Sappho Studies

The article explores one of the poems included in the so-called 'New Palladas' collection (P.CtYBR 4000, pag. 18, rr. 1-9). My aim is to cast new light on the epigrammatist's subtle reworking of his model, namely Sapph. fr. 31 Voigt. I conclude with a few remarks on the contents and typology of the new poem as well as on its tentative attribution to Palladas of Alexandria.

This paper explores the historical realities and the international cultural context which lays hidden behind the veil of Sappho's poetry. Its aim is to show that it is not by accident a possible connection between Sappho's legendary fame as the "tenth muse" (as Plato named her in the Antologia Palatina) and the influence of the Egyptian cultural context, particularly the literary genres and love theme upon her poetry.

This new companion (edited by Patrick Finglass and Adrian Kelly) aims to incorporate the newest finds of Sappho's poetry into an overall study of her importance in the ancient world and her reception into the modern. The cast list and proposed structure can be found in the attached document.

The emphasis on poetic personae in Archaic lyric-poets announcing their own names and ostensibly relating their own experiences-has enormous significance for audiences eager to conjure fully animated private and public spaces in the period. As much lyric is written in the first person and, as a result, is cast as a form of personal narrative, it seems to offer a degree of tangibility unavailable to audiences of epic, whose "authors," Homer and Hesiod, present themselves as mouthpieces of the gods, inspired bards but not composers. 1 In the case of epic there is necessarily no sense that the poets possess firsthand knowledge of the sagas that they recount; their subject matter, centered on gods and heroes, is remote both in time and place. By contrast, lyric poets tend to position themselves as experiential guides proffering glimpses into a fictive, albeit wholly human, and thus "relatable," world. Hereby these poets entice audiences to conjure their personae, to share their projected feelings and emotions, and, in the mind's eye, to see the places and spaces that, in their poems, they inhabit, long for, and imagine. Among lyric poets, the most intensely personal and affective is Sappho, the so-called Tenth Muse, whose erotic, gynocentric subject matter and use of language sets her work apart from that of her peers (for discussion of her work more broadly, see Lardinois (Chapter 18) in this volume). Among lyric poems, both Sappho's and her male contemporaries', her prayer to Aphrodite for divine epiphany is the most richly textured in terms of spatiality. Its mesmeric vividness strongly invites the audience to enter its tantalizing space: δεῦρύ μ' ἐκ Κρήτας ἐπ[ἱ τόνδ]ε ναῦον 1a ἄγνον, ὄππ[αι τοι] χάριεν μὲν ἄλσος μαλί[αν], βῶμοι δ' ἔ⟨ν⟩ι θυμιάμε-1 This is particularly true of Sappho, in whose case most interpretation of her work has been biographically focused since antiquity (Parker 1993: 336). I wish to thank Laura Swift, Tyson Sukava, and Donald Dunham at the outset for their insightful comments.

Im Zentrum des Buches steht die textnahe Interpretation dreier Gedichte aus verschiedenen Schaffensphasen Eduard Mörikes: Sehnsucht, Bildniß der Geliebten und Erinna an Sappho. Dabei spielen die bislang übersehene Adaptationen antik-heidnischer und biblischer Texte eine besondere Rolle. Aber auch hinsichtlich der Einbettung in Mörikes Biographie und des Verhältnises zu seiner Tätigkeit als Lehrer und als Übersetzer antiker Poesie werden neue Resultate vorgetragen.

«Mercedes Matamoros: una lectura de Safo en La Habana de 1900», AURORA LUQUE, en Literatura Hispanoamericana del siglo XX: mímesis e iconografía, Guadalupe Fernández Ariza (coord.), col. Thema, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga 2003 ISBN 84-7496-993-X

Resumo: O artigo estuda a coralidade da poesia mélica (ou lírica) de Safo (Lesbos, c. 630-580 a.C.), na Grécia arcaica (c. 800-480 a.C.), e sua relação com o universo das parthénoi-as virgens ou moças ainda não casadas-, um dos elementos mais característicos e nítidos em seu corpus de fragmentos preservados. Para tanto, parte de um dos mais recentes, a "Canção sobre a velhice", publicada em 2005, que provocou a rediscussão da dimensão coral das canções de Safo, e da natureza do grupo feminino de parthénoi a ela associado. O objetivo é reavaliar a relação entre a poeta e sua comunidade, pensando seu papel como líder das jovens e a função da coralidade na vida das jovens. Palavras-chave: Safo; poesia grega arcaica; mélica; coralidade; virgens.



Abstract: The article studies the chorality of Sappho's (Lesbos, c. 630-580 bc) melic (or lyric) poetry, in archaic Greece (c. 800-480 bc), and its relation to the world of parthénoi-the maidens, the unmarried girls-that is one of the main and most visible elements of her surviving corpus of fragments. In order to do so, it focuses on one of the most recently discovered fragments of Sappho, the "Old age song", published in 2005, for it has provoked a reassessment of the relations between the poet and her community, of her role as leader of the maidens and of the function of chorality in the life of the parthénoi.

