by Sappho (flourished c610-c580 BCE)
Translation by Bliss Carman (1861 - 1929)
O Aphrodite
Language: English after the Aeolic Greek
O Aphrodite, God-born and deathless, Break not my spirit With bitter anguish: Thou wilful empress, I pray thee, hither! As once aforetime Well thou didst hearken To my voice far off,-- Listen, and leaving Thy father's golden House in yoked chariot, Come, thy fleet sparrows Beating the mid-air Over the dark earth. Suddenly near me, Smiling, immortal, Thy bright regard asked What had befallen,-- Why I had called thee,-- What my mad heart then Most was desiring. "What fair thing wouldst thou Lure now to love thee? "Who wrongs thee, Sappho? If now she flies thee, Soon shall she follow;-- Scorning thy gifts now, Soon be the giver;-- And a loth loved one 30 "Soon be the lover." So even now, too, Come and release me From mordant love pain, And all my heart's will Help me accomplish!
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Bliss Carman, Sappho. One Hundred Lyrics, 1907, Project Gutenberg eBook 2004.
Text Authorship:
- by Bliss Carman (1861 - 1929), no title, appears in Sappho: One Hundred Lyrics, no. 5 [an adaptation] [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Aeolic Greek by Sappho (flourished c610-c580 BCE)
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
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Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Helen Maude Francesca Bantock, née von Schweitzer (1868 - 1961) [an adaptation] ; composed by Granville Ransome Bantock, Sir.
- Also set in English, a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Margaret Ruthven Lang.
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- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Walter Jens (1923 - 2013) , copyright © [an adaptation] ; composed by Aribert Reimann.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Carl von Blankensee ; composed by Carl Loewe.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Rudolf Bach (1901 - 1957) ; composed by Hermann Reutter.
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by N. F. Arbenin ; composed by Anton Yulyevich Simon.
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2025-09-09
Line count: 36
Word count: 138