Sappho’s setting and in the heavenly world of the
Greek gods. The setting that Sappho describes in
her poem—the garden with roses, the spring flow-
ers, the apple trees, the peaceful meadow, the gen-
tle breezes, the soft sounds of water moving—is
representative of Aphrodite’s cult. This is an ideal
world, a garden in which there are abundant apple
trees and where roses and wildflowers are copious.
The air hangs heavy with the scents of wildflowers
and apple blossoms; the leaves gently move in the
breeze, and there is the sound of water flowing. In
this idyllic world, smells and sounds of such per-
fection can induce drowsiness. This is the setting
to which Sappho invites the goddess. When, in
stanza 2, Aphrodite causes a drowsiness to come
over her worshippers, this is no ordinary sleep but
a manifestation of the goddess’s power. In the last
stanza, she joins in a celebration in her honor,
pouring not just wine but a nectar provided by
the gods into golden cups. Williamson calls this a
‘‘fleeting touch of the divine’’ and argues that the
scene in the temple grove is too magical in its
description to be a real ‘‘earthly sanctuary.’’ The
grove is ‘‘a kind of supernatural paradise’’ that is
too flawless to be present in the natural world.
This setting presents a timeless perfection in
which descriptions of nature, as provided by the
poet, create an unspoiled world, one suitable for a
goddess.
The perfection of Sappho’s apple grove, the
beauty of the roses and spring flowers, the gentle
murmurs of water and leaves moving in a breeze,
and the scents of all of nature are combined to
create an earthly temple to welcome Aphrodite. In
his article about ‘‘Fragment 2’’ inPhoenix,Thomas
McEvilley suggests that the feast, the ritual, and
the earthly paradise of the grove all overlap. These
overlapping images, whenapplied to the worship
of Aphrodite, assume ‘‘some of the atmosphere of
a mystery cult,’’ which might suit Sappho’s desire
to lend a mythical or even magical quality to the
festivities. As McEvilley observes, this imaginative
atmosphere is a more festive way to celebrate
the impending marriage of a young woman, rather
than with a ‘‘conventional banquet.’’ The stillness
of the grove is a stillness of timelessness, of a sacred
place. The drowsiness created is a magical sleep.
The apple grove itself, writes McEvilley, serves as
‘‘a description of an inner condition, a readiness in
the heart,’’ rather than just an outer scene. For the
young women worshippers, the magic of the grove
signals their readiness for marriage and for the
transformation that will take them from young
girls to brides. For the reader, ‘‘the trance of
paradise and the vision of beauty’’ is created
through the description of the apple grove. Mc-
Evilley suggests that for Sappho, the poem is the
promise of happiness fulfilled, even though it is
only imagined. For readers of ‘‘Fragment 2,’’ it is
important to remember that the goddess, who
pours the nectar of happiness into golden cups, is
present eternally for Sappho and for the audience
for whom the poet sings.
Sappho’s fame was such, according to Wil-
liamson, that her works are immortal. William-
son reminds readers that Sappho was ‘‘the only
woman among the nine great lyric poets of
archaic Greece.’’ This fame led to great compli-
ments, including a reported compliment by Plato
in which Sappho was called the tenth Muse.
Williamson considers such extravagant compli-
ments a double-edged sword, since such praise
reflects ‘‘a difficulty in thinking of real women as
poets.’’ In being such a great poet, ‘‘Sappho has
passed beyond the bounds of ordinary human-
ity.’’ She has, in essence, become a god, not
unlike the goddess who was so much a part of
her poetry, as in ‘‘Fragment 2.’’ In her poem,
Sappho’s vision of Aphrodite transports the
poet and her audience into a magical world of
Greek gods. The poet and the goddess had the
power to enchant Sappho’s audiences in Greece
in the sixth centuryBCE. That power has not
changed. The magical effect of the goddess Aph-
rodite can be as real for modern readers of Sap-
pho’s poetry as it would have been for her
audience nearly three thousand years ago.
Source:Sheri Metzger Karmiol, Critical Essay on ‘‘Frag-
ment 2,’’ inPoetry for Students, Gale, Cengage Learning,
2010.Diane J. Rayor
In the following excerpt, Rayor discusses the chal-
lenges and choices involved in translating Sappho’s
poetic fragments, using ‘‘Fragment 2’’ as an example.
Since ancient poetry so often survives only in
fragments, it would seem to present the translator
with special problems not shared by those who
translate complete texts. But although some of
the problems are unique, the methods used to
‘‘solve’’ them are much the same. Yet focusing
on the translation of fragments makes it easier to
see the additions, subtractions, and changes that
occur in all translations. The awkward loss of text
exaggerates the ever-present temptation to ‘‘fix’’
a text rather than represent the poet’s words—
and the gaps between those words—accurately.Fragment 2