Tipo di tesi Tesi di dottorato di ricerca
Autore BENELLI, LUCA
URN etd-12092013-172526
Titolo SAPPHOSTUDIEN ZU AUSGEWÄHLTEN FRAGMENTEN
Settore scientifico disciplinare L-FIL-LET/02
Corso di studi DISCIPLINE UMANISTICHE
Commissione tutor Prof. Hammerstaedt, Jürgen
relatore Prof. Medda, Enrico
Parole chiave
Frammenti
Fragmente / Saffo
Sappho
Data inizio appello 15/01/2014;
Disponibilità completa
Riassunto analitico Commento filologico dettagliato ad una serie di frammenti di Saffo, con nuove proposte testuali.

A partir del corpus textual de la poeta Safo y de sus retraducciones al español y usando el concepto de retraducción en su sentido amplio de «nueva traducción de un texto ya traducido», se exploran en este trabajo las razones no siempre fáciles de dilucidar del hecho de retraducir y otras cuestiones que afectan a las retraducción, como el envejecimiento, la periodicidad, la pertinencia y la interacción de los textos retraducidos tanto con la producción filológica como con el canon literario en cada época.
[Texto publicado en Retraducir: una nueva mirada. La retraducción de textos literarios y audiovisuales, Francisco Ruiz Noguera y Juan Jesús Zaro eds., Miguel Gómez Ediciones, Málaga 2007, ISBN 9788488326713]

