OCR A-Level Classics; Sappho's Poetry (Love and Relationships)

Who was Sappho? (5)

- Lived in Mytilene, Lesbos around 630BC

- Exiled to Sicily in 6th Century after Lesbos changed gov

- Praised by many male writers at time; "10th Muse" by Plato, increasing her popularity and proving how exceptional her works were

- Some believe those in poems were girls she would mentor, w/ sex as part of mentoring or were her companions as head of the religious Thiasos group

- One source claims she was married, but translates name to "Mr Penis from Man Island"

Why is there so few of Sappho's works left? (4)

- Wrote and composed in Aeolic Greek, a niche language; wasn't copied by time of Roman Republic as couldn't understand it anymore

- Lots of work on papyri; not long lasting, and many works burnt in fire at library of Alexandria

- Rumoured that the Pope burnt lots as subject of her work no longer seen as respectable by Catholics

- 5th Century; After her death she began to be seen as harmful influence on women so was silenced; explains Ovid's claim that she killed herself over a man, as wanted to remove idea that women could be independent from men

Purpose and intended audience? (5)

- Personal poems about love, hymns for Gods and wedding songs

- Recited at male/female sympisas to entertain

- Accompanied by lyre often

- Choral public performances, not monodies

- NOT AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL

Aphrodite, Goddess of the Embroidered Throne; Context Notes (3)

- Topos = re-occurring theme in literature, and in this case it is hymns to Goddesses

- She refers to herself a lot in her poems BUT this isn't autobiographical as may not be her own opinions

- Blondell (Scholar); thinks poem shouldn't be taken seriously as parody of Diomedes to Athena in the Iliad. Both are commanding the Goddess, despite having diff aims

Aphrodite, Goddess of the Embroidered Throne; Homeric Themes (3)

"- Aphrodite, goddess of the embroided throne, Daughter of Zeus, weaver of wiles, Queen I beg you"; Invocation of Aphrodite using epithet, as Homer did

- "Leaving your father's golden chambers, yoking your chariot: swift, beautiful sparrows, their close-packed wings whirling across the dark earth"; Homeric description of God leaving Olympus, via use of adjectives

- Poem is Aphrodite interfering in love, like when she got Helen to return to Paris and make Dido fall in love

Aphrodite, Goddess of the Embroidered Throne; Examples of Sappho being friendly with Aphrodite (3)

- "Smiling all over your immortal face"

- "This time?" implies they've had this conversation before = she falls in love easily, and also makes it seem like she is A's favourite (Repeated throughout poem)

- "Come", "Release", "Accomplish", "Be"; all imperatives as she's ordering her... Sappho doesn't seem to care if its against her will as she wants her to do it

Aphrodite, Goddess of the Embroidered Throne; Key features of Aphrodite's own speech (2)

- "soon she will pursue", "soon she will be giving them", "she will love you soon" - rule of three's couplets proving what will happen

- "even if she does not want to"; more sinister side of Aphrodite

Aphrodite, Goddess of the Embroidered Throne; Main message?

The power of heartbreak and how it causes irrationality; the two are very familiar with one another

The Most Beautiful Sight in the Whole World; Context notes (3)

- Don't know who Anectoria is; pupil, lover? Has she had to get married, or is she simply someone that Sappho has longed for from afar? This is the negative side of love; can be one-sided and also lead to abandonment of duties

- Main themes; Homeric, Effects of love and desire

The Most Beautiful Sight in the Whole World; Homeric References

Helen abandoning her husband; in Illiad Book 3 she expresses regret to Priam of abandoning her family for Paris; is Sappho projecting her resentment of Anectoria onto Helen?

The Most Beautiful Sight in the Whole World; Examples of emphasising how beautiful Anectoria is (2)

- "According to some, a group of cavalry, others say infantry. And still others a fleet of ships. I think it is the one you love"; Anactoria is as beautiful as the most beautiful things in the world, as shown through this Priamel (list of metaphorical comparisons before revealing subject)

- "I would rather see her lovely walk, and her gleaming face, than look at all the chariots of the Lydians and the foot soldiers with their weapon"; Now she's abandoned her all she can do is look at her. References the Lydians, who were rich with beautiful chariots, yet she'd still rather watch A do simple things = nothing compares to the one you love

Come, Queen Hera; Context notes (2)

- Charaxas, Sappho's brother, was a naval merchant; is the poem a prayer for his safe return?

