δεῦρύ μ’ ἐκ Κρήτας ἐπ[ὶ τόνδ]ε ναῦον ἄγνον, ὄππ[ᾳ τοι] χάριεν μὲν ἄλσος μαλί[αν], βῶμοι τεθυμιάμε- νοι [λι]βανώντῳ· ἐν δ’ ὔδωρ ψῦχρον κελάδει δι’ ὔσδων μαλίνων, βρόδοισι δὲ παῖς ὀ χῶρος ἐσκίαστ’, αἰθυσσομένων δὲ φύλλων κῶμα κατέρρει· ἐν δὲ λείμων ἰππόβοτος τέθαλεν ἠρίνοισιν ἄνθεσιν, αἰ δ’ ἄηται μέλλιχα πνέοισιν [ [ ἔνθα δὴ σύ . . . . ἔλοισα Κύπρι χρυσίαισιν ἐν κυλίκεσσιν ἄβρως ὀμμεμείχμενον θαλίαισι νέκταρ οἰνοχόαισον
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with The Digital Sappho
Text Authorship:
- by Sappho (flourished c610-c580 BCE), no title, appears in Fragments, no. 2 [author's text checked 1 time 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 Patricia Van Ness , "Come to me from Kret", 1998, first performed 1998 [ soprano and mixed chorus ], from The Voice of the Tenth Muse, no. 2
Score: Patricia van Ness [external link]
Publisher: Patricia van Ness [external link] [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Mary Barnard (1909 - 2001) , no title, appears in Sappho: A New Translation, no. 37 ; composed by Sheila Silver.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Diane J. Rayor)
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2026-02-14
Line count: 16
Word count: 68
You know the place: then Leave Crete and come to us waiting where the grove is pleasantest, by precincts sacred to you; incense smokes on the altar, cold streams murmur through the apple branches, a young rose thicket shades the ground and quivering leaves pour down deep sleep; in meadows where horses have grown sleek among spring flowers, dill scents the air. Queen! Cyprian! Fill our gold cups with love stirred into clear nectar
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Mary Barnard, Sappho: A New Translation, Berkeley : University of California, 1986
Text Authorship:
- by Mary Barnard (1909 - 2001), no title, appears in Sappho: A New Translation, no. 37 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Sheila Silver (b. 1946), "Leave Crete and come to us", 1978 [ soprano and piano ], from Chariessa. A Cycle of Six Songs on Fragments from Sappho, no. 1, Lauren Keiser Music Publishing
Publisher: Keiser Productions [external link] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2026-02-14
Line count: 16
Word count: 74