H διδακτορική διατριβή με τίτλο «Η Σαπφώ στην Αρχαία ελληνική και την Βυζαντινή Λογοτεχνία» της Μαρίας Γ. Γιαννίκου, με επιβλέποντα τον καθηγητή Ι.Ν. Περυσινάκη, πραγματεύεται την επιβίωση ποιημάτων της Σαπφώς στην αρχαία ελληνική, τη λατινική και την βυζαντινή λογοτεχνία. Βασικοί στόχοι της δ. διατριβής είναι η ανίχνευση και η ερμηνεία της πρόσληψης της Σαπφώς στη μεταγενέστερη λογοτεχνία (η σημασία των ποιημάτων της Σαπφώς και η μετασημασία, μετωνυμία που αποκτούν στο περιβάλλον υποδοχής), και ο εντοπισμός των δυνάμεων-αιτιών που συνετέλεσαν στην επιβίωση της ποίησής της ή στην αποσιώπηση ή παρερμηνεία των ποιημάτων της. Η ερμηνεία των μαρτυριών των σχετικών με τα ποιήματα της Σαπφώς, αλλά και των έργων που διασώζουν τις σχετικές μαρτυρίες, ακολουθεί χρονολογικά τα γραμματειακά είδη. Κάθε έργο στο οποίο εντοπίζεται επίδραση ή απήχηση της Σαπφώς αναλύεται εξαντλητικά, ειδικότερα τα σημεία που απηχούνται, ενώ ταυτόχρονα ερμηνεύεται το σχετικό κάθε φορά απόσπασμα της Σαπφώς. Επίσης ερευνάται διαχρονικά το ίδιο θέμα της Σαπφώς σε μεταγενέστερα έργα, διαφορετικού λογοτεχνικού είδους. Συχνά εντοπίζονται μαρτυρίες που δεν έχουν καταχωρισθεί στις εκδόσεις της Σαπφώς (Γαληνός, Παυσανίας, Ερμείας, Μ. Ψελλός, κ.ά.), ή δεν έχουν χρησιμοποιηθεί στην ερμηνεία της. Το πλήθος των απηχήσεων της Σαπφώς στην Αρχαία, Μέση και Νέα κωμωδία αναδεικνύει ήδη από τον Αριστοφάνη τη σχέση της κωμωδίας με τη λογοτεχνική κριτική της αρχαιότητας για την Σαπφώ. Σημαντικοί σταθμοί πρόσληψης της Σαπφώς είναι τα θέματα της Σαπφ?ς του Αντιφάνη και του Δίφιλου, της Λευκαδίας του Μενάνδρου και της ES του Οβίδιου, που αντανακλούν τις ερμηνευτικές τοποθετήσεις Ελλήνων και Λατίνων ποιητών και συγγραφέων απέναντι στο έργο της. Από την έρευνα προκύπτει, ότι οι αναφορές του Πλάτωνα (Φα?δρος) και του Αριστοτέλη (?ητορικ?) στην Σαπφώ επηρέασαν περισσότερο από οποιαδήποτε άλλη μαρτυρία τους μεταγενέστερους (νεοπλατωνικοί, Περιπατητικοί κ.ά.). Βασικοί παράγοντες για τη συνεχή και αδιάλειπτη μετάδοση της σαπφικής ποίησης υπήρξαν η εγκωμιαστική ποίηση (Ιμέριος, Μ. Ιταλικός, N. Χωνιάτης, Eυστ. Mακρεμβολίτης), και η επιστολική παράδοση (Ιουλιανός, Μ. Ψελλός, Μ. Χωνιάτης, Θ. Υρτακηνός). Οι αναφορές του Μ. Ψελλού και της Ά. Κομνηνής, η οποία φαίνεται ότι γνωρίζει την Σαπφώ από πηγές που είναι σήμερα χαμένες, ακολουθούν υποδείξεις του ρήτ. Μενάνδρου, του Ερμογένη, του Ιουλιανού, του Κλαυδιανού, του Ευστάθιου και του Μ. Ιταλικού. Η ποίηση της Σαπφώς, όπως φαίνεται από την ?λεξιάδα της Άννας Κομνηνής, τους Σχολιαστές της ?ητορικ?ς και τον Μ. Ψελλό, ήταν ευθέως γνωστή τον 12ο αι. μ.Χ. Η Ά. Κομνηνή που βασίζεται στη ?ητορικ? του Αριστοτέλη, προβάλλει την Σαπφώ ως γυναικείο και λογοτεχνικό πρότυπο και μέσω της Σαπφώς διεκδικεί για τον εαυτό της την επιστήμη του γράφειν, όπως έκαναν αργότερα και οι ποιήτριες της Δύσης (16ος αι.).
The Dissertation Sappho in the Ancient Greek and Byzantine Literature, written by Maria G. Giannikou under the supervision of Prof. of Classics I.N. Perysinakis, deals with the perception of the poems of Sappho in the Ancient Greek, Latin and Byzantine Literature. The thesis examines the meaning of Sappho’s poems and the meta-simasia (metonymy) that takes place in the works of later authors. The main aim of this dissertation is tο trace the perception of Sappho’s poems by the later literature and the finding, discovery and localization of the powers that contribute to the survival of her poetry. The interpretation of the poems of Sappho follows chronologically the several kinds of literature. Sappho’s verses are interpreted in any given work in comparison with the works of other authors, where the same theme is located. The objectives of the dissertation are to highlight the most significant ways of perception of Sappho by other scholars, and also to answer questions, such as why a large number of texts (as Galen, Pausanias, Claudian, Hermeias, M. Psellos, etc.) is not recorded in the editions of Sappho’s work, and why a large number of sources focused on the issue of her morality. The hints, echoes, allusions to Sappho, (for example of frr. 1, 44, 94), in the comedies of Aristophanes contribute to the building of the scenes and of the comic characters. Of great importance for the perception of Sappho’s poetry is Antiphanes’ and Diphilus’ Sappho, Menander’s Leucadia and Ovid’s ES. The themes of Sappho, that these poets prefer to project, influence the later literature criticism (Peripatetics etc.). The references of Plato in the Phaedrus and Aristotle in the Rhetoric, together with the literal criticism of Chamaeleon, Hermisianax, Clearchus, Dionysius Hall., Longinus, Demetrius, influenced the references of Hermogenes, Syrianus, Himerius, Anna Komnena, Commentators on the Rhetoric, etc. Our research showed that in addition to the followers of Plato and Aristotle, key factors for the continuous and uninterrupted transmission of the poetry of Sappho were the laudatory poetry (Himerios, M. Italicus, N. Choniates, Eust. Makrembolites), and the epistolary tradition (Julian imperor, M. Psellos, M. Choniates, Th. Hyrtakenos). The references to Sappho and the allusions to her verses in the works of M. Psellos and Anna Komnena, prove the great importance of literary tradition for the survival of her poetry. The poetry of Sappho until the 12th c. was still directly known in Byzantium, as was proved by Anna Komnene, who in her Alexias, based on Aristotle’s Rhetoric, projects Sappho as a woman and literary standard, answering the accusations of Martial. Komnena was the first woman in Europe who claims through Sappho, her own art of writing, as did the women poets of the West (16th c.), who were based on Sappho’s own writing, and not on Ovid’s Sappho to be established in the male-dominated literary status in Europe.

