Tuesday 27 April 2021

The taste of love

Today we add a new language to the list of sources, with the Turkish song Tadı sevdanın, which gives the post its title. I met it randomly on lyricstranslate, analysed it on 10/4/21 going into the night and submitting a Latin version that encoded the analysis at 1:09, and then finally got around to translating it on 24/4/21, starting around 3am, with the repeated parts, and then, after a couple tweaks around 10:30, struggling with the rhymes of the rest at 12:25-12:39, with tweaks around 16:45. In the evening of 25/4/21, I make my Persian translation of this for lyricstranslate and, comparing with the other translation, I realize «Warriors still have hope left when they / A step back must take» and «It's for yourself that you're late» are mistranslations, and fix them both at 23:56. Then I ask about the difference between three words for loved use here, and based on the answer I decide aşk is more like "crazy love" and the other two can be rendered both generically as love. So on 26/4/21 at 12:24 and 12:25 respectively the parts «All those loves» and «That's the truth of love» take their current forms. On 17/2/23 I think back to this and, at 15:46 IT and 15:54 IT, while flying to Istanbul, I change «A flower doth make to grow» to the below and «Baby mine, you'll be so sad» to «Baby mine, so sad you'll be» and «You'll be so sad, darling dear», which becomes the below at 9:09 Turkish time the following morning. Let's see it!


Tükenir biter gider
Bitmez dediğin aşklar
Geriler teslim olur
Savaşçı umutlar
Kurşuna dizilir hep
Doğmamış duyguların
Yine de çıkar bir yerden
Tadı sevdanın

*Her acı büyütür
Içindeki çiçeği
Dönersin kendine:
Budur aşkın gerçeği
*

@İnan, inan ki çok
Üzülürsün
Kendinsin geç kaldığın
Unutma: çıkar bir yerden
Tadı sevdanın
Bebeğim, üzülürsün
Kendinsin geç kaldığın
Unutma: çıkar bir yerden
Tadı sevdanın

Eriyip biter gider
Kar misali arzular
Acısı çıkar yılların,
Zordur yarınlar
Sevgidir sana kalan:
Düzeni bu dünyanın.
Unutma: çıkar bir yerden
Tadı sevdanın

*
*

@
Crazy loves you say won't end,
They'll die and leave you one morn
All the warrior-hopes surrender,
One step back they take
They are destined to be shot,
Those feelings of yours unborn,
Even now, from somewhere there doth
Come of love the taste.

*Every pain in your heart
A flower causes to grow
You get back to yourself:
That's how mad love works, you know
*

@Don't think, don't think you won't
Be so sad, babe:
It's you yourself who are late.
Don't forget: from somewhere there doth
Come of love the taste.
You'll be so sad, my baby:
It's you yourself who are late.
Don't forget: from somewhere there doth
Come of love the taste.

All your wishes just like snow
Eventually melt away,
With this grief from all the year,
With hard days you're faced.
Yet this love will stay with you:
This of the world is the way
Don't forget: from somewhere there doth
Come of love the taste.

*
*

@

Saturday 24 April 2021

Lo giuro su di te

Quarta nella serie Ankit Tiwari dopo 1, 2, e 3, è in realta la prima che ho trovato su Lyricstranslate che vediamo oggi, cioè सनम तेरी क़सम | Sanam' terī qasam', "Amore, su di te lo giuro". L'ho tradotta per ultima dopo aver tradotto tutte le altre in ordine di come le avevo trovate, chissà perché. Il ritornello risale alla sera, anzi a quasi mezzanotte, del 7/4/21, mentre il resto risale alle 19:47-20:05 del 21/4/21, con una modifichetta alle 23:44 mettendola su lyricstranslate. Ma aspetta, quel "Tumheṅ dekhǝte hī āṅkheṅ" non ha proprio la musica che credevo, quindi "Quando ti vedo gli occhi miei" non ci sta, sistemiamolo il 23/4/21 alle 24:30! Al solito, sinistra letterale, destra cantabile. Vediamola!


(अंकित तिवारी)
बेतहाशा दिल ने
तुझको ही चाहा है
हर दुआ में मैंने
तुझको ही माँगा है
तेरा जाना
जैसे कोई बद्दुआ
तेरा जाना
जैसे कोई बद्दुआ

दूर जाओगे जो तुम,
मर जाएंगे हम
सनम तेरी क़सम ओओओ…
सनम तेरी क़सम ओओओ…
सनम तेरी क़सम

(पलक मुच्छल)
तुम्हें देखते ही आँखें
हो जाती नम

(अंकित तिवारी)
सनम तेरी क़सम ओओओ…
सनम तेरी क़सम ओओओ…
सनम तेरी क़सम

हुआ यह क्या
हशर मेरा?
जुदा हुआ
सबर मेरा…
मैं तेरे बिन एक लम्हा
क्यूँ कभी न जिया?
रात भर अश्क़ों ने
तुझको पुकारा है
हर दुआ में मैंने
तुझको ही माँगा है
तेरा जाना
जैसे कोई बद्दुआ

दूर जाओगे जो तुम,
मर जाएंगे हम
सनम तेरी क़सम ओओओ…
सनम तेरी क़सम ओओओ…
सनम तेरी क़सम

(पलक मुच्छल)
तुम्हें देखते ही आँखें
हो जाती नम

(अंकित तिवारी)
सनम तेरी क़सम ओओओ…
सनम तेरी क़सम ओओओ…
सनम तेरी क़सम

नशा तेरा
दिल को लगा…
देना नहीं
मुझको दग़ा…
मैं तेरी आदत का मारा
है क्या मेरी ख़ता?
तेरे बिन नामुमकिन
अपना गुज़ारा है
हर दुआ में मैंने
तुझको ही माँगा है
तेरा जाना
जैसे कोई बद्दुआ

दूर जाओगे जो तुम,
मर जाएंगे हम
सनम तेरी क़सम ओओओ…
सनम तेरी क़सम ओओओ…
सनम तेरी क़सम

(पलक मुच्छल)
तुम्हें देखते ही आँखें
हो जाती नम

(अंकित तिवारी)
सनम तेरी क़सम ओओओ…
सनम तेरी क़सम ओओओ…
सनम तेरी क़सम

सनम तेरी क़सम ओओओ…
सनम तेरी क़सम ओओओ…
सनम तेरी क़सम



(Ankit Tiwari)
Il folle [mio] cuore
Te solo ha desiderato
In ogni preghiera io
Te solo ho chiesto
Il tuo andartene
[È] come una maledizione
Il tuo andartene
[È] come una maledizione

Se lontano andrai tu,
Moriremo noi
Cara, su di te [lo] giuro oooo…
Cara, su di te [lo] giuro oooo…
Cara, su di te [lo] giuro

(Palak Mucchhal)
Come ti vedono i [miei] occhi
Diventano umidi [di lacrime]

(Ankit Tiwari)
Cara, su di te [lo] giuro oooo…
Cara, su di te [lo] giuro oooo…
Cara, su di te [lo] giuro

È diventata questa
La mia condizione?
Se n'è andata
La pazienza…
Un momento senza di te
Perché non ho mai passato?
Tutta la notte le [mie] lacrime
Ti hanno chiamata
In ogni preghiera io
Te solo ho chiesto
Il tuo andartene
[È] come una maledizione

Se lontano andrai tu,
Moriremo noi
Cara, su di te [lo] giuro oooo…
Cara, su di te [lo] giuro oooo…
Cara, su di te [lo] giuro

(Palak Mucchhal)
Come ti vedono i [miei] occhi
Diventano umidi [di lacrime]

(Ankit Tiwari)
Cara, su di te [lo] giuro oooo…
Cara, su di te [lo] giuro oooo…
Cara, su di te [lo] giuro

L'ebbrezza di te
[Mi] ha colpito il cuore…
Non dare
A me un tradimento…
Dell'abitudine a te vittima [sono]:
Qual è la mia colpa?
Senza di te impossibile
La mia stessa vita è
In ogni preghiera io
Te solo ho chiesto
Il tuo andartene
[È] come una maledizione

Se lontano andrai tu,
Moriremo noi
Cara, su di te [lo] giuro oooo…
Cara, su di te [lo] giuro oooo…
Cara, su di te [lo] giuro

(Palak Mucchhal)
Come ti vedono i [miei] occhi
Diventano umidi [di lacrime]

(Ankit Tiwari)
Cara, su di te [lo] giuro oooo…
Cara, su di te [lo] giuro oooo…
Cara, su di te [lo] giuro

Cara, su di te [lo] giuro oooo…
Cara, su di te [lo] giuro oooo…
Cara, su di te [lo] giuro
(Ańkit' Tivārī)
Betahāśā dilə ne
Tujh'ko hī cāhā hai
Harǝ duā meṅ maiṅne
Tujh'ko hī māṅgā hai
Terā jānā
Jaise koī badduā
Terā jānā
Jaise koī badduā

Dūrǝ jāoge jo tum',
Marǝ jāeńge ham'
Sanam' terī qasam' ooo…
Sanam' terī qasam' ooo…
Sanam' terī qasam'

(Palak' Muchal')
Tumheṅ dekhǝte hī āṅkheṅ
Ho jātī nam'

(Ańkit' Tivārī)
Sanam' terī qasam' ooo…
Sanam' terī qasam' ooo…
Sanam' terī qasam'

Huā yäh' kyā
Haśarǝ merā?
Judā huā
Sabǝrǝ merā…
Maiṅ tere bin' ekǝ lamhā
Kyūṃ kabhī nā jiyā?
Rātǝ bharǝ aśkoṅ ne
Tujhǝko pukārā hai
Harǝ duā meṅ maiṅne
Tujhǝko hī māṅgā hai
Terā jānā
Jaise koī badduā

Dūrǝ jāoge jo tum',
Marǝ jāeńge ham'
Sanam' terī qasam' ooo…
Sanam' terī qasam' ooo…
Sanam' terī qasam'

(Palak' Muchal')
Tumheṅ dekhǝte hī āṅkheṅ
Ho jātī nam'

(Ańkit' Tivārī)
Sanam' terī qasam' ooo…
Sanam' terī qasam' ooo…
Sanam' terī qasam'

Naśā terā
Dilǝ ko lagā…
Denā nahīṅ
Mujhǝko dağā
Maiṅ terī ādat' kā mārā
Hai kyā merī xatā?
Tere bin' nāmum'kin'
Apʊnā guzārā hai
Harǝ duā meṅ maiṅne
Tujhǝko hī māṅgā hai
Terā jānā
Jaise koī badduā

Dūrǝ jāoge jo tum',
Marǝ jāeṅge ham'
Sanam' terī qasam' ooo…
Sanam' terī qasam' ooo…
Sanam' terī qasam'

(Palak' Muchal')
Tumheṅ dekhǝte hī āṅkheṅ
Ho jātī nam'

(Ańkit' Tivārī)
Sanam' terī qasam' ooo…
Sanam' terī qasam' ooo…
Sanam' terī qasam'

Sanam' terī qasam' ooo…
Sanam' terī qasam' ooo…
Sanam' terī qasam'



(Ankit Tiwari)
Il mio cuore folle
Non vuol altre che te,
Nelle mie preghiere
Chiedo sol di aver te,
Il tuo andare
È per me maledizion!
Il tuo andare
È per me maledizion!

Se lontan da me sarai,
Tu morir mi farai!
Su te lo giuro, amor, wooo…
Su te lo giuro, amor, wooo…
Su te lo giuro, amor!

(Palak Mucchal)
Quando vedo te, gli occhi miei
Si bagnano…

(Ankit Tiwari)
Su te lo giuro, amor, wooo…
Su te lo giuro, amor, wooo…
Su te lo giuro, amor!

