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by Sappho (flourished c610-c580 BCE)

An Aphrodite
 (Sung text for setting by C. Loewe)
 Matches base text
Language: Aeolic Greek 
Ποικιλόθρον’ ἀθάνατ’, Ἀφρόδιτα,
παῖ Дίος δολόπλοκε, λίσσομαί σε,
μή μ’ ἄσαισι μηδ’  ὀνίαισι δάμνα,
πότνια, θῦμον·  

ἀλλὰ  τυίδ’    ἔλθ’ , αἴ  ποτα κἀτέρωτα
τὰς  ἔμας  αὔδας  ἀίοισα πήλοι
ἔκλυες, πάτρος δὲ  δόμον λίποισα
χρύσιον  ἦλθες

ἄρμ’ ὐπασδεύξαισα· καλοι δέ  σ’ ἆγον
ὤκεες στροῦθοι περὶ γᾶς μελαίνας
πύκνα δίννεντες  πτέρ’ ἀπ’ ὠράνωἴθερος
διὰ  μέσσω.

αἶψα  δ’  ἐξίκοντο·  σὺ  δ’, ὦ  μάκαιρα,
μειδιαίσαισ’  ἀθανάτωι προσώπωι
ἤρε’, ὄττι  δηὖτε  πέπονθα κὤττι
δηὖτε  κάλημμι

κὤττι μοι μάλιστα θέλω γένεσθαι
μαινόλαι θύμωι.   ῾τίνα  δηὖτε  Πείθω
μαῖσ’  ἄγην ἐς  σὰν φιλότατα, τίς  σ’, ὦ
Ψάπφ’, ἀδικήει;

καὶ  γὰρ αἰ  φεύγει, ταχέως διώξει,
αἰ δὲ δῶρα  μὴ δέκετ’, ἀλλὰ  δώσει,
αἰ δὲ  μὴ  φίλει, ταχέως φιλήσει
κωὐκ  ἐΘέλοισα.  ᾽

ἔλΘε μοι καὶ  νῦν,  χαλέπαν  δὲ  λῦσον
ἐκ  μερίμναν, ὄσσα  δὲ  μοι  τέλεσσαι
θῦμος  ἰμέρρει, τέλεσον,  σὺ  δ’  αὔτα
σύμμαχος  ἔσσο.

Composition:

    Set to music by Carl Loewe (1796 - 1869), "An Aphrodite", op. 9, Heft 9 no. 4 (1835), published 1840, also set in German (Deutsch)

Text Authorship:

  • by Sappho (flourished c610-c580 BCE)

See other settings of this text.

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • ENG English (Henry Thornton Wharton)
  • ENG English (John Addington Symonds) , "Ode to Aphrodite", first published 1893
  • ENG English (John Plant) , copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Edwin Marion Cox) , first published 1924
  • ENG English (Ambrose Philips) , "A Hymn to Venus", written 1711
  • FRE French (Français) (Pauline Mary Tarn) , "à l’Aphrodita", first published 1903
  • FRE French (Français) (Jocelyne Fleury) , copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani

This text was added to the website: 2007-12-10
Line count: 28
Word count: 133

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