The article offers a new interpretation of the famous poetic dialogue of Alcaeus and Sappho from Aristotle's Rhetoric (Rhet. 1367а, 7–15 Bekker). Both ancient poets (ἀρχαίοι) are represented here as participants in a kind of song-dialogue, which in ancient Greeks is also called the "echoing song" (cf. Pind. Fr. 125, 3 Maehler). As most researchers rightly believe, the resulted poetic dialogue was deduced by Aristotle as an "example" (παράδειγμα, cf. Arist. Rhet., p. 1357b, 26 Bekker). The rhetorical "example" is considered by Aristotle primarily as a valid and authoritative "better known case" (γνωριμώτερον). This "case" is designed to clarify for the reader or listener certain close to it and very real things or situations that are "less known", and which we can only guess on the basis of the example given with Aeolian poets (Arist. Rhet., P. 1367a, 8-15, compare Rhet., P. 1357a-c). Thus, it is important to establish the exact realities with which the resulting poetic dialogue of the two Aeolian singers is related. And another poem of Alcaeus (this poem is preserved by Hephaestion, an Alexandrian grammarian), similar in poetic size, is also correctly associated with the Aristotelian poetic dialogue of Alcaeus and Sappho. Here Alcaeus is similarly referring to Sappho with the song of conversion, and even, perhaps, calls her by name (Heph. Ench. 14.4, p. 45 Consbruch = Alc. Fr. 384 Campbell). Thus, both Aristotle and Hephaestion, independently of one another, knew certain dialogical songs of Sappho and Alcaeus, in which both poets entered into a living dialogue with each other. Philologists of classics traditionally consider Aristotle's censured replicas of both Aeolian poets as a whole authentic, and  are including them in scientific editions of poetic fragments of Aeolian lyrics (Mandilaras, 1997: 132; Campbell, 1990: 152; Nicosia, 1977: 33; Lobel-Page, 1953: 94). Aristotle himself clearly connects the songs of Sappho with the religious rite (Athen. XV p. 674 Kaibel). The article proves that the dialogical songs in which Sappho "shies" (ἐλέγχει) Gorgo and Andromeda, is the closest parallel to Aristotle's poetic dialogue between Sappho and Alcaeus (cf. Sapph. Fr. 70, 10; Sapph. Fr. 68(a), 8; Sapph. Fr. 71, 3; Sapph. Fr. 145; Sapph. Fr. 178; Sapph. Fr. 133(a); Sapph. Fr. 99(a-b) Campbell). The well-known story of Maximus Tyrius, according to which Sappho ridiculed her "rivals in the love of art" (ἀντίτεχνοι) Andromeda and Gorgos, must necessarily refer to the obscene songs of the ritual chorus (Max Tyr., 18. 9 (p. 230s., Hobein). The article proves that the poetic dialogue of Alcaeus and Sappho was most likely included in the text of "Rhetoric" in the mid-340s. BC., when Aristotle and his young wife Pythias were living in Mytilene. A comparative analysis of Aristotle's text (Arist.Rhet., p. 1398b Bekker) and other ancient texts shows: Aristotelian verb τετιμήκασι means that Sappho songs were performed during religious festivals in Mytilene at the time of Aristotle. Aristotle and his young wife could hear these choral Sapphic songs, which are sounded at the festivities in honor of Artemis. We propose that the dialogical songs of Sappho were associated with the mysteries of Artemis in Mytilene (Myakin, 2016). These mysteries were of an erotic nature and prepared the bride for marriage.

This paper, appearing in the Festschrift for Professor Franco Montanari (Finglass, P., Rengakos, A. and Zimmerman, B. (eds.), More than Homer Knew – Studies on Homer and his Ancient Commentators in honour of Franco Montanari, de Gruyter, Berlin 2020: 269–92), discusses the state allusion and intertextuality in Archaic poetry, examining the reception of epic poetry in Sappho. Against the communis opinio, the article suggests there is no good case of direct interaction between Sappho and Homer, and suggests an alternative model of intertextual resonance for a world without written texts.