È sol questa
Or la vita mia?
Se n'è andata
La pazienza mia…
Perché un momento senza te
Passato mai non ho?
Stanotte le mie lacrime
Han chiamato sol te,
Nelle mie preghiere
Chiedo sol di aver te,
Il tuo andare
È per me maledizion!

Se lontan da me sarai,
Tu morir mi farai!
Su te lo giuro, amor, wooo…
Su te lo giuro, amor, wooo…
Su te lo giuro, amor!

(Palak Mucchal)
Quando vedo te, gli occhi miei
Si bagnano…

(Ankit Tiwari)
Su te lo giuro, amor, wooo…
Su te lo giuro, amor, wooo…
Su te lo giuro, amor!

Inebriato
Tu il cuore m'hai:
Giura che mai
Non mi tradirai!
Se a te mi sono abituato,
Io quale colpa ho?
La mia vita senza te,
No, possibile non è:
Nelle mie preghiere
Chiedo sol di aver te,
Il tuo andare
È per me maledizion!

Se lontan da me sarai,
Tu morir mi farai!
Su te lo giuro, amor, wooo…
Su te lo giuro, amor, wooo…
Su te lo giuro, amor!

(Palak Mucchal)
Quando vedo te, gli occhi miei
Si bagnano…

(Ankit Tiwari)
Su te lo giuro, amor, wooo…
Su te lo giuro, amor, wooo…
Su te lo giuro, amor!

Su te lo giuro, amor, wooo…
Su te lo giuro, amor, wooo…
Su te lo giuro, amor!

Tuesday 13 April 2021

Sappho in "pop" culture

Today we're going to explore a lot of "popular culture" things that have to do with Sappho. Basically, things that can come up by searching for "Sappho" or "Σαπφώ" on Youtube. If you've seen the post plan in the index, you know the list of videos we have to go through is immense, counting 27 videos. OK, so first section.


Videos about Sappho and English translations

First off, we have this video about Sappho in Greek. I leave it at that, since, AFAICT, it has no translations in it.
Staying on the "about Sappho" theme, we have this video in English, which does have translations, so let me transcribe them for you. OK, I wanted to side them with the originals but they're too loose for that to make sense, so I'll link you to the relevant posts instead. They are beautiful translations, though the reader doesn't entirely do them justice, as evidenced by the square brackets and corrections I put below. Moreover, there is a bad cut in the video before the mockery of Andromeda which cuts out the title of said mockery and the first half of the first line. The * line in the Hymn to Aphrodite seems to miss 4 syllables, I wonder if that was intentional on the part of the translator. UPDATE yes it was, or so it seems from here. I wonder why…



Hymn to Aphrodite (1:14-2:21)

Ποικιλόθρον’ ἀθάνατ’ Ἀφρόδιτα,
Παῖ Δίος, δολόπλοκε, λίσσομαί σε·
Μή μ’ ἄσαισι μήτ’ ὀνίαισι δάμνα,
Πότνια, θῦμον,

Ἀλλὰ τυίδ’ ἔλθ’, αἴποτα κἀτέρωτα,
Τᾶς ἔμας αὔδως ἀίοισα πήλυι,
Ἔκλυες, πάτρος δὲ δόμον λίποισα
Χρύσιον ἦλθες,

Ἀρμ’ ὐπασδεύξαισα, κάλοι δέ σ’ ἆγον
Ὤκεες στροῦθοι περὶ γᾶς μελαίνας,
Πύκνα δίννεντες πτέρ’ ἀπ’ ὠράνω͜ αἴθε-
ρος διὰ μέσσω,

Αἶψα δ’ ἐξίκοντο· σὺ δ’, ὦ Μάκαιρα,
Μηδιάσαισ’ ἀθανάτῳ προσώπῳ,
Ἤρε’ ὄττι δηὖτε πέπονθα, κὤττι
Δηὖτε κάλημι,

Κὤττι μοι μάλιστα θέλω γένεσθαι
Μαινόλᾳ θύμῳ· «τίνα δηὖτε †πείθω
‹Κ›αί σ’ ἄγην† ἐς ‹ϝ›ὰν φιλότατα, τίς τ’, ὦ
Ψάπφ’, ἀδικήει;

Καὶ γὰρ αἰ φεύγει, ταχέως διώξει,
Αἰ δὲ δῶρα μὴ δέκετ’, ἀλλὰ δώσει,
Αἰ δὲ μὴ φίλει, ταχέως φιλήσει,
Κωὐκ ἐθέλοισα».

Ἔλθε μοι καὶ νῦν, χαλέπαν δὲ λῦσον
Ἐκ μερίμναν, ὄσσα δέ μοι τέλεσσαι
θῦμος ἰμέρρει, τέλεσον· σὺ δ᾽ αὔτα
σύμμαχος ἔσσο.
Daughter of Zeus and immortal
[O] Aphrodite, serene,
Weaver of spells, at thy portal
Hear me, and slay not, o queen.



As in the past, hither to me,
From thy far palace of gold,
Drawn by the doves that o'erflew me
Come, as thou camèst of old.



Swiftly thy flock bore thee hither,
Smiling as I turned to thee,
Spoke[st] thou across the blue weather:
«Sappho, why callest thou me?

Zappho, what beauty disdains thee?
Zappho, who wrongest[recte wrongeth] thy heart?
Zappho, what evil now pains thee?
Whence sped the dart?*

Flies from thee? Soon shall she follow.
Turns from thee? Soon she shall love,
Seeking thee swift as the swallow,
Ingrate though now she may prove».

Come, once again [now?] release me,
Join with my fire thy fire,
Freed from the torments that seize me,
Give me, o queen, my desire.



Ode to Anactoria (2:26-3:02)

Φαίνεταί μοι κῆνος ἴσος θέοισιν
Ἔμμεν’ ὤνηρ, ὄττις ἐνάντιός τοι
Ἰσδάνει καὶ πλάσιον ἆδυ φωνεί-
σας ὐπακούει

Καὶ γελαίσας ἰμέροεν. τό μ’ ἦ μάν
Καρδίαν ἐν στήθεσιν ἐπτόαισεν.
Ὠς γὰρ εὔιδον βροχέως σε, φώνας
οὖδεν ἔτ’ ἴκει,

Ἀλλὰ κὰμ μὲν γλῶσσα ϝέαγε, λέπτον
Δ’ αὔτικα χρῷ πῦρ ὐπαδεδρόμακεν,
Ὀππάτεσσι δ’ οὖδεν ὄρημμ’, ἐπιρρόμ-
βεισι δ’ ἄκουαι,

Κὰδ δέ μ’ ἴδρως κακχέεται, τρόμος δέ
Παῖσαν ἄγρει, χλωροτέρα δὲ ποίας
Ἔμμι, τεθνάκην δ᾽ ὀλίγω ’πιδεύης
φαίνομ’ ἔμ’ αὔτᾳ·
That man, whoever he may be,
Who sits awhile to gaze on thee,
Hearing thy lovely laugh, thy speech,
Throned with the gods he seems to me.

For, when a moment to mine eyes
Thy form discloses, silently
I stand consumed with fires that rise
Like flames around a sacrifice.



Sight have I none, bells out of tune
Ring in mine ears, my tongue lies dumb,
Paler than grass in later June
Yet daring all, to thee I come.






<Grace> (3:02-3:10)

Τίς ‹σοι› δ' ἀγροΐωτις ‹θαλύει νῦν› νόον, ‹ὄττα δὴ›
Στόλαν ἀγροΐωτιν ‹περιβαίνει τοι› ἐπεμμένα,
Οὐκ ἐπισταμένα τὰ βράκε' ἔλκην ἐπὶ τῶν σφύρων?

<What country maiden char>ms thy heart,
However fair, however sweet,
Who has not learnt by gracious art
To draw her dress around her feet.



Dead shalt thou lie (3:13-3:30)

Κατθάνοισα δὲ κείσῃ ͜οὐδέ ποτα μναμοσύνα σέθεν
ἔσσετ᾿ οὐδέ πόθα ͜‹εἰς› ὔστερον· οὐ γὰρ πεδέχῃς βρόδων
τὼν ἐκ Πιερίας, ἀλλ᾿ ἀφάνης κἀν Ἀίδα δόμῳ
φοιτάσῃς πεδ᾿ ἀμαύρων νεκύων ἐκπεποταμένα.
Dead shalt thou lie forever, and forgotten,
For whom the flow'rs of song have never bloomed,
A wanderer amongst the unbegotten
In Hades' house, a shadow I entombed.



[1.J.viii] Death (3:33-3:42)

x– Ἀποθναίσκην κάκον· οἰ θέοι
Οὔτω κεκρίκαισιν γὰρ αὖ· θναί-
σκον κε γὰρ αἰ κάλον ἦν u–x
Death is an evil, for the gods choose breath:
Had death been good, the gods had chosen death.


Love (3:46-3:58)

ἔγω δὲ φίλημμ' ἀβροσύναν, [ἴστε δὲ] τοῦτο· καί μοι
τὸ λάμπρον ἔρ‹ω›ς ἀέλιω καὶ τὸ κάλον λέλογχε


All delicacy unto me
Is lovely, and for me, oh love,
Thy wings are as the midday fire
By splendor as the Sun above.

Prophecy (4:02-4:10)

Μνάσ‹ε›σθαί τινα φα‹ῖ›μ‹ι› καὶ ‹ὔσ›τερον ἄμμεων.

Methinks hereafter, in some later spring,
Echo will bear to men the songs we sing.

The moon has set (4:14-4:28)

Δέδυκε μὲν ἀ σελάννα
καὶ Πληίαδες· μέσαι δὲ
νύκτες, παρὰ δ’ ἔρχετ’ ὤρα·
ἔγω δὲ μόνα κατεύδω.
The moon has set beyond the seas,
And vanished are the Pleiades,
Half the long weary night has gone,
Time passes, yet I lie alone.

[1.F.ii] (4:28-4:31)

Προσελεξάμαν ὄναρ Κυπρογενήᾳ.

I spoke with Aphrodite in a dream

[1.D.ii] (4:31-4:40)

Δεῦτέ νυν, ἄβραι Χάριτες, καλλίκομοί τε Μοῖσαι.



Come to me, oh ye Graces,
Delicate, tender, fair,
Come from your heav'nly places,
Muses with golden hair.

4:41-4:53:

Σοὶ χάριεν μὲν εἶδος, ὄππατα δ’ ‹ἐστί, νύμφα›,
μέλλιχ’, ἔρος δ’ ἐπ’ ἰμέρτῳ κέχυται προσώπῳ·
5 [Δῆλα τὰ δὴ] τετίμακ’ ἔξοχά σ’ Ἀφροδίτα.

Thy form is lovely, and thine eyes
Are honeyed, o'er thy face, the pale
Clear light of love lies like a veil.
Bidding thee rise, with outstretched hands
Before thee Aphrodite stands.

4:54-5:01

Δαύοις ἀπάλας ἐτα‹ί›ρας ἐν στήθεσιν .

Upon thy girlfriend's white and tender breast
Sleep thou, and on her bosom find thy rest.



Staying with English translations, the next video is a few translations of Sappho into English, set to music and arranged for voice and piano. The texts are copyrighted to Diane Rayor, the author of the translations. I emailed her, and she sent me the text of "I bring"… in two versions, the unrevised one sung in the video, and her later revision, both of which are implemented below in the respective tabs, with the original being approximated because my text doesn't match her completions. Note that, even with the unrevised version, we have the (the) which is sung but not in the written translation, and two lines marked in *…* which are skipped in the video. As for the other fragments, my transcription of the video shouldn't be, so I present it to you below. Note that I heard "when I live" as "when I leave", "thy lyre" as "the lyre", and "unmarried" as "married" at first. It also took me a while to understand "to the beat". "(?)" means uncertainty of transcription. «I did leave in at least one transcription mistake», the post used to say. I don't know if it refers to the *s, which I now heard correctly, or to something I couldn't detect as I retranscribed the texts on 11/2/23. The author also told me the texts are based on Neri's edition, so I found a Google Books preview with three of the below (the ones marked N), and will use them to inform the sided text, which is my best guess as to the basis of the translations, which doesn't always match my text. I use [] in the translations for words that match supplemented words in the texts, and {} to match supplements to the translations not found in the texts. Well, I decided to be a little sloppy on that because of lack of time, and because this thing of the two versions made that a mess. Of course, this sentence is limited to "I bring", at least so far. I have no idea where the "may the gods care" comes from, since the only way I could fit it to the text is with ὤραν ἔχοιεν but that line starts with ]εν in the Neri text.


