a wealthy noblewoman from the island of Lesbos who had three brothers and a daughter named Kleis. She used her prominent social position to support a cohort of other women artists, and composed many poems about them, expressing her love for them, praising their beauty, and celebrating their marriages. Whereas earlier Greek poetry was epic poetry with serious themes of gods, warfare, and the state, Sappho’s lyric poetry was emotional, intimate and personal. Her poetry centered around womanhood and womanly love, providing rare insight into the time period. The modern terms “sapphic” and “lesbian” reveal the longevity of her impact upon modern culture. Unfortunately, although her poetry was universally revered by the Greeks and Romans alike, Sappho’s works only exist as fragments, adding mysterious allure to her larger-than-life status but unfortunately hindering our understanding of her life and thoughts.