- "Until they called on you Hera, and on Zeus the defender, and on Dionysus"; Reference to the sanctuary they are all in in Lesbos

- Main themes; Homeric, Society

Come, Queen Hera; Homeric References

"The sons of Atreus, those famous King, Also prayed to you" - Agamemnon and Menelaus prayed to her on way back from Troy; is Sappho praying for Charaxos, her own brother?

Come, Queen Hera; Significance of use of Imperatives throughout poem (2)

"Come, Queen Hera, let your charming form appear. Come beside me!", "Come then Goddess, and help me as you helped in the past". Use of instructions proves Sappho's passion

He is as Blessed as a God; Context Notes

Poem was imitated by the Roman poet Catullus, but changes the narrative as written from the perspective of a man instead of a woman

He is as Blessed as a God; Significance of Gods?

"He seems to me equal to a God" - Gods always get what they want. Typical wedding songs would praise bride/groom, and this is so complementary of them both at first that readers may think this is a wedding song but turns dark

He is as Blessed as a God; References to jealousy (2)

- "Delicate fire runs beneath my skin", use of oxymoron of desire may be seem as a reference to an orgasm? However, in 70s Devereux believed this was an anxiety attack, as the concept of 'Inversion' suggests Sappho wasn't gay, she simply had penis envy and wants to be him as she had a straight man living inside her

- "I am greener than grass"; feels sick?

Around the Beautiful Moon; Key Message

Sappho thinks no-one can compete w/ beauty of her lover

Love shook my soul; Key Message

"Like a wind buffeting oak trees on a mountain" - Oak trees are too strong to move; if love can move this person's soul, it emphasises how strong its force is - its speaks to your soul, not just on surface. "Buffeting" also suggests this is repeated and that she has fallen in love many times

You came, just what I was looking for; Key Message (2)

- Highlights the other more positive side to love, in that it can heal you; it's not just violent and destructive

- "Burning with desire"; Common motif of fire, inferring the physical effects of love are like having flames in you

Honestly, I want to die; Why is it so vague in its descriptions of characters?

So readers can use their own imagination - can apply their own lover to the scenario so the writings are more relatable

Honestly, I want to die; Significance of the other girls' own feelings? (2)

- "Honestly I want to die"; is the other girl saying this?

- "For you know that we both looked after you"; Sappho's use of plural language here may be seen as a reference to Aphrodite (as per prev poems) or the girl's future husband

Honestly, I want to die; References to the girls beauty? (2)

"Remember all the wreaths...violets, roses, crocuses... intricate garlands made from flowers"

- Flowers = Symbol of both love and innocence, used in religious festivals

- Nymph imagery; emphasises her beauty and infers she may be leaving for her own marriage

Honestly, I want to die; References to the actual relationship between the two women? (2)

- "On a soft bed...you satisfied your desire"; only surviving reference to homosexual sex in Sappho's works

- "There was no...sacred space...from which we stayed away"; Going to have to see each other far less

Love which loosens the limbs; Key Message (2)

- Love can make you lose control; contradicts Plato's argument that love needs to be controlled

- "Once again shakes me!"; Love always affects you, no matter how many times it strikes you

Love which loosens the limbs; Reference the God of Love (2)

"Bittersweet, invincible creature that he is"

- Primordial God; reference to Eros?

- "Invincible" = Cannot be defeated

Atthis, the thought of me; Key Message (3)

- Talks about diff girl who are potentially her students and friends who are also former lovers?

- Outlines physical effect of partner leaving you

- Sappho's anger and resentfulness portrays Attis as disloyal and cowardly

I want to say something; Key Message (2)

- Does this poem follow an argument between Sappho and her lover?

