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Poetry

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drray23

(8,848 posts)
Mon Jun 22, 2026, 05:20 PM Monday

Are you into greek classics ? [View all]



My wife just gave me this for father's day. I enjoy studying ancient greek in my spare time.

The first stanza reads:


Richly-throned immortal Aphrodite,
child of Zeus, trick-weaver, I beg you,
do not, with griefs or pains, subdue
my heart, mistress.


This poem from Sappho is the only surviving complete poem of hers. The whole poem is sublime.

It is the plea of a scorned lover who appeals to aphrodite.

There are quite a few diverging translations because its hard to capture the full meaning and subtleties of aeolic lyric greek.




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