I prayN, 0:53-2:39


… I pray
… [May there] now [be] festivity
… May I rest below the Earth
… Rightly holding the prize of worth
… May they still [marvel] as now when [I] live
… Sweet{-toned} [when] I play the lyre
… Beautiful things, o Muse, I sing
] . ο . [
] ε̣ὔχο̣μ̣[αι
] . νῦν θ̣α̣λ̣[ί]α̣ γ̣ε̣[νέσθω
] . ν̣έρθε δὲ γᾶς γ̣έν̣[ωμ]α̣ι̣
](.) . ν̣ ἔχο̣ι̣σα‹ν› γ̣έρας ὠ̣ς̣̣ [ἔ]ο̣ικε̣ν̣
με θαυμά]ζ̣οιεν ὠς νῦν ἐπὶ γᾶς ἔοισαν
] λιγύ̣ραν [α]ἴ̣ κεν ἔλοισα πᾶκτιν
χέ]λ̣υ̣ν̣ν̣αν̣ κ̣άλα, Μοῖσ', ἀε̣ίδω



I bring, 3:39-7:44
[Reveal] the beautiful gifts of the violet-robed Muses, girls,
[dancing to] the song-loving [voice] of the sweet-toned lyres.
My skin was [delicate] before, but now old age,
[Claims it]; my hair turned from black [to white],
My spirit has grown heavy; knees buckle
That once could dance light as fawns.
I often groan, but what can I do?
It's impossible for humans not to age.
For they say, [pierced] by love rosy-armed Dawn
Went to the ends of Earth holding Tithonos,
Beautiful and young, but in time gray old age
Seized him, even with a deathless wife.
… believes
… may give
Yet I love the finer things. [Know] that passion for
The light of life has also granted me brilliance and beauty.
[I bring] the beautiful gifts of the violet Muses, girls,
And [I love] that song-lover, the sweet-toned lyre.
My skin was [delicate] before, but now old age
[Claims it]; my hair turned from black [to white].
My spirit has grown heavy; knees buckle
That once could dance light as fawns.
I often groan, but what can I do?
Impossible for humans not to age.
For they say rosy-armed Dawn in love
Went to the ends of (the) Earth holding Tithonos,
Beautiful and young, but in time gray old age
Seized even him with an immortal wife.
*… believes*
*… may give*
Yet I love the finer things… this and passion
For the light of life have granted me brilliance and beauty.


["Reveal" may be either δήλωνται, δήλωθι, or δήλωτε, "I bring" should be Φέρω]
[… Μοίσαν ἰο]κόλ̤πων κάλα δῶρα παῖδες
Καί γ' ἂρ φιλέω τὰ]ν φιλἄοιδον λιγύραν χελύνναν·[
ἔμοι δ' ἄπαλον πρίν] ποτ' [ἔ]οντα χρόα γῆρας ἤδη
ἐπέλλαβε, λεῦκαι δ' ἐ]γένοντο τρίχες ἐκ μελαίναν,
βάρυς δέ μ' ὀ θῦμ[ο]ς πεπόηται, γόνα δ' οὐ φέροισι,
τὰ δή ποτα λαίψηρ' ἔον ὄρ̣χησθ' ἴσα νεβρίοισιν.
]τα στεναχί‹σδ›ω θαμέως ἀλλὰ τί κεν ποείην;
ἀγή̣ραον ἄνθρωπον ἔοντ' οὐ δύνατον γένεσθαι·
καὶ γάρ π[ο]τα Τίθωνον ἔφαντο βροδόπαχυν Αὔων
ἔρῳ δ̣α̤[..]αθεισαν βάμεν εἰς ἔσχατα γᾶς φέροισα
ἔοντα [κ]ά̤λ̤ο̤ν καὶ νέον, ἀλλ' αὖτ̣ον ὔμως ἔμαρψε[
χρόνω̣‹ι› π̣[ό]λιον̤ γ̤ῆ̤ρας ἔ[χοντ'] ἀθ[α]νάταν ἄκοιτιν.[
xx^^ ––^^ – ]ίμέναν νομίσδει
xx^^ – –^^ – –^^]αις ὀπάσδοι.
ἔγω δὲ φίλημμ' ἀβροσύναν, [–⏑⏑] τοῦτο· καί μοι
τὸ λάμπρον ἔρ‹ω›ς ἀέλιω καὶ τὸ κάλον λέλογχε


I urgeN, 8:30-9:55

I urge you [to sing]
Of Gongyla, [Aba]nthis, and play
Thy lyre, while desire [for her] {once again}
Flutters about you,

Oh beautiful: seeing her *dress
Thrilled you, and I rejoice,
Because Aphrodite herself
Once blamed,

So I pray…
This…
I wish…
.] . ε̣ . [. . . .] [. . . κ]έλομαι σ' ἀ̣[είδην
Γο]γ̣γύλαν̣, [Ἄβ]α̣νθι, λάβοισαν̣ α . [
Πᾶ]κ̣τιν, ἆς̣ σε δηὖτε πόθος̣ τ̣ι̣[ς αὔτας]
Ἀμφιπόταται

Τὰν κάλαν· ἀ γὰρ κατάγωγις αὔτ̣α[ς σ'
Ἐπτόαις' ἴδοισαν, ἔγω δὲ χ̣α̣ίρω,
Καὶ γὰρ αὔτ̣α δ̣ή πο̣[τ'] ἐμέμφ[ετ'
Κ]υπρογέν[ηα·

Ὠ̣ς ἄραμα̣[ι
Τοῦτο τῶ[
Β]όλλομα̣[ι



Once Kretan women, 10:26-11:15

Once Kretan women danced just so {to the beat}
With their delicate feet around the elegant altar,
Treading lightly on the grass's tender bloom.
Κρῆσσαί νύ ποτ’ ὦδ’ ἐμμελέως πόδεσσιν
ὤρχεντ’ ἀπάλοισ’ ἀμφ’ ἐρόεντα βῶμον
ποίας τέρεν ἄνθος μάλακον μάτεισαι.



…because youN, 11:49-13:21

Because you too [were] once a child
Who loved to dance and sing,
Come, talk this through, and so(?)
Favour us abundantly.

Since we're off to a wedding – yes, [you know]
This well – but as quickly as possible
Send the unmarried girls away,
And may the gods care(?).

[There is no] path to great [Olympos]
For humans…
ἦσθ]α̣ καὶ γὰρ δ̣ὴ σὺ πάϊς ποτ' [
κἀφ]ί̣λ̣ης μέλπεσθ'· ἄγι, ταῦτα [
] ζ̣ἄλεξαι, κἄ̣μμ' ἀπὺ τωδεκ[
ἄ]δρα χάρισσαι.

σ]τείχομεν γὰρ ἐς γάμον· εὖ δέ [γ' οἶσθα
κα]ὶ σὺ τοῦτ', ἀλλ' ὄττι τάχιστά [
πα]ρ̣[θ]ένοις ἄπ[π]εμπε, θέοι [
. . ]εν ἔ̣̣χοιεν̣.

Οὐ γάρ ἐστ'] ὄδος̣ μ[έ]γαν εἰς Ὄλ[υμπον
ἀ]νθρώ[ποισ'      ]αίκ.[



Single fragments, reconstructed pronunciation

All of the above are giving fragments one by one (as one would expect, probably, but just wait a few videos and see what some have come up with…), so we stay with that, and continue with a couple videos sung in reconstructed Ancient Greek pronunciation. The first one gives us the Ode to Anactoria, whereas the other one gives us a part of "You were also a delicate child" + "Let's sing for the couple!, with an interesting way to handle lacunas by either leaving empty beats or putting in "la", and the Hymn to Aphrodite. The Ode and the Hymn are set to a tune that allegedly follows the style of Sappho's time – and I say "allegedly" because I have no idea whether that's actually the case or not – and have their subscript iotas pronounced. Both the videos have English translations in the captions, and I include them here. To be on the safe side, look at my posts on the poems, which I linked to above, because some of these translations are WTF levels of inaccurate. Like, «Your laughter I desire»? Excuse me?



Video 4

Φαίνεταί μοι κῆνος ἴσος θέοισιν
Ἔμμεν' ὤνηρ, ὄττις ἐνάντιός τοι
Ἰσδάνει καὶ πλάσιον ἆδυ φωνεί-
σας ὐπακούει

Καὶ γελαίσας ἰμέροεν, τό μ' ἦ μὰν
Καρδίαν ἐν στήθεσιν ἐπτόαισεν·
Ὠς γὰρ ἔς σ' ἴδω βρόχε', ὤς με φώναί-
σ' οὐδ' ἒν ἔτ' εἴκει,

Ἀλλά κὰμ μὲν γλῶσσα <μ'> ἔαγε, λέπτον
Δ' αὔτικα χρῷ πῦρ ὐπαδεδρόμηκεν,
Ὀππάτεσσι δ' οὐδ' ἒν ὄρημμ', ἐπιρρόμ-
βεισι δ' ἄκουαι,

Κὰδ' δέ ἴδρως κακχέεται, τρόμος δὲ
παῖσαν ἄγρει, χλωροτέρα δὲ ποίας
ἔμμι, τεθνάκην δ' ὀλίγω 'πιδεύης
φαίνομ' ἔμ' αὔτᾳ.



Video 5

1:07-1:30
σ]τείχομεν γὰρ ἐς γάμον· εὖ δέ [γ' ἴσθι
κα]ὶ σὺ τοῦτ'· ἀλλ' ὄττι τάχιστ̣ά [λᾶ λᾶ
πα]ρ[θ]ένοις ἄπ[π]εμπε, θέοι [
. . μὲ]ν ἔ̣̣χοιεν̣

] ὄ̣δος μ[έ]γαν εἰς Ὄλ̣[υμπον
ἀ]νθρω[ποις

3:01-3:31
πάρθενοι δ[ὲ λᾶ]
παννυχίσδοι[σ]α̣̣ι[
σὰν ἀείδοιε̣ν φ[ιλότατα καὶ νύμ-]
φας ἰοκόλπω.

ἀλλ᾽ ἐγέρθε̣ı̣ς, ἠϊθ[έοις
στεῖχε σοὶς ὐμάλικ̣[ας, ὠς ἐλάσσω]
ἤπερ ὄσσον ἀ λιγ̣ύφω̣[νος ὄρνις]
ὔπνον [ἴ]δωμ̣εν.

