Sappho sets the tone of the hymn with asking Aphrodite to not tame her heart; Sappho wants to feel the emotions she has for Aphrodite, wants to act on them. It creates the question of how long could Sappho had feelings for Aphrodite? What would she want Aphrodite to do about said feelings? It seems Aphrodite sent her birds down to figure out what Sappho wants, and she wants to do the opposite of Aphrodite's wishes. Sappho wants to simply stand with Aphrodite and easy her heart that way, instead of Aphrodite calming it with grief.
Aphrodite
Discussion Question (Optional):
Choose a poem by Sappho (1, 2, 16, 31, 58, or 96) and compare a couple of different translations of the poem. What is the poem about? How do the different translators approach the text?
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Sappho 94 speaks of a powerful and lasting love. Sappho feels deep affection for her lover, and she fears that death will erase her from her lover's memory. So, in her lover's dying moments Sappho reminds her of the sweet time they spent together. She wants to make sure that her lover departs this life while reminiscing on their most intimate and cherished moments. Sappho does this in hopes that if her lover is somehow able to carry memories into the next life, that they would be of "the beautiful times we had." It reminds me of when Achilles is lamenting the death of Patroclus and says something to the effect of "And even in the world of the dead, if they have no memory, I will still remember you there." Even though her lover is dying, Sappho wants their love to endure for eternity.
I really like how she describes aging. She speaks of beauty as gifts, and young children. Her once strong knees now can't hold her weight. But she knows that humans without aging is not possible.
I found this poem very touching as it really speaks to the youth. As the speaker is describing her condition as an old woman, she reflects back to when she was a young girl herself. I felt as if she was describing all the gifts that are given to you when you are younger. It's kind of like the cliche, enjoy what is given to you, but this poem really opened my eyes to not take youth for granted. As quickly as days go by it is so easy to overlook the gifts given to you, but someday you will be older and have other responsibilities. Then and only then do you truly reflect and get taken back to the younger years remembering all the great memories of yourself. Even the title of the poem suggests that while you are young, enjoy the gifts given to you. Overall, this was a great poem and especially during this pandemic we may find ourselves reminiscing the great times we might have taken for granted when life was normal.
Carson's translation goes into more detail about old age and taking a toll on the body than Gilbert's translation does. Carson also talks about Tithonos which I think is a very interesting connection of the poems about Sappho to the poems about Aphrodite because it shows how well connected all the poems of the time were to one another.
When reading Sappho's Poem 1, I actually started to smile. Her words were very elegant and smooth, and she was very shameless about her sexuality, which was probably not accepted in her time. Aphrodite's portrayal was very gentle and accepting of her. It brings a sense of calm, and I wish that more of her poems were saved throughout history, because we could see into the mind of someone’s relationship with a goddess that was quite unique.
Sappho's second poem is urging Aphrodite to come down to the Earth to a holy place with Sappho. Sappho describes all the good and lovely things about this place. She talks about the fruit and the fresh spring flowers as she invites Aphrodite to come celebrate with her. The second stanza in the translations is very different. Hutchins translation is very harsh. He describes "icy waters" roaring and "shaking leaves" pouring down. On the other hand, Gilbert's translation is milder, describing "cold water" dripping as "slumber descends" from the leaves in this holy space. Hutchins approaches the text as passionate and urgent- a call for companionship to Aphrodite. Gilbert approaches the text as a persuasive invitation. She describes all the good things about the place where she is, inviting Aphrodite to come join her in celebration.
What I gathered from the poem is Sappho keeps on begging Aphrodite to fix her love life. It seems like Sappho has had many problems with love before, and she is asking Aphrodite to try and fix these problems. Sappho is currently in love and needs help to pursue this because she has had many downfalls before. Sappho does not want to be let down again, therefore she pleads to Aphrodite to try and do something about it. Aphrodite has helped her before in love situations it seems, but she continues to ask for help. Aphrodite ends up coming down to Sappho to speak to her. Aphrodite seems irritated to me, or tired of helping Sappho because she has done this so may times before. Even with the goddess of loves' help, none have proven to be successful. Aphrodite told Sappho that it would all work out for her eventually and love will come her way. As she is leaving, Sappho begs again for her to do anything right at that moment. Sappho does not have the patience to continue to wait for love, she wanted something to happen in the moment. I enjoyed this poem very much because of the way the interaction went. It was interesting to see that the two have interacted before and that something still gets Aphrodite to help Sappho.