- "I want to say something but a sense of shame holds me back"; scholars hypothesise this is said by Alcaeus, the other famous Lesbos poet who was her suspected lover

Gone are the moon and the Pleiades; Key Message (3)

- References a specific former lover when speaking of the moon, as is a common motif in her writings

- The Pleiades are seven divine sisters who were nymph companions of Artemis who became a star cluster

- Emphasises how love is eternal and in all living things

Come to me, leave Crete behind; Religious Motifs? (2)

- "Come to this holy temple"; S is a religious leader so is conducting a Klekik (calling hymn)

- "Into these golden wine cups Nectar mixed with our festivities"; Sappho wants the divine experience of mingling with Gods

Come to me, leave Crete behind; Theme of Nature? (3)

- "Flourishes with the flowers of spring"; Fertile = everything in abundance

- "cold water sings... trembling leaves"; Personification

- "Sleep flows down"; Peaceful

- Beautiful imagery of Lesbos shows how much they honour A; trying to entice her with idyllic descriptions. Gardens are often erotic settings

Come to me, leave Crete behind; Evidence of her close relationship with Aphrodite?

- "Come and Pour"; Imperative as she has a close relationship with A and expects something in return for the temple

Cyrpis; Context? (2)

- Cypris = Aphrodite

- Doricha was an Egyptian prophet who had a relationship with Charaxos, Sappho's brother; commenting on society in Lesbos and its class system

Cypris; Views on Doricha?

"He returned to his long-lost love"; Wants D to stop boasting about her relationship with C. Is S being snobby as she is from upper class?

I call upon you, Abanthis; Theme of love?

- "Take up your lyre and sing of Gongyla"; Love can be used for higher pleasures rather than sex; should embrace it and put it to good use

- "Once found fault with the way"; Hoping to use her lust for G, one of her lovers, to gain back Aphrodite's favour

- "Her dress aroused you" = Desire

- "My Darling" = Close relationship

You will Remember; Key message? (2)

- "When we were young"; Nostalgia, talking to her young self and looking back at her innocent/young love

- "Many beautiful things"; leaves to readers' own imagination

May the Maidens sing; Theme of Marriage? (3)

- "All night long, may they sing of your delights"; Tradition of bride's friends singing outside marriage chamber while marriage is consummated

- "And of your bride"; Praising the wife in this marriage too

- "Clear-voiced Nightingale"; birds which sing all night like the friends of the bride

May the Maidens sing; Theme of sex and desire?

"Adorned with violets" - Sign of virginity; removed flowers before 'deflowering her'

Who gave their works; Key Message?

Part of a larger poem dedicated to the muses, asking them for further inspiration and thanking them

Around the beautiful moon; Key Message?

"The stars hide away their gleaming brilliance"; Thinks no-one can compete with the beauty of her lover

Embroidered Sandals; Key Message?

She is noticing everything about the girl; perceptive and looking her up and down? Sign of her snobbery? (E.g. "Beautiful Lydian Workmanship" = well known for luxurious and elaborate fashion there)

I used to love you Atthis; Key Message? (2)

- No positive descriptions of atthis but still evidence of love

- Not heartbroken or wallowing; "Clumsy little girl" suggests falling in love with her was a mistake, and perhaps that she was not what she first thought

Atthis, the thought of me; Key Message?

Andromeda and Atthis are her former lovers; she is angry and resentful towards Atthis and portrays her as disloyal/cowardly. She is now "repulsed" by her, expressing the physical effects of a partner leaving you

Handsome man is only good to look at; Key Message?

Should focus on the mind/personality of a partner rather than their looks

I do not know what I am going to do; Key Message?

Love can make you confused ("I am in two minds")

I do not think I can touch the sky with my hands; Key Message?

Things can be unattainable - love?

When you die; Evidence of her hatred/heartbreak?

- "You have no share of the roses from the Pierian muses"; Arguing that she has no divine inspiration so therefore won't be remembered, whereas Sappho does and will be remembered as she has the Muses' backing

- "You will", "No one will ever remember you, and no one will ever long for you"; Repeated phrases to manifest it into existence

What farm girl; Key Message?