4:09-7:24
Ποικιλόθρον’ ἀθάνατ’ Ἀφρόδιτα,
Παῖ Δίος, δολόπλοκε, λίσσομαί σε·
Μή μ’ ἄσαισι μήτ’ ὀνίαισι δάμνα,
Πότνια, θῦμον,

Ἀλλὰ τυίδ’ ἔλθ’, αἴ ποτα κἀτέρωτα,
Τᾶς ἔμας αὔδας ἀίοισα πήλοι,
Ἔκλυες, πάτρος δὲ δόμον λίποισα
Χρύσιον ἦλθες,

Ἀρμ’ ὐπασδεύξαισα, κάλοι δέ σ’ ἆγον
Ὤκεες στροῦθοι περὶ γᾶς μελαίνας,
Πύκνα δίννεντες πτέρ’ ἀπ’ ὠράνω͜ αἴθε-
ρος διὰ μέσσω,

Αἶψα δ’ ἐξίκοντο· σὺ δ’, ὦ Μάκαιρα,
Μηδιαίσαισ’ ἀθανάτῳ προσώπῳ,
Ἤρε’ ὄττι δηὖτε πέπονθα, κὤττι
Δηὖτε κάλημι,

Κὤττι μοι μάλιστα θέλω γένεσθαι
Μαινόλᾳ θύμῳ· «τίνα δηὖτε πείθω
Ἄψ σ’ ἄγην ἐς ϝὰν φιλότατα, τίς τ’, ὦ
Ψάπφ’, ἀδικήει;

Καὶ γὰρ αἰ φεύγει, ταχέως διώξει,
Αἰ δὲ δῶρα μὴ δέκετ’, ἀλλὰ δώσει,
Αἰ δὲ μὴ φίλει, ταχέως φιλήσει,
Κωὐκ ἐθέλοισα».

Ἔλθε μοι καὶ νῦν, χαλέπαν δὲ λῦσον
Ἐκ μερίμναν, ὄσσα δέ μοι τέλεσσαι
θῦμος ἰμέρρει, τέλεσον· σὺ δ᾽ αὔτας
σύμμαχος ἔσσο.
Video 4

He seems a god, that man
Who sits beside you,
Listens to your sweet voice


Your laughter I desire,
It shakes the heart in my breast,
So when I glance at you,
I cannot speak.

My tongue breaks,
My body burns,
I cannot see,
My ears ring,

Sweat pours from me, I shake,
I am greener than grass,
Close to death.




Video 5

1:07-1:30
We're going to a wedding
You know this, as fast as you can
Send the girls away. The gods…
[…may have…]

There is no road to high Olympus.
[for men]

3:01-3:31
Girls…
All night long…
Sing of love
And your violet-soft bride.

Come wake up, bring the young men,
We will sleep less
Than the nightningale.


4:09-7:24
Shimmering-throned, immortal Aphrodite,
Daughter of Zeus, weaver of tales, I beseech you:
With vexation and grief don't crush,
O queen, my heart,

But come here, if ever also in other times,
Having heard my voice from afar,
You listend, and came, leaving your father's
Golden house,

Yoking your chariot, and beautiful speedy
Sparrows led you over the black earth,
With densely-packed beats of their wings, from the sky
Through the middle of the air,

And immediately they arrived; and you, o Blissful,
With a smile on your immortal face,
Asked what again I had suffered, and what
Again I was calling for,

And what I wanted the most to happen to me,
Crazy in my heart: «Whom again shall I persuade
To bring you again to her love? Who, o
Sappho, wrongs you?

For if she flees, quickly she will pursue,
If gifts she doesn't take, gifts she will give,
If she doesn't love, soon she shall love,
Even if she doesn't want to».

Come to me now as well, and free me
From grievous cares, and what my heart above all wishes
May happen to me, make it happen; and you yourself
Fight with me.



Single fragments, modern pronunciation

The Hymn to Aphrodite is also the content of the next video, which leads us into the next section of the post, since it is sung in modern pronunciation. Since you've already got the text written as it should be before, I'll write it as the music of video 8 suggests when it comes time to trasncribe it. That is because that video not only completely ignores reconstructed pronunciation, but also ignores the meter and line division, taking only (most of) the accents into account. When a sound is pronounced wrong, I'll try to transcribe it in the most sensible way possible. At least I kinda like the tune and arrangement.
I have a Modern Greek rendition of this, started with 4 lines around 23:00 on 30/3/21 and reworked and finished on 4/4/21 (Easter Sunday), getting to στο πρόσωπο τ' αθάνατο between 0:21 and 1:03, and completed 12:22-12:56. I have another version of the "you to lead to your love" line, reading «Να στην φιλιά της άγει σε;» and coming from fixing σὰν->ϝὰν. I mention it here because including it alongside the other version would screw up the padding and I don't want to tinker with it too much again.
I then sent it in to Kika on 9/7/23 at 14:49, and immediately saw some tweaks to make to that original version. With more such tweaks from 10/7/23 at 23:19-23:52, plus the fix Αθάνατ' απατεών -> Πανούργα κι αθάνατα, from 0:42 10/7 due to a correction by Kika from 19:03 on 9/7, the hymn gets to the below intermediate version, from a sum-up sent 23:57. At 15:58 on 17/7/23, she replies with corrections to the Hymn, which, with some more work by me, lead to a mostly-fine recap I send in at 17:25. Then at 17:29 I propose an alternate "if she flees" verse, and at 18:12 she gives a couple last comments and we're almost at the final version below. We have just a couple tweaks from the evening of 22/7/23, which through some discussions the next afternoon result in the changes «Ω Αφροδίτη, / Πανούργα κι αθάνατη, / Διός παιδί με πλουμιστό θρόνο,» -> «Ω πονηρή / Αφροδίτη, ω αθάνατη / Κόρη Διός με πλουμιστό θρόνο,» and «Αν και σε φορές άλλες, [c) Σαν και] / Έχοντας ακούσει / Την φωνή μου από μακριά» -> «Αν κάποτε άλλοτε / Άκουσες τη φωνή μου / Και εισάκουσες την προσευχή». And as I place that in, 13:31:~30 29/7/23, I shorten that last Και to just Κι.


Ποικιλοθρόν’
Ἀθάνατ’ Ἀφρόδιτα,
Παῖ Διός, δολόπλοκε,
Λίσσομαί σε·
Μή μ’ ἄσαισι
Μήτ’ ὀνίαισι
Δάμνα, ποτνία, θῦμον,

Ἄλλα τυίδ’ ἔλθ’,
Αἰ πότε κἀτέρωτα,
Τᾶς ἐμᾶς αὔδας
ἄϊοισα πήλοι, ἔκλυες,
Πάτρος δὲ δόμον
Λίποισα χρύσιον
Ἦλθες, ἄρμ’ ὐπαι(σ)δεύξαισα,

Κάλοι δέ σ’ ἆγον
Ὤκεες στροῦθοι
Πέρι γᾶς μέλαινας,
Πύκνα διννέντες
Πτέρ’ ἀπ’ ὠράνω
Αἴθερος δία μέσσω,

Αἶψα δ’ ἐξίκοτο·
Σὺ δ’, ὦ Μάκαιρα,
Μηδιαίσα(ι)σα
Ἀθανατῷ προσώπῳ, ἦρε’

Ὄττι δηὖτε πέπονθα,
Κὤττι δηὖτε κάλημι,
Κὤττι μοι μάλιστα
Θέλω γενέσθαι
Μαίνολᾳ θύμωϊ·

«Τίνα δηὖτε πείθω
Σ’ ἄγην ἐς σὰν φιλότατα,
Τίς σ’, ὦ Ψάπφ’, ἀδικήει;

Καὶ γὰρ αϊ φεύγει,
Τάχεως διώξει,
Αἰ δὲ δῶρα μὴ δέκεται,
Ἄλλα δωσεῖ,
Αἰ δὲ μὴ φιλεῖ,
Ταχέως φιλήσει,
Καὶ οὐκ ἐθέλοις».

Ἔλθε μοι καὶ νῦν,
Χαλεπᾶν δὲ λῦσον
Ἐκ μεριμνᾶν,
Ὄσσα δέ μοι τελέσσαι
θῦμος ἰμέρρει,
Τέλεσον· σὺ δ᾽ αὔτα
Σύμμαχος ἔσσο.
Ω Αφροδίτ',
Αθάνατ' απατεών,
Διός παιδί με ποίκιλο θρόνο,
Παρακαλώ·
Μην θλίψεις μ' αγωνιές
Ή συμφορές
Την καρδιά μου, βασίλισσα,

Μα έλα εδώ
Αν και σε φορές άλλες,
Έχοντας ακούσει
Την φωνή μου από μακριά,
Το σπίτι το χρυσό
Του πατρός λείποντας
Ήρθες, ζευγώντας τ' άρμα σου.

Σ' ήγαν καλά
Σπουργίτια γρήγορα
Περί την γη τη μαυρή,
Τα φτερά γοργά
Νικώντας, απ' ουρανό
Μέσα στον αίθερα,

Κι άμεσα φτάσανε,
Ω Μακάρια,
Ζήτησες, μειδιώντας
Στο πρόσωπο τ' αθάνατο,

Βασανίστηκα τί εγώ,
Γιατί πάλι σε καλώ,
Τί στην καρδιά τρελή
Προπαντός θέλω να
Γίνει σ' εμένα.

Ποιάν να πείθω εγώ
Ν' άγεις εσύ στην σου φιλιά;
Ποιά σ' αδικεί, ω Σαπφώ;

Αν φεύγει νυν, θα
Διώξει σε γρήγορα,
Και αν δώρα δεν δέχεται,
Άλλα θα δώσει,
Αν δε σε φιλεί,
Θα σύντομα φιλεί,
Κι αν αυτή δεν θέλει.

Έρθε τώρα εδώ,
Ελευθερώσε με
Κι από τ' άγχη τα λυπερά
Κι ό,τι θέλει η καρδιά μου
Να νυν συμβαίνει,
Κάνε να συμβαίνει,
Κι ίδια μ' εμένα μάχου.
Ω Αφροδίτη,
Πανούργα κι αθάνατα,
Διός παιδί με ποίκιλο θρόνο,
Παρακαλώ·
Μην θλίψεις μ' αγωνιές
Ή συμφορές
Την καρδιά μου, βασίλισσα,

Μα έλα εδώ
Αν και σε φορές άλλες,
Έχοντας ακούσει
Την φωνή μου από μακριά,
Το σπίτι το χρυσό
Του πατρός λείποντας
Ήρθες, ζευγώντας τ' άρμα σου.

Σ' ήγαν καλά
Σπουργίτια γρήγορα
Περί την γη τη μαυρή,
Τίναζαν τα φτερά
Των πολύ γρήγωρα
Μέσα στον αίθερα,

Κι άμεσα φτάσανε,
Ω Μακάρια,
Ζήτησες, μειδιώντας
Στο πρόσωπο τ' αθάνατο,

Βασανίστηκα τί εγώ,
Γιατί πάλι σε καλώ,
Τί στην καρδιά τρελή
Προπαντός θέλω να
Γίνει σ' εμένα.

Ποιάν να πείθω εγώ
Ν' ερωτευθεί με σένα, και
Ποιά σ' αδικεί, ω Σαπφώ;

Γρήγορα θα σε
Διώξει αν σε φεύγει
Και αν δώρα δεν δέχεται,
Άλλα θα δώσει,
Αν δε σ' αγαπά,
Θ' αγαπά σύντομα,
Κι αν αυτή δεν θέλει.

Έρθε τώρα εδώ,
Κι από τ' άγχη ελεύθερωσε
Τα λυπερά,
Κι ό,τι θέλει η καρδιά μου
Να μου συμβάινει,
Κάνε να συμβαίνει·
Μάχου με μένα!
Ω πονηρή
Αφροδίτη, ω αθάνατη
Κόρη Διός με πλουμιστό θρόνο,
Παρακαλώ·
Μην θλίψεις μ' αγωνίες
Ή συμφορές
Την καρδιά μου, βασίλισσα,

Μα έλα εδώ
Αν κάποτε άλλοτε
Άκουσες τη φωνή μου
Κι εισάκουσες την προσευχή,
Το σπίτι το χρυσό
Του πατρός άφησες,
Κι έχοντας ζέψει τ' άρμα ήρθες.

