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.
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Authorship:
- by Sappho (flourished c610-c580 BCE) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Christos Hatzis (b. 1953), "Invocation to Aphrodite", published 1993, first performed 1995 [ soprano, clarinet, viola, cello, and piano ], from Three Songs on Poems by Sappho, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Wilhelm Killmayer (1927 - 2017), "Poikilothron athanat' Afrodita", 1959/60, first performed 1961 [ soprano and small orchestra ], from Sappho - Fünf griechische Lieder, no. 5, Mainz, Schott [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carl Loewe (1796 - 1869), "An Aphrodite", op. 9, Heft 9 no. 4 (1835), published 1840, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text checked 1 time]
- by John Plant , "Invocation to Aphrodite", first performed 1995 [ voice, flute, violin, cello and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
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.
- 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 (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.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
Other 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
Shimmering-throned immortal Aphrodite, Daughter of Zeus, Enchantress, I implore thee, Spare me, O Queen, this agony and anguish, Crush not my spirit. Whenever before thou hast hearkened to me— To my voice calling to thee in the distance, And heeding, thou hast come, leaving thy father’s Golden dominions, With chariot yoked to thy fleet-winged coursers, Fluttering swift pinions over earth’s darkness, And bringing thee through the infinite, gliding Downwards from heaven, Then, soon they arrived and thou, blessed goddess, With divine countenance smiling, didst ask me What new woe had befallen me now and why, Thus I had called thee. What in my mad heart was my greatest desire, Who was it now that must feel my allurements, Who was the fair one that must be persuaded, Who wronged thee Sappho? For if now she flees, quickly she shall follow And if she spurns gifts, soon shall she offer them, Yea, if she knows not love, soon shall she feel it Even reluctant. Come then, I pray, grant me surcease from sorrow, Drive away care, I beseech thee, O goddess Fulfil for me what I yearn to accomplish, Be thou my ally.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with The Poems of Sappho. With Historical and Critical Notes, Translations, and a Bibliography by Edwin Marion Cox, London: Williams and Norgate; New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1924, page 60.
Authorship:
- by Edwin Marion Cox (1869 - 1942), first published 1924 [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):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2020-02-20
Line count: 28
Word count: 192