by Sappho (flourished c610-c580 BCE)
Ποικιλόθρον’ ἀθάνατ’, Ἀφρόδιτα
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.
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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.
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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.
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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