Και καλά σ' έφεραν
Πουλιά γρήγορα
Περί την γη μαύρη,
Τίναζαν τα φτερά
Τους πολύ γρήγορα
Μέσα στον αιθέρα,

Κι άμεσα φτάσανε,
Ω Μακάρια,
Ζήτησες, μειδιώντας
Στο πρόσωπο τ' αθάνατο,

Ποιάν οδύνη έχω εγώ,
Γιατί πάλι σε καλώ,
Τι ποθεί πιο πολύ
Η τρελή μου καρδιά
Τώρα να μου γινεί

Ποιάν να πείσω πάλι
Ν' ερωτευθεί με σένα? Αχ,
Ποιά σ' αδικεί, ω Σαπφώ?

Φεύγει? Θα τρέχει
Πίσω σου προσεχώς.
Απορρίπτει τα δώρα σου?
Θα δώσει αυτή.
Δεν σ' αγαπά?
Θ' αγαπήσει
Σε λίγο, έστω κι άθελά της

Έλα τώρα εδώ,
Λύτρωσέ με απ' τον καημό
Τον λυπηρό,
Κάν' να γίνουν αληθινά
Όσα η καρδιά μου
Λαχταρά, κι η ίδϊα
Γίνε σύμμαχός μου.
Shimmering-throned,
Immortal Aphrodite,
Daughter of Zeus, weaver of tales,
I beseech you:
With vexations
And griefs
Don't crush, o queen, my heart,

But come here,
If ever also in other times,
My voice
Having heard from afar, you listened,
And leaving your father's
Golden house
You came, yoking your chariot,

And beautiful
Speedy sparrows led you
Over the black Earth,
With densely-packed beats
Of their wings, from the sky
Through the middle of the air,

And immediately they arrived;
And you, o Blissful,
With a smile
On your immortal face, asked

What again I had suffered,
And what again I was calling for,
And what to me the most
I wanted to happen,
Crazy in my heart:

«Whom again shall I persuade
You to bring to your love?
Who, o Sappho, wrongs you?

For if she flees,
Quickly she will pursue,
If gifts she doesn't take,
Gifts she will give,
If she doesn't love,
Soon she shall love,
Even if she doesn't want to».

Come to me now as well,
And free me from grievous
Cares,
And what above all my heart
Wishes may happen to me,
Make it happen; and you yourself
Fight with me.
Ō Afrodít',
Athánat' apateṓn,
Diós pädí me pö́kilo thróno,
Parakalṓ:
Mi̱n thlípsës m'agōniés
Í̱ symforés
Ti̱n kardiá moy, vasílissa,

Ma éla edṓ
An kä se forés álles,
Ékhontas akoýsë
Ti̱n fōní̱ moy apó makriá,
To spíti to khrysó
Toy patrós lë́pontas
Í̱rthes, zev̆gṓntas t' árma soy.

S' í̱gan kalá
Spoyrgítia grí̱gora
Perí ti̱n gi̱ ti̱ mav̆rí̱,
Ta fterá gorgá
Nikṓntas, ap' oyranó
Mésa ston ä́thera,

Ki ámesa ftásane,
Ō Makária,
Zí̱ti̱ses, mëdiṓntas
Sto prósōpo t' athánato,

Vasanísti̱ka tí egṓ,
Giatí páli se kalṓ,
Tí sti̱n kardiá trelí̱
Propantós thélō na
Gínë s' eména.

«Pöán na pë́thō egṓ
N' ágës esý sti̱n soy filiá?
Pöá s' adikë́, ō Sapfṓ?

An fév̆gë nyn, tha
Diṓxë se grí̱gora,
Kä an dṓra den dékhetä,
Álla tha dṓsë,
An de se filë́,
Tha sýntoma filë́,
Ki an af̆tí̱ den thélë.

Érthe tṓra edṓ,
Elef̆therṓse me
Ki apó t' ágkhi̱ ta lyperá
Ki ó,ti thélë i̱ kardiá moy
Na nyn symvä́në,
Káne na symvä́në,
Ki ídia m'eména mákhoy.
Ō Afrodíti,
Panoýrga ki athánati̱,
Diós pädí me pö́kilo thróno,
Parakalṓ:
Mi̱n thlípsës m'agōniés
Í̱ symforés
Ti̱n kardiá moy, vasílissa,

Ma éla edṓ
An kä se forés álles,
Ékhontas akoýsë
Ti̱n fōní̱ moy apó makriá,
To spíti to khrysó
Toy patrós lë́pontas
Í̱rthes, zev̆gṓntas t' árma soy.

S' í̱gan kalá
Spoyrgítia grí̱gora
Perí ti̱n gi̱ ti̱ mav̆rí̱,
Tínazan ta fterá
Tōn polý grí̱gora
Mésa ston ä́thera,

Ki ámesa ftásane,
Ō Makária,
Zí̱ti̱ses, mëdiṓntas
Sto prósōpo t' athánato,

Vasanísti̱ka tí egṓ,
Giatí páli se kalṓ,
Tí sti̱n kardiá trelí̱
Propantós thélō na
Gínë s' eména.

«Pöán na pë́thō egṓ
N' erōtef̆thë́ me séna, kä
Pöá s' adikë́, ō Sapfṓ?

Grí̱gora tha se
Diṓxë an se fév̆gë
Kä an dṓra den dékhetä,
Álla tha dṓsë,
An de s' agapá,
Th' agapá sýntoma,
Ki an af̆tí̱ den thélë.

Érthe tṓra edṓ,
Ki apó t' ágkhi̱ eléf̆therōse
Ta lyperá,
Ki ó,ti thélë i̱ kardiá moy
Na nyn symvä́në,
Káne na symvä́në,
Mákhoy me ména!
Ō poni̱rí̱
Afrodíti, ō athánati̱
Kóri̱ Diós me ploymistó thróno,
Parakalṓ:
Mi̱n thlípsës m'agōníes
Í̱ symforés
Ti̱n kardiá moy, vasílissa,

Ma éla edṓ
An kápote állote
Ákoyses ti̱ fōní̱ moy
Ki ësákoyses ti̱n prosef̆khí̱,
To spíti to khrysó
Toy patrós áfi̱ses
Ki ékhontas zépsë t' árma í̛rthes.

Kä kalá s' éferan
Poyliá grí̱gora
Perí ti̱n gi̱ ti̱ mav̆rí̱,
Tínazan ta fterá
Toys polý grí̱gora
Mésa ston ä́thera,

Ki ámesa ftásane,
Ō Makária,
Zí̱ti̱ses, mëdiṓntas
Sto prósōpo t' athánato,

Pöán odýni̱ ékhō egṓ,
Giatí páli se kalṓ,
Tí pothë́ pio polý
I̱ trelí̱ moy kardiá
Tṓra na moy ginë́

Pöán na pë́sō páli
N' erōtef̆thë́ me séna? Akh,
Pöá s' adikë́, ō Sapfṓ?

Fév̆gë? Tha trékhë
Písō soy prosekhṓs.
Apporríptë ta dṓra soy?
Tha dṓsë af̆tí̱.
Den s' agapá?
Th' agapí̱së
Se lígo, éstō ki áthelá ti̱s

Éla tṓra edṓ,
Lýtrōsé me ap' ton kai̱ḿ
Ton lypi̱ró,
Kan' na gínoyn ali̱thi̱ná
Ósa i̱ kardiá moy
Lakhtará, ki i̱ ídïa
Gíne sýmmakhós moy.



We continue with a modern rendition of one fragment, which is Hymenæum. Again, no respect for the original rhythm or pronunciation, some accents are misplaced, and the translation is from the captions. I refuse, however, to write "hymnaios" when the original is clearly "Ymenaos", so that is what I will write instead.



Ἴψοι δὴ τὸ μελάθρον,
᾽Υμήναον,
Ἀέρρετε τέκτονες ἄνδρες·
᾽Υμήναον,
Γάμβρος είσέρχεται ἶσος Ἄρευι,
᾽Υμήναον,
Ἄνδρος μέγαλω πόλυ μέσδον,
᾽Υμήναον.
Oh the roof on high,
Sing Ymenaios,
Raise up, craftsmen;
Sing Ymenaios,
The bridegroom comes just like Ares,
Sing Ymenaios,
A man much bigger than a big man.
Sing Ymenaios.



As something of an intruder, the next video is a readout of Even gods celebrate marriages. This time the translation is from the video description.



Κῆ δ' ἀμβροσἰας μἑν
Κρἀτηρ ἐκἐκρατ',
Ἔρμαις δ' ἔλων ὄλπιν θἐοισ' ᾠνοχόαισε.
Κῆνοι δ' ἄρα πἀντες
Καρχἀσι' ἦχον
Κἄλειβον, ἀρἀσαντο δἑ πἀμπαν ἔσλα
Γάμβρῳ.
There a bowl of ambrosia
had been mixed,
Hermes took the jug and poured wine for the gods.
They all
held wine cups, and they
Offered libations and prayed altogether for good things
For the bridegroom.



The next video is Mános Xatzidákis's rendition of The Gongyla Fragment. Again, meter and lacunas fully ignored, pronunciation is modern. I translated this into Modern Greek, Italian, and English. The MG translation is from the early afternoon of 1/3/21. The Italian one was done around 14 on 3/3/21. The English one, around 19:30 the same day. For all the translations, I completed the incomplete word μα in l. 2 as μάνδυν, taking from Edmonds. Note the original «Μα εγώ χαίρω· / Καν η Κύπριδα», changed to the below by me on 9/7/23 at 15:09, and the changes from 16/7/23, i.e. «Ταράσσει μ' αείποτε,» and «Έρθε εδώ με τον μανδύα» to the below. No further comments from Kika. Wait a second, the 16/7 version of the former line was «Ταράζει μ' αείποτε,», the below version, more adherent to the original, is actually from the following evening. So 17/7/23.



Κέλομαί σε, Γογγύλα,
Πέφανθι λάβοϊσα μα
Γλακτίναν, σὲ δήυτε πόθος
Αμφιπόταται
Γλακτίναν, σὲ δήυτε πόθος
Αμφιπόταται

Τὰν κάλαν·
Ἀ γὰρ κατάγωγις αὔτα
Ἐπτόαισ' ἴδοισαν,
Ἔγω δὲ χαίρω·
Καὶ γὰρ αὔτα δὴ
Τόδε μέμφεταί σοι
Κυπρογένηα.
Καὶ γὰρ αὔτα δὴ
Τόδε μέμφεταί σοι
Κυπρογένηα.

Κέλομαί σε, Γογγύλα,
Πέφανθι λάβοϊσα μα
Γλακτίναν, σὲ δήυτε πόθος
Αμφιπόταται
Γλακτίναν, σὲ δήυτε πόθος
Αμφιπόταται.



Vieni qua, te ne prego,
Gongila, con il tuo latteo
Mantello; di nuovo il disìo
Vola intorno a te,
Mantello; di nuovo il disìo
Vola intorno a te,

Sì bella:
Poiché la veste tua sempre
Sconvolge chi la vede.
Ma io ne godo:
Ché la Cipride
Stessa ti rimprovera
Per questo.
Ché la Cipride
Stessa ti rimprovera
Per questo.

Vieni qua, te ne prego,
Gongila, con il tuo latteo
Mantello; di nuovo il disìo
Vola intorno a te,
Mantello; di nuovo il disìo
Vola intorno a te.
Σε προτρέπω, Γογγύλα·
Έλα εδώ με τον μανδύα
Τον άσπρο σαν γάλα· ο πόθος
Περί σε πλανιέται
Τον άσπρο σαν γάλα· ο πόθος
Περί σε πλανιέται

Την καλήν,
Γιατί το φόρεμα τ' αυτό
Ταράζει μ' όταν το δω,
Μα εγώ χαίρομαι·
Και η Κύπριδα
Ίδια μέμφεταί σε
Για τούτο.
Καν η Κύπριδα
Ίδια μέμφεταί σε
Για τούτο.