I noticed while reading fragment 2 that when Sappho wrote about wanting Aphrodite to come to her she wrote in detail about the nature around her and how beautiful it was. I wonder if she is writing about this nature to catch Aphrodite's attention or if she is making a correlation between nature and Aphrodite's aura/presence. In fragment 2 she writes about a meadow with horses and blooming flowers in the spring. She also describes the apple trees as "graceful" and the wind blowing a scent of "honey". I wonder if the details about nature are symbolic of Aphrodite's beauty or even of blooming into sexuality or puberty which is tightly knitted to Aphrodite.
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One thing I found very interesting while reading Sappho's fragments was the presence of nature imagery in almost every fragment we were asked to examine and others. It seems that wherever Aphrodite or desire is concerned, there is also some reference to an element of the natural world, often flowers, fruits, or water. In Poem 1, Sappho describes Aphrodite as hitching her chariot to "swift alluring sparrows" to carry her "over black earth." Fragment 2 as translated by Gilbert is filled to the brim with imagery of luscious apple trees, dripping with droplets of cool water, as well as "a meadow team[ing] with horses" that "blooms anew with spring." Even in the fragments where Sappho is despairing the desire we assume to be presented to her by Aphrodite, she uses this language, saying in Fragment 31 that she feels "greener than wet grass" talking about the jealousy she must endure. I think it very fitting that in all these instances of desire, Aphrodite would be shrouded in imagery of nature, especially beautiful nature, such as flowers and fruits. We talked in class about how one of the creators of the world before Ouranos and Gaia was Eros, who represents desire and sex. We also discussed the fact that it's a bit odd that Aphrodite is allowed a place as one of the 12 Olympians, seeing as she actually comes from a much more ancient breed of deity. It makes sense that a way in which her relative ancientness would present itself is through the nature imagery that we constantly see surrounding her in these fragments- she is closely connected to a creator of the earth (Eros) who also represents desire and is herself directly connected to the earth and elements through her origin from the sea, not coming forth of traditional parentage (one mother, one father) as the other Olympians did. As a coherent persona, it just makes sense for Aphrodite to be surrounded by images of nature, and I love the ways that Sappho incorporates that in these fragments.
A question: Violets are mentioned in many of these fragments- what was the significance of violets in Ancient Greek culture? I tried to do some research but found sources saying everything from "grief" to "modesty" to "sex and lust."
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I noticed that there were a lot of poems that mentioned the color purple/violet, (Frag. 98a, "purple ribbon") especially when talking about a bride or wedding. (105C, a newly married woman, "purple flower", Frag. 30, "a violet robed bride") I know that often times purple symbolizes royalty, but what is the significance in these scenarios?
I found the starkest difference in translations to be between the Hutchins and Gilbert translations. The Hutchins translation feels and sounds like a poem, it continues to be lyrical, and still maintain an aspect of rhythm and beautiful description. The Gilbert translation, while equally descriptive and full of imagery, feels less poetic. It sounds too plain-spoken to feel like a poem, instead it reads like a narrative story. While this may make it easier to comprehend, the sentence structure is so straightforward that it ceases to be poetic or rythmic. The sentence structure in the Hutchins translation is interesting and varried. In the second fragment, a Hymn to Aphrodite, the translation used interesting verbs, describing the ground as "shadowed by roses". However, in the Gilbert translation, it is much less complex, leading the reading to be lyrical. The translator opted to use the phrase, "all in the shadow of roses". It seems less lyrical. It may be the kind of poem that I prefer, but I found the Gilbert translation to be less elegant and smooth, almost lackluster in comparison to the Hutchins translation.
Other than the differences in translation, I really enjoyed fragment 31. I thought it was so beautiful. I feel like it perfectly captured the feeling of seeing someone you're attracted to. When you're in love or lust for someone it can be hard to speak or hear. Everything else becomes still. This poem captured that feeling perfectly. Sappho describes seeing a woman by saying, "Now when I look at you for just a second my voice is empty, I can say nothing, my tongue breaks, a thin flame races under my skin." She describes perfectly how it feels to desire someone, and the translation keeps the language beautiful and lyrical. I enjoyed this poem the most out of all of the Sapphic poems I read.