Sappho:A New Translation of the Complete Works

by: Sappho (Author),Diane J. Rayor(Translator),André Lardinois(Introduction)&0more

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Publication Date: 2014/7/14

Language: English

Print Length: 184 pages

ISBN-10: 1107023599

ISBN-13: 9781107023598

Book Description

Sappho, the earliest and most famous Greek woman poet, sang her songs around 600 BCE on the island of Lesbos. Of the little that survives from the approximately nine papyrus scrolls collected in antiquity, all is translated here:substantial poems, fragments, single words - and, notably, five stanzas of a poem that came to light in 2014. Also included are new additions to five fragments from the latest discovery, and a nearly complete poem published in 2004. The power of Sappho’s poetry - her direct style, rich imagery, and passion - is apparent even in these remnants. Diane Rayor’s translations of Greek poetry are graceful and poetic, mode in diction yet faithful to the originals. The full range of Sappho’s voice is heard in these poems about desire, friendship, rivalry, family, and "passion for the light of life". In the introduction and notes, inteationally respected Sappho scholar André Lardinois presents plausible reconstructions of Sappho’s life and work, the importance of the recent discoveries in understanding the performance of her songs, and the story of how these fragments survived.

About the Author

Sappho, the earliest and most famous Greek woman poet, sang her songs around 600 BCE on the island of Lesbos. Of the little that survives from the approximately nine papyrus scrolls collected in antiquity, all is translated here:substantial poems, fragments, single words - and, notably, five stanzas of a poem that came to light in 2014. Also included are new additions to five fragments from the latest discovery, and a nearly complete poem published in 2004. The power of Sappho’s poetry - her direct style, rich imagery, and passion - is apparent even in these remnants. Diane Rayor’s translations of Greek poetry are graceful and poetic, mode in diction yet faithful to the originals. The full range of Sappho’s voice is heard in these poems about desire, friendship, rivalry, family, and "passion for the light of life". In the introduction and notes, inteationally respected Sappho scholar André Lardinois presents plausible reconstructions of Sappho’s life and work, the importance of the recent discoveries in understanding the performance of her songs, and the story of how these fragments survived.