Σε προτρέπω, Γογγύλα·
Έλα εδώ, με τον μανδύα
Τον άσπρο σαν γάλα· ο πόθος
Περί σε πλανιέται
Τον άσπρο σαν γάλα· ο πόθος
Περί σε πλανιέται.



Please, appear, I beseech you,
Gongyla, wearing your your milky
White cloak, as desire around you
Flutters once again;
White cloak, as desire around you
Flutters once again,

O beauty!
For, when I lay my eyes on it,
That dress doth shake my heart,
Yes, but I rejoice:
The Cyprus-born herself
Because of this
Doth reproach you.
The Cyprus-born herself
Because of this
Doth reproach you.

Please, appear, I beseech you,
Gongyla, wearing your your milky
White cloak, as desire around you
Flutters once again;
White cloak, as desire around you
Flutters once again.



The next video takes The moon has set and sets it to music both in original and in a Modern Greek translation.



δέδυκε μὲν ἀ σελάννα
καὶ πληΐαδες·
μέσαι δὲ νύκτες,
παρὰ δ΄ ἔρχεται ὥρα·
ἐγὼ δὲ μόνα καθεύδω.



Έδυσ' η Πούλια τώρα
και το φεγγάρι. Μα ψυχή...
Μεσάνυχτα. Φεύγει η ώρα
κι εγώ κοιμούμαι μοναχή!
The moon has set,
The Pleiads too:
The night is half past
And time keeps going;
And I sleep alone.



The Pleiads have now set
And the moon. But oh my…
It's midnight. Time flies
And I sleep alone.



We then continue with a musicated deformation of the Idyll with Aphrodite. Errors:

  1. In l. 1 it's not ἐς but ἐκ;
  2. They completely skip ἐπὶ τόνδε, suggesting, in combination with the previous item, that we're talking about the temple in Crete… except the title says "come to me from Kriti"; um, yeah, dumbasses;
  3. I wasn't aware Modern Greek pronunciation has you pronouncing subscript iotas;
  4. The line βρόδεσσιν ὀ παῖς ὀ χῶρος ἐσκίαστε should be βρόδοισι δὲ παῖς ὀ χῶρος ἐσκίαστ';
  5. The word ἄνηται doesn't even exist AFAIK and should be ἄηται;
  6. ἠρινίοισ' should be ἠρινίοισιν;
  7. χρυσίαισιν κυλίκεσσιν is missing a syllable in between, probably ἐν.



δεῦρύ μοι, δεῦρύ μοι ἐς Κρήτας
δεῦρύ μοι, δεῦρύ μοι ἐς Κρήτας
ναῦον ἄγνον,
ὄππαι δὴ χάριεν μὲν ἄλσος
μαλίαν, βῶμοι δ' ἔνι θυμιάμενοι
λιβανώτῳ·
μαλίαν, βῶμοι δ' ἔνι θυμιάμενοι
λιβανώτῳ·

ἐν δ' ὔδωρ ψῦχρον κελάδει δι' ὔσδων μαλίνων,
ἐν δ' ὔδωρ ψῦχρον κελάδει δι' ὔσδων μαλίνων,
βρόδεσσιν ὀ παῖς ὀ χῶρος ἐσκίαστε,
αἰθυσσομένων δὲ φύλλων κῶμα κατέρρει·
βρόδεσσιν ὀ παῖς ὀ χῶρος ἐσκίαστε,
αἰθυσσομένων δὲ φύλλων κῶμα κατέρρει·

ἐν δὲ λείμων ἰππόβοτος τέθαλε
ἠρινίοισ' ἄνθεσιν, αἰ δ' ἄνηται
μέλλιχα πνέοισιν
μέλλιχα πνέοισιν
μέλλιχα πνέοισιν

ἔλθε σὺ στέμματ' ἔλοισα Κύπρι,
χρυσίαισιν κυλίκεσσιν ἄβρως
ὀμμεμείχμενον θαλίαισι νέκταρ,
νέκταρ οἰνοχόαισον

ἔλθε σὺ, Κύπρι,
ὀμμεμείχμενον θαλίαισι νέκταρ,
νέκταρ οἰνοχόαισον,
οἰνοχόαισον, (οἰνοχόαισον)
οἰνοχόαισον
[Come] here to me, here to me to Crete's,
[Come] here to me, here to me to Crete's
Holy temple,
Where there is indeed a graceful wood
Of apple trees, and there are altars burning
With incense;
Of apple trees, and there are altars burning
With incense;

Cool water runs through [it] through the apple tree branches,
Cool water runs through [it] through the apple tree branches,
The whole place is shaded by roses,
And there flows down from shaking leaves a sleepiness;
The whole place is shaded by roses,
And there flows down from shaking leaves a sleepiness;

A hourse-nourishing meadow there hath blossomed
With spring flowers, and the wninds
Blow honey-sweet
Blow honey-sweet
Blow honey-sweet

Take thou thy chaplets, Kypris, and come,
In the golden cups tenderly
Mixed for our festivities the nectar,
The nectar pour as wine.

Come thou, o Kypris,
Mixed for our festivities the nectar,
The nectar pour as wine.
Pour as wine, (pour as wine)
Pour as wine



Next up, we start our Avaton stuff. Avaton is a modern Greek band. They basically took random fragments and set them to music, totally ignoring the meter, mixing them up randomly (as we will see… or perhaps not so randomly), pronouncing them with Modern Greek pronunciation, and worst of all, with music so slow I sometimes want to speed it up and then realize it's already at 2x speed, which is the Youtube maximum. That being said, the fragment we're looking at next is Πρὸς τὴν παρθενίαν (1.A.vii), but for some reason they title their piece ᾽Υμήναον. Whatever, I guess. As it turns out, I translated this into Chinese, English, and Greek. The first translation dates to the night between 27/2 and 28/2/21 at around 3:10, with a tweak the following evening at 18:50. The second one was done at about 3:14 that same night. The Greek one, coming in last, was done the following evening shortly before 19:15. On 22/2/23 I have my «Παρθενία, παρθενία, λείποντάς με που να πας? / Δε πια θ' έρθω προς σε, δε πια θ' έρθω» corrected by Kika into the below version. Let's see them!



-Παρθενία, παρθενία, ποῖ με λίποισα οἴχῃ;
-Οὐκέτ'ἤξω πρός σε, οὔκετ’ ἤξω.


Parthenia, 处女性啊, 离开我后哪里去?
永不回来你那儿,永不回来


Παρθενία, παρθενία, αφήνοντάς με που να πας?
Πια δε θά 'ρθω προς σε, πια δε θά 'ρθω.
Maidenhood oh, maidenhood oh, leaving me, where do you go?
Ne'er will I come to you, ne'er will I come.


Parthenia, chǔnǚxìng a, líkāi wǒ hòu nǎlǐ qù?
Yǒng bù huílái nǐ nàr, yǒng bù huílái.


Parthenía, parthenía, lë́pontás me poy na pas?
De pia th' érthō pros se, de pia th' érthō.



Mashups and the Elyti̱s havoc, Ancient Greek edition

Avaton leads us into the next section with Taĩs émais etaírais, which is a mashup of ll. 7-8 of the Ode to Anactoria, ll. 1-2 of I wish to be dead, and the end of the pre-P.GC. version of Sappho 16. The parts have no links between each other, and are all set to music in the usual meter-neglecting manner (they didn't even bother to fix the inmetricality of the source in ὠς γάρ σ' ἴδω), and of course sung in modern pronunciation. I translated this to Modern Greek on 28/2/21 around 19 with a tweak at 19:36 and one at 19:48, and a change from Δεν έχω πια φωνή to Πια δεν έχω καμια φωνή at 14:18 on 31/1/22. I will show the original sided with English, and then the Greek with transliteration. I will not represent the repetitions here, you can find them with timestamps at lyricstranslate, which is my doing btw.
At 16:50 on 17/7/23, I give this a few corrections, which, compounded with Kika's 17/7 comments (which change έλειπε -> άφηνε and Εξ αδοκήτου -> Απροσδωκήτως, or at least that's how I implement then soon after receiving them, lead to the final version below.



Ὠς γάρ σ' ἴδω βρόχεως, με
Φώναις οὖδεν ἔτ' ἴκει

Τεθνάκην δ’ ἀδόλως θέλω·
Ἄ με ψισδομένα κατελιμπάνεν

Εὖ μὲν ἴδμεν οὐ δυνάτον
Γένεσθαι λῷστον ἀνθρωπῶι,
Πεδέχην δ’ ἀράσθαι
Τ' ἐξ ἀδοκήτω, τ' ἐξ ἀδοκήτω.
Όταν εγώ σε βλέπω λίγο,
Πια δεν έχω καμια φωνή.

Θα 'θελα ν' είχα πεθάνει·
Κλαίγοντας πολύ με ἔλειπε αυτή.

Ξέρουμ'ότι άνθρωπος δε
Μπορεί να έχει κάλλιστα, μα
Μόνο ν' εύχεται να τ' έχει
Εξ αδοκήτου, εξ αδοκήτου.
Όταν εγώ σε βλέπω λίγο,
Πια δεν έχω καμια φωνή.

Θα 'θελα να είχα πεθάνει·
Κλαίγοντας πολύ με άφηνε αυτή.

Ξέρουμε πως άνθρωπος δεν
Μπορεί νά ‘χει τα κάλλιστα, μα
Μόνο ν' εύχεται να τά ‘χει
Απροσδοκήτως, απροσδοκήτως.
For when I see you shortly, me
Voice no more reaches

That I were dead I really wish;
Crying, she left me

Well we know it's not possible
For the best to happen to man,
But [he] can pray to have [it]
Out of the blue, out of the blue.
Ótan egṓ se vlépō lígo,
Pia den ékhō kamia fōní̱.

Tha 'thela n' ë́kha pethánë;
Klä́gontas polý me élëpe af̆tí̱.

Xéroym' óti ánthrōpos de
Mporë́ na ékhë kállista, ma
Móno n' éf̆khetä na t' ékhë
Ex adokí̱toy, ex adokí̱toy.
Ótan egṓ se vlépō lígo,
Pia den ékhō kamia fōní̱.

Tha 'thela na ë́kha pethánë;
Klä́gontas polý me áfi̱ne af̆tí̱.

Xéroyme pōs ánthrōpos de
Mporë́ ná 'khë ta kállista, ma
Móno n' éf̆khetä na tá 'khë
Aprosdokí̱tōs, aprosdokí̱tōs.



We then have another short mashup, this time combining ll. 14-15 (including the beginning of the word split between 13 and 14) of "O Atthis!" with l. 1 of "full moon" (deformed to be a present tense so it fits with the rest), a random ᾄδει added because of reasons, and almost all of Fragment 1.I.i here. And they can't even correctly sing the text they made for themselves. Like, it's βρόδα, not ῤόδα, and that φαίνεται starts with an f, not that weird middle ground between w m and v you're doing. Not to mention the way it's set to music I'd hear it as τεθαλαίσι. And that δὲ ῤόδα, ῤόδα is so badly sung it's barely understandable. It sounds like δὲ λόδα λόδαι or something. I almost though they were breaking up ἀθεμώδης and singing just the last two syllables to end this thing! And it's ἀήδω, not eye-though! And anthrysk ≠ fennel so their translation reported below from the description is wrong. And they give lyrics which are WRONG because they skip ἦρος! I mean, do you even know what you're singing? Like seriously! The literal translation of the first section reads «Roses have blossomed, and tender chervils, / And sweet clovers with the looks of a flower, / The moon appears full / And the sweet-voiced messenger of spring, the nightingale, sings».



Τεθάλαισι δὲ ῤόδα κἅπαλ΄ ἅνθρυσκα
Καὶ μελίλωτος ἀνθεμώδης
Πλήρης φαίνεται ἀ σελάννα
Ἄδει δ΄ἅγγελος ἦρος ἱμερὀφωνος ἀἠδω.

