Daughter of Zeus, Immortal Aphrodite, Queen of the broidered throne, distress'd I pray thee, Weaver of wiles, break not my heart with anguish, O Goddess, hear me! Now hither come, as once before thou camest, Hearing my voice afar, and lean to listen; Camest with golden chariot, leaving swiftly Thy father's dwelling. Beautiful, fleet thy sparrows drew thee hither, Round the dark earth from heaven's height descending, Whirled they with wings through deeps of middle aether, Fluttering came they. Then thou, blest once, with lips immortal smiling, Didst ask - "Why weepest thou? What is befallen? Whom wouldst thy heart and beauty draw to love thee? Who wrongs thee, Sappho? "She who spurns gifts shall give; who flies shall follow; If she loves not, unwilling soon shall love thee." Ah, come, from care release, fulfil my yearning; Help, I beseech thee. Daughter of Zeus, Immortal Aphrodite, Queen of the broidered throne, distress'd I pray thee, Weaver of wiles, break not my heart with anguish, O Goddess, hear me!
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Authorship
- by Helen Maude Francesca Bantock, née von Schweitzer (1868 - 1961) [an adaptation] [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
- a text in English by Henry Thornton Wharton (1846 - 1895) [text unavailable]
- 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)
- by Granville Ransome Bantock, Sir (1868 - 1946), "Hymn to Aphrodite", from Sappho: Prelude and Nine Fragments, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Margaret Ruthven Lang.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
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- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Walter Jens (b. 1923) , 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.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-12-01
Line count: 35
Word count: 168