TIMOTHEY MYAKIN

ABOUT THE LESBIAN POETS, ABOUT HERMES, THE GOD OF FERTILITY, AND ABOUT THE MYSTERIES OF ARTEMIS IN ANCIENT MYTILENE

This article completes the study of the erotic pre-wedding ritual of the mysteries of Artemis in ancient Mytilene and for the first time in history of classical philology reconstructs a ritual in which many of Sappho's songs could sound really (for example,  Sapph.fr. 1, 2, 31 Voigt). The inscriptions of the ancient Mytilene show that the mysteries of Artemis were of ancient origin, and retained great importance for the citizens of Mytilene both in the Hellenistic and in the archaic epoch. According to these inscriptions, during the mysteries, those who passed them completely transferred themselves to the power of the goddess (eltheto pros tan/ … Artemin ypo: SEG, 2006, № 881, 2–5). The verb elthein used here in conjunction with the preposition pros has such meaning only in inscriptions associated with mystery cults, as well as in epitaphs (IG II(2), № 3661, 4; Les Graffites d'Abydos, № 439; Griechische Vers-Inschriften, № 864, 1-3 etc.). One could think of human sacrifice, however, as indicated by the same inscriptions, before us are the mysteries of the goddess of fertility. The main role in them was played by a priestess "carrier of dew" (er(s)oforon t(o)n agiotaton my(s)tarion, IG XII (2) № 255, 4). According to the lesbian historian Scamon, the goddesses of this dew in Lesbos were considered the daughters of the mythical hunter Acteon, who was turned into a deer by the goddess Artemis and became her companion (cf. Suda:  f 787, l 568 A). As the inscriptions indicate, Artemis was revered in ancient Lesbos not only as a goddess of hunting, but also as a goddess-assistant in childbirth and in the course of her mysteries, she was called the goddess-stifler (mysterio Pnistias: IG XII (2) № 484, 11 ss). Cf. IG XII (2), № 136, 4-7; IG XII (2), № 255, 4). Artemis, along with Apollo, was also honored as a teacher-goddess, whose patronage was entrusted to children (IG XII (2) № 92, №  93). Comparative analysis  of epigraphic, literary and new archaelogical data shows that the girls of Sapphic thiasos  during the erotic prewedding ritual of mysteries of Artemis to have sacrificed their virginity to the goddess of Artemis (cf. Sapph. Fr. 99 (a-b) Campbell; SEG XX, № 717, 84-97; Ps-Aesch. 10 etc.). Lesbian poets (Sappho or Alcaeus) hint at this erotic ritual in the famous “hymn to Artemis”, where the god Eros is drawn as walking on the ground and “bending” to a girl, which he wants to master (Alc. Fr. 304, 5-10 L.-P. ; Sapph. Fr. 44a, 9 ss. Campbell). The priestesses of Artemis performing this defloration during the ritual were called “lombai” or “Hermai” (faletes: Hesych. L 1257 L. cf. Suda f 50 A.). In a poorly preserved fragment 99 A-B (Campbell) , Sappho, calling on Apollo to “glorify his sister,” speaks of the daughters of Polyanaktide as “adopters of the artificial phallus” (olisbodokois, Sapph. Fr. 99 Campbell, col. I 2-5).  In this case, the older girls of Sapphic thiasos in the course of these mysteries of Artemis seem to have acted as these “lombai’’, i.e. as Hermes, the phallic deity of fertility (cf. Sapph. Fr. 141, Fr. 150 V; cf. Hermes as «mousopolos» in TAM III/1 35, A1). A famous coin minted in Eres, the native city of Sappho in 3 c. BC e., argues in favor of the correctness of our hypothesis. On one side of this coin is Sappho, who holds an artificial phallus in her hands ((inscription on the coin: SAFFO (in Greek)), on the other side of the coin - the god Hermes (Papadzoglou 2013, 67). New archaelogical discoveries, made in Klopedi (North Lesbos), also testify in favor of this hypothesis. This article, which is written in Latin, I dedicate to the bright memory of Ivan Lunyak, an outstanding Russian philologist and Latinist, who has initiated the scientific study of Sappho's poetry in Russia exactly 130 years ago  with his remarkable Latin book "Quaestiones Sapphicae" (Iohannes Luniak. Quaestiones Sapphicae. Kazaniae, 1888).

Paper argues that  some of the names of Sappho's characters fit their poetic contexts too well to be coincidental. The names seem to modify the content of the poems, and were either chosen to fit a poetic context, or the story lines of the poems were selected on the basis of names which may have referred to people in Sappho's life history.

Σχολική Σύμβουλος Φιλολόγων ΠΑΙΔΑΓΩΓΙΚΗ ΕΤΑΙΡΙΑ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ (ΔΙΑΛΕΞΗ) Η εισήγηση οριοθετεί ως αφετηρία δύο αποσπάσματα του κωμικού Επικράτη για να αναδείξει το ρόλο του Αμβρακιώτη ποιητή της Μέσης κωμωδίας (4 ος αι. π.Χ.), στην καταγραφή της θεσμοποίησης της παιδαγωγικής επιστήμης στην Ακαδημία του Πλάτωνα, ένα από το πιο αξιομνημόνευτα γεγονότα στην ιστορία της δυτικοευρωπαϊκής επιστήμης και εκπαίδευσης. Στο απ. 4 από την κωμωδία Ἀντιλαΐδα ο Επικράτης σατιρίζει τα ἐρωτικὰ ως θεματική του Φαίδρου υποδεικνύοντας παράλληλα και τις επιδράσεις που δέχτηκε ο Πλάτωνας, ενώ στο απ. 11, «μια αξιοπρόσεκτη μαρτυρία για τη διδακτική πράξη στην Ακαδημία» (Lesky,1985 5 : 871) παρουσιάζει τον Πλάτωνα ως οργανωτή μαθήματος και καθοδηγητή μιας λαμπρής ομάδας επιστημόνων (απ. 11). Πρόκειται για την παλαιότερη πηγή που διαθέτουμε για την επιστημονική κοινότητα του Πλάτωνα και την Ακαδημία, το πρώτο Ευρωπαϊκό σχολείο προαγωγής της επιστημονικής μελέτης (Taylor, 1992 2 : 23, 25, 548,

Fr. 15, 7. Voigt, nella sua edizione critica del 1971, stampava il seguente testo (i simboli metricoprosodici sono una mia aggiunta): [ ] τ̣ ύχαι λίμ̣ ε̣ νοϲ κλ[ ⁞ ] Obbink integra ϲὺν κάλαι] τύχαι. Cfr. al riguardo Fr. 20, 4 V. τ]ύχαι ϲὺν ἔϲλαι. Mi sembra sia una ottima ricostruzione. Per la parte finale del verso propongo di integrare κλ[ύτω o κλ[ύτοιο. La desinenza -οιο è attestata con sicurezza in Saffo ed in Alcaeo: Sapph. Fr. 44, 16 V.; Alc. Fr. 367, 1 V. Per λίμ̣ ε̣ νοϲ κλ[ύτω o κλ[ύτοιο si cfr. Od. X 87 ἐϲ λιμένα κλυτὸν, XV 472 ἐϲ λιμένα κλυτὸν ed Ap. Rhod. IV 661 λιμένα κλυτόν. Avremmo, così, restituito un verso di Saffo completo o quasi completo.