Τεθάλαισι, τεθάλαισι
Δὲ ῤόδα, ῤόδα, δὲ ῤόδα, ῤόδα
Καὶ μελίλωτος ἀνθεμώδης
Πλήρης φαίνεται
Ἀ σελάννα
Ἀἠδω ἀἠδω ἀἠδω
Ἀἠδω ἀἠδω ἀἠδω
Mm…
Roses, delicate fennels
And tender clover are blooming
Selene is on its brightest moment, it is full moon
I can hear spring's angel, the sweet-voiced nightingale.

Are blooming, are blooming
Roses, roses, roses, roses
And tender clover,
It is full
Moon
Nightingale nightingale nightingale
Nightingale nightingale nightingale
Mm…



The next video gives us a strong pointer to a possible origin of this fragment mashup trend. It is again by Avaton, another mashup of fragments. More specifically, we have I told my dream to Cypris (1.F.ii), in one possible rendition, followed by Sing to me, o lyra, and finally From airy words (4.ccvii), which was treated as a testimonium because we are not sure it is by Sappho at all. Let us see the lyrics of the video, which I translated to Modern Greek between the evening of 28/2/21 and the following morning, and then the fake lyrics. One word on the Kyprogenéa line: I originally translated it as «Τ' όναρ μου στην Αφροδίτη διηγήθηκα», but if it's Κυπρογένηα it cannot be dative, so it has to be a vocative. The way it's sung, it's definitely not dative, so I made the new versions «Αφροδίτη, (σ)τ' όναρ μου σου διηγήθηκα» and «Αφροδίτη, σου διηγήθηκα (σ)το όναρ μου» in the morning of 4/5/22. I don't know why one would read that accusative ónar as "in the dream" when it could just as well be an object. I can't even see how one would think of that, let alone distinguish the two. So I'm going with ónar object. The choice of version was made 18:24 7/5/22.
Similarly to the previous Avaton mishmash, we have corrections from 16/7/23, specifically from 15:45/46. Compounding those with Kika's 17/7 comments, leading to me changing αέρια->αιθέρια and Μίλα ‘συ μου τώρα -> Τώρα μιλά μου εσύ on 17/7/23 in the evening, but I'm pretty sure I had the wrong tune in mind for correction two so make it Μίλα μου εσύ τώρα (22/7/23 22:19, also this is what she actually suggested)… putting all that together we get the final version below.



Ζαελεξάμαν ὄναρ Κυπρογένηα (x2)
Ἄγι χέλυ δία φωνάεσσα (x2)

Ζαελεξάμαν ὄναρ Κυπρογένηα (x2)
Ἄγι χέλυ δία φωνάεσσα (x2)

Ἆ [scat singing]

Ἀερίων ἐπέων ἄρχομαι (x2)
Ἄγι χέλυ δία φωνάεσσα ἄγι χέλυ δία (x2)

[Scat singing]
Αφροδίτη, τ' όναρ μου σου διηγήθηκα (x2)
Αχ, μιλά μου τώρα, λύρα θεϊκή (x2)

Αφροδίτη, τ' όναρ μου σου διηγήθηκα (x2)
Αχ, μιλά μου τώρα, λύρα θεϊκή (x2)

Ἆ [scat singing]

Απ' αέρια λόγια αρχίζω (x2)
Μιλά μου τώρ' εσύ, ω λύρα θεϊκή, μιλά μου τώρ' εσύ (x2)
Αφροδίτη, τ' όνειρό μου σου διηγήθηκα (x2)
Μίλα μου εσύ τώρα, λύρα θεϊκή (x2)

Αφροδίτη, τ' όνειρό μου σου διηγήθηκα (x2)
Μίλα μου εσύ τώρα, λύρα θεϊκή (x2)

Ἆ [scat singing]

Απ' αιθέρια λόγια αρχίζω (x2)
Μίλα μου τώρ' εσύ, ω λύρα θεϊκή, μίλα μου τώρ' εσύ (x2)
O Cyprus-born, I recounted [to you my] dream (x2)
Come on, divine lyre, speaking (x2)

O Cyprus-born, I recounted [to you my] dream (x2)
Come on, divine lyre, speaking (x2)

Ah [scat singing]

From airy words I start (x2)
Come on, divine lyre, speaking come on, divine lyre (x2)

[Scat singing]
Afrodíti̱, t' ónar moy soy dii̱gí̱thi̱ka (x2)
Akh, milá moy tṓra, lýra theïkí̱ (x2)

Afrodíti̱, t' ónar moy soy dii̱gí̱thi̱ka (x2)
Akh, milá moy tṓra, lýra theïkí̱ (x2)

A [scat singing]

Ap' aéria lógia arkhízō (x2)
Milá moy tṓr' esý, ō lýra theïkí̱, milá moy tṓr' esý (x2)
Afrodíti̱, t' ónëró moy soy dii̱gí̱thi̱ka (x2)
Míla moy esý tṓra, lýra theïkí̱ (x2)

Afrodíti̱, t' ónëró moy soy dii̱gí̱thi̱ka (x2)
Míla moy esý tṓra, lýra theïkí̱ (x2)

A [scat singing]

Ap' athéria lógia arkhízō (x2)
Milá moy tṓr' esý, ō lýra theïkí̱, milá moy tṓr' esý (x2)



Why do I say this gives a strong pointer? Well, for one, joining the two fragments (discounting the airy words one) was an idea of Elýti̱s (see below), as well as dropping the γένοιο from the lyre fragment, making it incomplete. But the strongest pointer is the following "fake lyrics" given for the piece:



Αεριων επεων αρχομαι αλλ’ονατων [ε] γω το
οφθαλμοις δε μελαις             [καλλος επιτ[μεζον]…
νυκτος αωρος και ποθηω και μαομαι ουκ οιδ
οττι θεω διχα μοι τα νοηματα κατ’ εμον σταλαχμον
ου τι μοι υμμες ας θελετε υμμες [ο] ττινας
γαρ ευ θεω κηνοι με μαλιστα παντων σινοντα[ι]
εγω δ’εμ’[αυται τουτο συ]νοιδα
μη κινη χεραδος ου γαρ θεμις εν μοισοπολων οικιαι
θρηνων εμμεν
ου κ’αμμι ταδε πρεποι
From airy words but delightful I beauty "served"…
But black-eyed
Sleep [son] of night and I crave and seek I don't know
What to think split thoughts I have according to my weeping
You all are nothing to me as long as you all want those whom
I hold dear those more than all hurt me
I for myself know this
Don't move gravel but it is not licit in a muse-serving house
For there to be lamentation
And such things wouldn't become us



So this mixes together From airy words (4.ccvii), "I beauty" (second quotation from commentary 2.D.xlvi), where they don't even worry to make something of the lacuna, thus creating the non-word ἐπιτ[μεζον], rendered as "served" because see below, then we have Black-eyed sleep (5.C.xii), I crave and seek (1.H.vii), I don't know what to think, According to my tears, l. 1 (1.H.v), You are nothing to me (1.G.iv), As long as you wish (1.G.v), For those indeed I love, I for myself know this, Stir not the jetsam, It is not licit for a house that serves the Muses. The result is a text that makes absolutely no sense, is a jumble of different and disconnected sentences, and has a non-word. And the linebreaking is completely random, making no effort to at least show where different fragments are separate.
So who is responsible for this monstrosity? Well, linebreaking aside, let's look at what Odysséas Elýti̱s, a translator of Sappho, has to offer. I will side his mashups with his translatinos. And yes, the linebreaking below is exactly the one he used. I will forego the polytonic orthography for the translations, though he uses it. If there is huge space on top and on the bottom of the Ancient Greek, it's because Blogger is stupid. I had to put a blank line in both places for a good lineup, since the translations are each 2 lines longer than the original, and for some reason that single line becomes an enormous vertical space in the preview.




ἀερίων ἐπέων ἄρχομαι ἀλλ’ όνάτων ®
[ἔ]γω τὸ κάλλος ἐπιτ[  ]μέζον· τί γὰρ
ἠνεμ[ ® αἴ με τιμίαν ἐπόησαν έργα
τὰ σφᾶ δοῖσαι ® μνάσεσθαί τινά φα
μι καὶ ὔστερον ἀμμέων.




ζὰ ἐλεξάμαν ὄναρ Κυπρογενηα ® ἄγι
χέλυ δῖα φωνάεσσα ® δεῦτέ νυν ἄ
βραι Χάριτες καλλίκομοί τε Μοῖσαι ®
βροδοπάχεες ἄγναι Χάριτες δεῦτε Δίος
κόραι ® δεῦρο δηὖτε Μοῖσαι χρύσιον
λίποισαι ® ὀφθάλμοις δὲ μέλαις νύ
κτος ἄωρος ® καὶ ποθήω καὶ μάομαι
® οὐκ οἲδ’ ὄττι θέω' δίχα μοι τὰ νοήμ
ματα ® κὰτ ἔμον στάλαχμον...




οὔ τί μοι ὔμμες ® ἆς θέλετ’ ὔμμες
]θαμέω[  ὄ]ττινα[ς γὰρ εὖ θέω κῆνοί
με μά]λιστα πά[ντων σίνοντα]ι ἔγω
δ’ έμ’ [αὔται τοῦτο συ]νοίδα ® μή κί
νη χέραδος ® οὐ γὰρ θέμις ἐν μοισο
πόλων οἰκίαι θρῆνον ἔμμεν’· οὔ κ’άμμι
τάδε πρέποι.

αρχινώ το τραγούδι μου μ’ αιθέρια λόγια
μα γι’ αυτό κι απαλά στ’ άκουσμα ® τήν
Ομορφιά διακόνησα· τί πιο μεγάλο θα μπο
ρούσα ® που μ ’ αξίωσαν (οι Μούσες) τη
δική τους δύναμη δίνοντας ® να λέω: αλή
θεία σε μελλούμενους καιρούς κάποιος θά
βρίσκεται νά με θυμάτ’ εμένα.


στον ύπνο μου είδα ότι μιλούσα λέει με τη
θεά Αφροδίτη ® έλα τώρα λοιπόν βγάλε
φωνή και μίλησε θεϊκή λύρα ® Μούσες με
τ’ όμορφο μαλλί καί σεις απαλές Χάριτες
® του Διός κόρες αγνές με το ρόδινο στα
χέρια δέρμα ® ξεπροβάλλετε από τό χρυσό
παλάτι σας ® όταν ολονυχτίς ο σκοτεινός
ο ύπνος τα μάτια κυριεύει ® και με καίει
ο πόθος και μ’ άνάβει σύγκορμη ® τί θε
λω μήτε ξέρω· δυο γνώμες είναι μέσα μου
® σταγόνα τη σταγόνα ο πόνος μέσα μου...


όχι δέν είναι σεις οπού για μένα ® όσο
σείς τό θελήσετε ® είναι αυτοί που εγώ
πασχίζω πάντοτε για το καλό τους που
μου κάνουν ίσια ίσια το χειρότερο κακό ®
ναι τό ’χω βάλει αυτό βαθιά μέσα στο νοΰ
μου και το ξέρω ® άσε λοιπόν τα βότσα
λα και μην τ’ άνασκαλεύεις ® σωστό δεν
είναι σε σπίτι ποιητών θρήνοι ν’ άκούγονται
δεν μας αρμόζουν τέτοια.



