Hymn to Aphrodite
Iridescent-throned Aphrodite,
deathless
Child of Zeus, wile-weaver,
I now implore you,
Don't--I beg you, Lady--with
pains and torments
Crush down my spirit,
But before if ever you've
heard my pleadings
Then return, as once
when you left your father's
Golden house; you yoked
to your shining car your
Wing-whirring sparrows;
Skimming down the paths
of the sky's bright ether
On they brought you over
the earth's black bosom,
Swiftly--then you stood
with a sudden brilliance,
Goddess, before me;
Deathless face alight
with your smile, you asked me
What I suffered, who
was my cause of anguish,
What would ease the pain
of my frantic mind, and
Why had I called you
To my side: "And whom
should Persuasion summon
Here, to soothe the sting
of your passion this time?
Who is now abusing you,
Sappho? Who is
Treating you cruelly?
Now she runs away, but
she'll soon pursue you;
Gifts she now rejects--soon
enough she'll give them;
Now she doesn't love
you, but soon her heart will
Burn, though unwilling."
Come to me once more,
and abate my torment;
Take the bitter care
from my mind, and give me
All I long for; Lady,
in all my battles
Fight as my comrade.
-Sappho