Τα επιθαλάμια της Σαπφούς αποτελούν, παρά την αποσπασματικότητά τους, ίσως το πιο ολοκληρωμένο παράδειγμα σωζόμενων γαμήλιων ασμάτων από τον αρχαίο κόσμο. Στο κέντρο της εν δυνάμει «εξιστόρησης» των γαμήλιων στιγμιοτύπων από την ποιήτρια-«χορηγό» δεσπόζει το δίπολο «νύμφα» και «γάμβρος», δοσμένο μέσα από το πρίσμα μιας ειρηνικής και συγκαταβατικής ετερότητας. Μιας ετερότητας με αλληλοσυμπληρούμενα και όχι αντιμαχόμενα επιμέρους στοιχεία. Με λίγα λόγια, τα επιθαλάμια μπορούν να θεωρηθούν ως μια τρόπον τινά «ωδή στην ετερότητα», έννοια που τόσο αρμονικά, συνοπτικά μεν αλλά και καθαρά εσωκλείουν στη θεματική τους, ένας «αίνος» στο ζευγάρι για τα φυσικά του χαρίσματα, τις αρετές και τα ανδραγαθήματά του.
Η παρούσα εισήγηση στοχεύει αρχικά στην ιχνηλάτηση της ιδιόμορφης επιθαλάμιας τυπολογίας σε παπυρικά αποσπάσματα που περιλαμβάνουν σκιαγραφήσεις του ζευγαριού και το κατατάσσουν νοερά στη δεσπόζουσα θέση του γαμήλιου «αξιακού συστήματος». Δευτερευόντως στοχεύει στη μακροσκοπική εξέταση και ανάλυση των ανιχνευθέντων στοιχείων με ιδιαίτερη έμφαση στις εικόνες και τις παρομοιώσεις. Με τον τρόπο αυτό μπορεί να διαπιστωθεί κατά πόσο η γλώσσα εικονοποιεί και αποτυπώνει ιδανικά από τη μια τη γυναικεία θηλυκότητα και από την άλλη την αρρενωπότητα του γαμπρού, και συνακόλουθα να εξακριβωθεί ο τρόπος με τον οποίο επιτυγχάνεται η προβολή της διαφορετικότητας των δύο φύλων μέσα από τις παρομοιώσεις. Επιπλέον, η εισήγηση στοχεύει στην εξέταση των νοερών ή φαντασιακών απεικονίσεων στα ποιήματα, προκειμένου να διαπιστωθεί κατά πόσο η εξίσωση του ζευγαριού με προκαθορισμένα τυπολογικά μοτίβα (η νύφη
παρομοιάζεται συχνά με μήλο ή λουλούδι, ο γαμπρός με δέντρο κ.α.) επηρεάζει την εικόνα του αναγνώστη για το θηλυκό και το αρσενικό. Τέλος, θα εξεταστεί κατά πόσο οι εικόνες που προκύπτουν αλληλοσυμπληρώνονται ή αντικρούονται σε σχέση με τα επικρατούντα πρότυπα της εποχής που γράφθηκαν τα ποιήματα. Για το σκοπό αυτό σκόπιμη θεωρείται η παράθεση σχετικών αποσπασμάτων, π. χ. Sapph. fr. 44 V. κ.α..


Forms and Visualization of the “Other” in Sappho’s Wedding Songs: The “Heteron” (ἕτερον) as Seen Through the Binary “Nympha” (νύμφα) and “Gambros” (γάμβρος).

Abstract:
Sappho’s wedding songs, in spite of being fragmentary, constitute the most typical example of surviving epithalamia from the ancient world. A dominant element in the nuptial “narration” of the poetess/chorus leader is the binary “nympha” and “gambros”, two different forms of the “other” delivered to the hearer/reader from a “conciliatory” and “acquiescent” point of view. In other words, in Sappho’s epithalamia the elements of otherness are not in conflict but co-exist harmoniously rendering her wedding songs an “ode” to the above-mentioned notion. The wedding songs talk about the “other” concisely, yet frankly and clearly, working in addition as a praise (“ainos”) of the couple for their qualities, virtues and skills.
The main goals of the present paper can be briefly summarized as following: Firstly, there will be an attempt to trace the peculiar formulas of epithalamia in the surviving fragments containing descriptions of the wedding couple which place them at the top rank of the conjugal system of values. Another aim of the paper is to macroscopically examine and analyze the existing formulas focusing specifically on the images and comparisons concerning the couple. I will ascertain whether the language can adequately illustrate and render the bride’s femininity on the one hand and the groom’s masculinity on the other, and will consequently verify the way in which the diversities between “masculine” and “feminine” are displayed through the existing comparisons. Furthermore, one of the main goals of the paper is to examine the visualization in the existing fragments in order to be verified whether the equation of the wedding couple with predefined typological patterns affects the hearer’s/reader’s point of view for the “male“ and the “female”(the bride is often equated to an apple or a flower and the groom to a
tree). In conclusion, it will be inquired whether such images complement or contradict the prevalent archetypes of the time in which the examined epithalamia were composed. For this reason, it will be appropriate to include in the analysis some other relevant passages from Sappho’s poetry, e.g. Sapph. fr. 44 V. etc.