"Does she even know how to pull up her ragged dress over her ankles"; Ankles are meant to be attractive, so she is shaming her looks. Shows how Sappho's jealousy is exaggerating her snobbery

Put garlands around your lovely hair, O Dika!; Religious themes? (2)

- Garlands = Preparing for a ritual for Aphrodite

- "Blessed Graces favour the beautifully floral over the ungarlanded"; Different Goddesses favour diff things. Also suggests Aphrodite prefers virgins to those who aren't as it refers to deflowering

Gongyla; How does it reflect the negative side effects of love?

"I take no pleasure from living"; Suggests she has a broken heart and wants to forget about everything and never return ("I long to see the banks of the Acheron")

Often she turned her thoughts here; Theme of nature?

"light spreads over the salty sea and the flowery fields!" Ongoing flower imagery suggests new life/fertility in Libya

Often she turned her thoughts here; Religious themes?

"She honoured you as if you were a goddess"; Love can be intertwined with worship and piety?

My mother said; Evidence of women being rich in her descriptions?

- "Tie her hair up with a purple hairband"

- "Decorated headband from Sardis"; imported goods = rich

Sweet Mother!; What does it suggest a women's role is in society?

"I cannot weave my web"; like a spider, women's only purpose is to weave

Sweet Mother!; Evidence of the power of love? (2)

- "I am smitten by a boy"; Smite also means to hit someone, as she has been hit by the power of love

- "Because of slender Aphrodite"; Referencing heterosexual love and explaining that A was the one to make her fall in love

Hesperus!; Key Message?

Hesperus is the evening star and child of dawn; Could Sappho be referring to her own child, creating a theme of safety/security/support? "You bring back" also suggests she wants things to return to the way they were

I have a beautiful daughter; Key Message?

"I love her more than all of Lydia" - recurring theme that love is better than riches

Wealth without Virtue; Key Message?

"Wealth without virtue can be a harmful neighbour" - love can stop you from becoming corrupt or greedy. However, "a blend of the two is the height of happiness"; Plato's concept that love and desire needs balance

Just like the Sweet Apple!; Theme of desire and sex? (2)

- "Sweet apple reddening at the highest height"; Virginity reference highlights how tempting it can be for men

- "Just couldn't reach"; Not obtainable till it falls

Just like the Hyacinth!; Theme of women?

- "Just like the Hyacinth on a mountain"; something beautiful that is crushed/ruined by men (Virginity reference?)

- "On the ground, a purple flower"; Still beautiful after being ruined but no longer perfect

The doorkeeper; Key Message?

Stops anyone from entering marriage room while marriage is consummated, but gets aroused; "Size twenty-seven feet" is a euphemism for how big his penis now is

Raise the Roof; Theme of desire/sexuality?

- "Like Ares, bigger by far than the biggest man" highlighting his large penis; hyperbole to mock men's physical confidence. Men didn't like this mockery, perhaps explaining why they said her death was suicide because of a man?

- Ares is passionate/impulsive/strong = depiction of hyper masculinity, serving as a threatening image for readers. Emphasises the girls' fear of losing her virginity once married as it is such an intimidating sight for her; is S trying to calm her nerves if this is a wedding song?

Lucky Bridegroom; Evidence of Sappho's jealousy?

- "Worked out well for you"; Beneficial for the groom but not bride?

- "Honey sweet, love is poured over your beautiful face", "Aphrodite has honoured you"; Complimentary of the bride but not groom, emphasising envy

Virginity; Themes of women and society?

- "Virginity, virginity where have you gone?"; Childlike as women/wives are far younger = mourning her original innocence and identity?

- "No more will I come"; Enjambment stops like her childhood abruptly ended and won't return

Come my divine Lyre; Theme of Music and Religion?

"Find your voice!" Personificating lyre to invocate the muses?

If you care about me; Key Message?

Sappho is insecure about her age and "never wants to be the older one in a relationship"; she would rather sacrifice love and happiness than age

Neither the honey; Key Message?

Ancient authors believe it means she isn't willing to take the bad (honey) with the good (bee); therefore in the context of marriage (honey + bees are both associated with Aphrodite), there are benefits but she doesn't want to get married due to its downsides

Now, for my companions; Theme of marriage?

"I will sing these songs beautifully"; Highlights how these are marriage songs that should be put to music, and may be practiced to her lovers or tutees?