Claudette Sherbert LITTLE - The Song of Eros: Ancient Greek Love Poems

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title	:	The Song of Eros : Ancient Greek Love Poems
author	:	Nystrom, Bradley P.
publisher	:	Southern Illinois University Press
isbn10 | asin	:	0809316404
print isbn13	:	9780809316403
ebook isbn13	:	9780585187020
language	:	English
subject	Love poetry, Greek--Translations into English.
publication date	:	1991
lcc	:	PA3624.L7S6 1991eb
ddc	:	881/.0108354
subject	:	Love poetry, Greek--Translations into English.

Page iii The Song of Eros Ancient Greek Love Poems Translated by Bradley P. Nystrom Illustrated by Claudette Sherbert Little Southern Illinois University Press Carbondale and Edwardsville

Page iv Copyright 1991 by the Board of Trustees, Southern Illinois University All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Designed by Edward D. King Production supervised by Hillside Studio Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The Song of Eros: ancient Greek love poems/translated by Bradley P. Nystrom; illustrated by Claudette Sherbert Little. p. cm. 1. Love poetry, Greek Translations into Englis. 2. Love poetry, English Translations from Greek. I. Nystrom, Bradley P. PA3624.L7S6 1991 881'.0108354 dc20 90-35758 ISBN-0-8093-1640-4 CIP The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.

Page v For Jennifer

Page vii Contents Preface ix The Poems 3 The Poets 103 Index to the Greek Texts 111

Page ix Preface For most people Greek poetry means Homer, and rightly so, since the first and greatest of Greek poets is that singer of tales of men at arms and a hero's return home from Troy. But there were also those who sang of love, artists who celebrated in verse the whole range of experience and emotion that every lover knows. Love, hate, suspicion, infatuation, rejection, ecstasy the poets knew them well, and so there is much that is familiar in their poems. We may even find there, looking back across the centuries, glimpses of ourselves in lives lived long ago. The poems in this book span the period from the Archaic Age to the beginning of the Byzantine era, that is, from the seventh century B.C. to the sixth century A.D. The earliest, some of which are only fragments, are the works of the early iambic and elegiac poet Archilochos and the lyric poets Sappho and Anakreon. The rest belong to the Greek Anthology, a collection of slightly more than four thousand epigrams compiled in the tenth century by the Byzantine scholar Kephalas. Although they shared a common language, not all of

Page x the poets were from Greece; among them were residents of Italy, Egypt, Syria, Macedonia, and Lydia. That they wrote in Greek and accepted its poetic norms is testimony to the immense influence of Greek civilization throughout the ancient Mediterranean world. I have tried to preserve as much as possible of the clarity, conciseness, insight, and wit that distinguish these poems in the original Greek. If these shine through in translation we must give the credit to the poets, who crafted their poems with a skill that has enabled them to survive the sometimes ungentle hand of the translator. I want to thank my friends and colleagues Noie Koehler and Richard Cooper for their interest in the poems and the helpful advice they offered as I worked on the translations. My good friend and teacher, Professor Stylianos Spyridakis of the University of California at Davis, gave me encouragement just when it was needed. Finally, my wife, Jennifer, read the translations in many stages of revision and made useful suggestions for their improvement.

Page 2

Page 3 1 Meleagros In the name of Love, I swear that I would rather hear Heliodora's whisper in my ear than the shining harp of Apollo.

Page 4

Page 5 2 Sappho The moon is down, and the Pleiades. It's midnight, time passes, and I lie alone.

Page 7 3 Meleagros I will plait white violets, myrtle, and soft narcissus too. I will twine laughing lilies and sweet crocus, purple hyacinths, and the roses lovers cherish, so the wreath I set on lovely Heliodora's brow will scatter petals on her scented hair.

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