Le lyrisme cosmique de Penna rejoint la grande poésie antique, grecque mais aussi latine, tout en  s’inscrivant  dans  une  ligne  de  développement  de  la  poésie  italienne  qui  va  de  Leopardi  à Pascoli, jusqu’à Ungaretti et Quasimodo. Sa poésie refuse, tout comme les lyriques  grecs, la parole  grandiloquente  et  rhétorique :  le  vers  exprime,  à  travers  le chant,  les  mouvements  du cœur, les errances, la solitude, la joie et le désespoir. Souvent suspendu entre des sentiments antinomiques, le sujet lyrique de Penna construit à chaque instant son équilibre précaire, et il célèbre à chaque instant sa naissance au monde.

Call for editors, Companion to the Reception of Sappho
Please email me at: [email protected]

Series Editor: Kyriakos N. Demetriou
Volumes in the series deal with subjects pertaining to the broad field of Classical reception including, but not limited to reception of art, literature, architecture, history, religion, political thought, and intellectual thought (including volumes on influential Classical scholars and the history of classical scholarship) in later centuries and in various scholarly disciplines. The Series will show a systematic coverage of subjects. Written by the foremost specialists in the respective fields, they aim to provide full-balanced accounts at an advanced level, as well as synthesis of debate and the state of scholarship.
All Companions are peer-reviewed.

L’epiteto di ‘decima Musa’, com’è noto, venne conferito a Saffo dagli antichi stessi, a tal punto preda dell’incanto soffuso nei suoi versi da ricondurli a un’origine divina, olimpia. La decima Musa ebbe tuttavia un differente destino, rispetto alle sue nove ‘sorelle’: divenne infatti fonte di ispirazioni innumerevoli non solo in virtù della facoltà poetica, ma anche grazie alla sua persona (o meglio, personaggio), che fu ri-creato – spesso in chiave leggendaria – dagli autori che a lei si volsero. Seguire nel tempo le orme di una Musa è impresa sempre ardua; particolarmente ardua, nel caso in cui la Musa risorga di continuo, non esclusivamente come spirito e afflato di bellezza, ma, si è detto, anche e soprattutto in qualità di personaggio.
I testi riuniti nel presente volume, che risalgono tutti ai decenni fra Settecento e Ottocento, offrono una testimonianza (senza pretese di esaustività, ma rappresentativa della coeva scena letteraria italiana) delle continue rinascite del personaggio-Saffo. Lo studio e la cura di tali opere costituiscono un attraversamento di generi letterari molteplici e compositi: dalle traduzioni ai liberi rifacimenti delle liriche attribuite a Saffo sino alle biografie, dal teatro tragico al ballo mitologico (con varie ibridazioni e contaminazioni) è la storia di un’intera stagione di cultura a dispiegarsi, sul filo di un unico motivo conduttore, sotto gli occhi di chi legge, specialista o appassionato che sia, a conferma della vitalità inesauribile di Saffo quale sorgente non solo di racconto, ma anche di nuove idee sulla poesia, di nuovi modi di fare poesia.

The paper is concerned with the meaning and translation of the adjective ποικιλόθρονος used by Sappho as an epithet of the Greek goddess of love in the so-called Ode to Aphrodite. Classical scholars interpret this compound epithet in different ways. The majority of scholars are inclined to understand the second part as the stem θρον- which means ‘throne’. However, as it was proposed by G. Wustmann, this part of the word could be thought to have been derived from θρόνα and thus to be translated as ‘embroidered flowers’. In this paper, I am trying to show that the once suggested reference to embroidered flowers and further to Aphrodite’s charms is more pertinent to the meaning of the ode than a throne.

“Ancient Greek Poetesses: Sappho, Corinna, Praxilla, Myrtis, Telesilla” [«Αρχαίες Ελληνίδες ποιήτριες: Σαπφώ, Κόριννα, Πράξιλλα, Μύρτιδα, Τελέσιλλα»]. Supervisor: Andreas Voscos. Undergraduate Essay, University of Athens, 1992 (in Modern Greek). Translation and commentary of various poems.

RÉSUMÉ
Consacrée aux déplacements spatiaux d'un couple lesbien, l’œuvre hybride Dons des féminines – créée par la collagiste et écrivaine surréaliste Valentine Penrose – est composée de collages et de poèmes en langues française et anglaise12. « Maria Élona y Rubia3 », comme l'intertitre l'indique dans une police grasse et bouclée au début du livre, fuient la norme hétérosexuelle grâce à un voyage vers des endroits exotiques. Ces derniers sont souvent représentés comme périlleux : du sommet d’une montagne vertigineuse à une jungle touffue, en passant par les bords de mer, un champ de bataille, un hall de danse espagnol et même le ciel vers lequel elles volent dans une montgolfière, les deux aventurières se perdent dans des paysages lointains afin de vivre pleinement le lesbianisme. De ce fait, l’exotisme des poèmes et des collages constitue bien plus qu’un choix esthétique de l’écrivaine-collagiste : le régime symbolique des espaces hors de portée sert à affranchir les héroïnes des contraintes liées au modèle de la femme hétéronormative. Ce concept d’une altérité double (spatiale et identitaire) s’exprime d'abord par la fugue de la protagoniste. Au début du livre, Rubia se soustrait à un mariage avec l’antagoniste masculin de l’histoire, « Cock Norah » qui, comme on le lit dans un poème du livre, « en duel sinistre gagna / La main de Rubia [mais] pas son cœur » (Penrose 1951, n. p.).
Pour démontrer que le lesbianisme – un thème de la plus haute importance chez Penrose – est étroitement lié à la fuite du couple vers Mytilène, le présent article mettra en évidence trois « topographies de l’exotisme », c’est-à-dire trois techniques thématiques liées à la représentation de Lesbos, un espace qui est certes réel, mais aussi symbolique dans la mesure où il se rattache à l’imaginaire saphique. Pour faire apparaître l’exotisme mytilénien, trois pistes d’analyse seront abordées; elles sont rattachées respectivement à la représentation sublime et sentimentale du lieu, à l’esthétique d’abondance qui accompagne les éléments orientaux et même bibliques du livre et, enfin, à l’idée du paradis terrestre teinté de vice.

Lire l'article: http://revuepostures.com/sites/postures.aegir.nt2.uqam.ca/files/kearney_31_0.pdf

Résumé: Nous exposerons, dans cet article, un résumé critique des desseins qu'ont poussé des nombreux chercheurs et chercheuses, travaillant en différents contextes historiques, à défendre, ou pas, des interprétations qui permettent comprendre les fragments poétiques attribués à la poétesse Sappho de Lesbos (VII-VI av. J.-C.) en tant que supports énonciatifs d'une expression homoérotique au féminin. Après cette première partie il s'agit de présenter le texte du fragment 94 de Sappho, suivi d'un commentaire dont le but est de soutenir sa lecture en tant que énoncé véhiculeur d'une franche expression homoérotique féminine.
Resumo: Este artigo tem como objetivo fazer um breve resumo crítico de como e porque diferentes estudiosos e estudiosas, em distintos momentos históricos, sustentam suas posturas críticas no sentido de legitimar ou não a possibilidade de uma leitura de alguns fragmentos poéticos de Safo de Lesbos (VII-VI a.C.) como suportes enunciadores de um homoerotismo feminino. Feito isto, apresentamos e analisamos brevemente o fragmento sáfico de número 94, apresentando argumentos favoráveis à leitura do mesmo como lugar de aberta enunciação homoerótica feminina.
Palavras-Chave: Safo de Lesbos, Crítica e interpretação, Homoerotismo.

Gaspara Stampa (1523-1554), belle Padouane, acquit sa renommée au moins autant du commerce de l'esprit que du don supposé de ses charmes. Ses «Rimes», publiées après sa mort précoce, atteignent une réelle intensité dans l'expression de la passion, libérée de la pudeur, mais nullement de la souffrance, par l'impatience de la vie.

The study of Sappho’s work is inextricably bound to that of Sappho’s ancient and modern reception. The very way the texts of her songs have reached us is through acts of reception—by ancient scholars organizing her work according to their own categories, ancient authors selectively quoting or parodying her for their own purposes, medieval copyists selectively preserving ancient materials, or by modern papyrologists and philologists piecing together scraps of papyrus, tentatively filling in gaps with their own interpolations. And, in antiquity as well as in modernity, scholarly or critical assessments of Sappho have never been separate from received or acquired prejudices or preconceptions about her life, her circle, her style, or her dialect, as well as from normative ideas about (lyric) poetry or about gender and sexuality.
At the same time, Sappho has been claimed by the wider public for reasons unrelated to classical scholarship. Such engagement with her putative lesbian identity, poetic prowess, and feminist promise has offered new insights into our understanding of her poetry and its continued relevance, and new avenues for studying her reception.
Our volume is the first to put reception front and center in the study of Sappho, and to examine in full and at length the fluid and dynamic ways in which the signifier “Sappho” has been actively and often reciprocally constructed by scholars, teachers, artists, and laypeople alike, across fields, and from antiquity through the medieval and early modern periods to the present day. The scope of this volume is not only to continue the existing dialogue on Sappho, but also to reflect on what reception is and what the emerging trends are in the reception of ancient literature. Furthermore, we aim to bring in new and surprising intertexts and comparanda for Sappho (for example, ancient and modern medical treatises, early photography, or contemporary popular music), while also examining Sappho’s presence in underexplored media, from ancient scholia to early modern handwritten annotations and to the internet.