So this band Avaton appears to have made a mashup-ception from the Elytis mashups. Let's now hear what Elytis has to say about his work. He uses Greek letters in the "α)" format for the list, I will use a default HTML format.
Είναι ανάγκη να δώσω εδώ μερικές εξηγήσεις στον αναγνώστη για τον τρόπο που έργάσθηκα:
  1. Δεν ακολούθησα σε τίποτε την κλασική κατάταξη των αποσπασμάτων της Σαπφώς, μια που η προσπάθειά μου άπέβλεπε αλλού και όχι στο χώρο της φιλολογικής επιστήμης.
  2. Προχώρησα πιο πέρα: στην αυθαίρετη σύνδεση των θραυσμάτων, με γνώμονα τη φύση του περιεχομένου τους και απώτερο στόχο τη δημιουργία μιας νέας ποιητικής μονάδας, έστω καί ελλειπτικής.
  3. Χρειάστηκε γι’ αυτό ν’ αλλάξω πολύ συχνά τό χρόνο (από ενεστώτα σε παρατατικό ή σε μέλλοντα κλπ.) καθώς και να προσθέσω συνδετικά μόρια (όπως, καί, λοιπόν, όμως, αλλά κλπ.) χωρίς ωστόσο να φτάσω ποτέ, όπως ό J. Μ. Edmonds παλαιότερα ή η Edith Mora στις ημέρες μας, να καλύψω τα κενά με το υποτιθέμενο ενδιάμεσο νόημα.
  4. Κατάργησα το αρχικό κεφαλαίο και τα κόμματα. Περιορίσθηκα στις τελείες, την παύλα καί τό θαυμαστικό. Επίσης χρήσιμοποίησα ένα κόσμημα για νε δείξω που χωρίζουν οι αποσπασματικοί στίχοι ή οι στροφές (όσες φορές είχα να κάνω με ποίημα που έτυχε να διασώζεται στο μεγαλύτερο μέρος του).
  5. Ύστερα από πολλές δοκιμές, πρόσφορη βρήκα για την τυπογραφική εμφάνιση, τη στενή στήλη, τόσο στο πρωτότυπο όσο και στη μετάφραση. Έτσι, βέβαια, δυσκολεύεται ο αναγνώστης νά διαβάσει το κείμενο σωστά, δηλαδή σύμφωνα με το ρυθμό που έχουν οι στίχοι. Παρ’ όλα αυτά, προτίμησα να ’ρθω σε συναισθηματική συστοιχία με το μυστήριο που άναδίδεται από τις αρχαίες στήλες και τούς παπύρους, ακριβώς εξαιτίας της δυσκολίας που παρουσιάζει η ανάγνωσή τους· και με την ίδια χειρονομία να λυτρωθώ από την καταθρυμματισμένη επιφάνεια των σελίδων, ώστε να κερδίσω την ισόρροπη κι ενιαία τους εμφάνιση.
  6. Στην αριστερή σελίδα και κάτω από το άρχαϊο κείμενο — που είναι κατά κανόνα καί πιο σύντομο— έκρινα σωστό νά παραθέσω τις παραπομπές με το γνωστό συντομογραφικό τρόπο. ED για τον J. Μ. Edmonds, DP για τον Denys Page, LP για τούς Lobel and Page και RP για τους Reinach et Puech.
  7. Τα βιβλία που αναφέρω στο βιβλιογραφικό σημείωμα τα συμβουλεύθηκα όλα. Βασικά, όμως, θέλησα να στηριχθώ στην πιο υπεύθυνη έκδοση της Οξφόρδης, των Lobel and Page. Η καταφυγή μου στους άλλους έγινε μόνο όταν η εκδοχή τους για την άποκατάσταση λέξεων ή φράσεων με έβρισκε πιο σύμφωνο ή έξυπηρετοΰσε καλύτερα τις προθέσεις μου.
Οι διαφανογραφίες που συνοδεύουν τα εκτός εμπορίου αντίτυπα έγιναν με αυτοκόλλητα και διαφανή χαρτιά (τα λεγάμενα lettrafilms) που πάσχισα να τα προσαρμόσω επάνω σ’ ένα, βασικό κάθε φορά, σχέδιο. Από κει κι ο μονοτονικός τους χαρακτήρας.



Which Google translates (because I'm too lazy and short on time to go through all of this and fix Google :) ) to:



I need to give here some explanations to the reader about the way I worked:
  1. I did not follow at all the classic classification of Sappho excerpts, since my effort was aimed elsewhere and not in the field of literary science.
  2. I went further: the arbitrary connection of the fragments, based on the nature of their content and the ultimate goal of creating a new poetic unit, even an elliptical one.
  3. I had to change the time[tense?] very often (from present to past participle or future, etc.) as well as to add connecting points (like, and, however, but, etc.) without ever reaching, like J. M. Edmonds in the past or Edith Mora nowadays, to fill in the gaps with the supposed intermediate meaning.
  4. I removed the initial capital and the parties[commas: the word κόμμα means both political party and comma]. I limited myself to the dots, the hyphen and the exclamation mark. I also used a piece of jewelry to show the separation of the verses or the turns[stanzas] (as many times as I was dealing with a poem that happened to be preserved for the most part) [um yeah, "piece of jewelry" aka circled kappa, which got copypasted as a registered trademark symbol].
  5. After many tests, I found it suitable for the typographic appearance, the narrow column, both in the original and in the translation. Thus, of course, it is difficult for the reader to read the text correctly, that is, according to the rhythm of the lyrics[same word is used for both lines in poetry and lyrics of songs]. Nevertheless, I preferred to get into an emotional array[not sure what συστοιχία was meant to mean here] with the mystery revealed by the ancient columns and papyri, precisely because of the difficulty of reading them; and with the same gesture to get rid of the crushed surface [fragmentary appearance] of the pages, so to gain their balanced and uniform appearance.
  6. On the left page and below the ancient text - which is usually shorter - I thought it was right to quote in the familiar abbreviated form. ED for J. M. Edmonds, DP for Denys Page, LP for Lobel and Page and RP for Reinach et Puech.
  7. I consulted all the books I mention in the bibliographic note. But basically, I wanted to rely on the most responsible version of Oxford, Lobel and Page. I only resorted to others when their version of restoring words or phrases found me more agreeable or better served my intentions.
The transparencies that accompany the non-commercial copies were made with stickers and transparent papers (the so-called lettrafilms) that I tried to adapt to a basic design each time. Hence their monotonous character.
Είναι ανάγκη να δώσω εδώ μερικές εξηγήσεις στον αναγνώστη για τον τρόπο που εργάσθηκα:
  1. Δεν ακολούθησα σε τίποτε την κλασική κατάταξη των αποσπασμάτων της Σαπφώς, μια που η προσπάθειά μου άπέβλεπε αλλού και όχι στο χώρο της φιλολογικής επιστήμης.
  2. Προχώρησα πιο πέρα: στην αυθαίρετη σύνδεση των θραυσμάτων, με γνώμονα τη φύση του περιεχομένου τους και απώτερο στόχο τη δημιουργία μιας νέας ποιητικής μονάδας, έστω καί ελλειπτικής.
  3. Χρειάστηκε γι’ αυτό ν’ αλλάξω πολύ συχνά τό χρόνο (από ενεστώτα σε παρατατικό ή σε μέλλοντα κλπ.) καθώς και να προσθέσω συνδετικά μόρια (όπως, καί, λοιπόν, όμως, αλλά κλπ.) χωρίς ωστόσο να φτάσω ποτέ, όπως ό J. Μ. Edmonds παλαιότερα ή η Edith Mora στις ημέρες μας, να καλύψω τα κενά με το υποτιθέμενο ενδιάμεσο νόημα.
  4. Κατάργησα το αρχικό κεφαλαίο και τα κόμματα. Περιορίσθηκα στις τελείες, την παύλα καί τό θαυμαστικό. Επίσης χρησιμοποίησα ένα κόσμημα για νε δείξω που χωρίζουν οι αποσπασματικοί στίχοι ή οι στροφές (όσες φορές είχα να κάνω με ποίημα που έτυχε να διασώζεται στο μεγαλύτερο μέρος του).

  5. Ύστερα από πολλές δοκιμές, πρόσφορη βρήκα για την τυπογραφική εμφάνιση, τη στενή στήλη, τόσο στο πρωτότυπο όσο και στη μετάφραση. Έτσι, βέβαια, δυσκολεύεται ο αναγνώστης να διαβάσει το κείμενο σωστά, δηλαδή σύμφωνα με το ρυθμό που έχουν οι στίχοι. Παρ’ όλα αυτά, προτίμησα να ’ρθω σε συναισθηματική συστοιχία με το μυστήριο που αναδίδεται από τις αρχαίες στήλες και τους παπύρους, ακριβώς εξαιτίας της δυσκολίας που παρουσιάζει η αναγνωσή τους· και με την ίδια χειρονομία να λυτρωθώ από την καταθρυμματισμένη επιφάνεια των σελίδων, ώστε να κερδίσω την ισόρροπη κι ενιαία τους εμφάνιση.
  6. Στην αριστερή σελίδα και κάτω από το αρχαίο κείμενο — που είναι κατά κανόνα καί πιο σύντομο— έκρινα σωστό νά παραθέσω τις παραπομπές με το γνωστό συντομογραφικό τρόπο. ED για τον J. Μ. Edmonds, DP για τον Denys Page, LP για τούς Lobel and Page και RP για τους Reinach et Puech.

  7. Τα βιβλία που αναφέρω στο βιβλιογραφικό σημείωμα τα συμβουλεύθηκα όλα. Βασικά, όμως, θέλησα να στηριχθώ στην πιο υπεύθυνη έκδοση της Οξφόρδης, των Lobel and Page. Η καταφυγή μου στους άλλους έγινε μόνο όταν η εκδοχή τους για την αποκατάσταση λέξεων ή φράσεων με έβρισκε πιο σύμφωνο ή εξυπηρετούσε καλύτερα τις προθέσεις μου.
Οι διαφανογραφίες που συνοδεύουν τα εκτός εμπορίου αντίτυπα έγιναν με αυτοκόλλητα και διαφανή χαρτιά (τα λεγάμενα lettrafilms) που πάσχισα να τα προσαρμόσω επάνω σ’ ένα, βασικό κάθε φορά, σχέδιο. Από κει κι ο μονοτονικός τους χαρακτήρας.
I need to give here some explanations to the reader about the way I worked:
  1. I did not follow at all the classic classification of Sappho excerpts, since my effort was aimed elsewhere and not in the field of literary science.
  2. I went further: to the arbitrary connection of the fragments, with the nature of their content as the basis and the creation of a new poetic unit, even if elliptic, as the ultimate goal.
  3. I thus often had to change the tense (from present to imperfect or future, etc.), as well as to add connecting particles (like, and, therefore, however, but, etc.), without ever ending up, like J.M. Edmonds in the past and Edith Mora these days, filling in the gaps with the supposed intermediate meaning.
  4. I removed the initial capital and the commas. I limited myself to the dots, the hyphen and the exclamation mark. I also used a piece of jewelry to show how to separate the fragmentary lines or the stanzas (any time I was dealing with a poem that happened to be preserved for the most part) [*].
  5. After much trial and error, I found it suitable for the typographical appearance to have a narrow column, both in the original and in the translation. Thus, of course, it is difficult for the reader to read the text correctly, that is, according to the rhythm of the lines. Nevertheless, I preferred to get into an emotional array [??] with the mystery revealed by the ancient columns and papyri, precisely because of the difficulty of reading them; and with the same gesture to get rid of the fragmentary appearance of the pages, so to gain their balanced and uniform appearance.
  6. On the left page and below the ancient text - which is usually shorter - I thought it right to place the citations, in the familiar abbreviated style, on the left page and below the ancient text, which is also usually shorter: ED for J. M. Edmonds, DP for Denys Page, LP for Lobel and Page and RP for Reinach et Puech.
  7. I consulted all the books I mention in the bibliographic note. Basically, however, I wanted to rely on the most responsible [??] version of Oxford, Lobel and Page. I only resorted to others when their version of restoring words or phrases found me more in agreement or better served my intentions.
The transparencies that accompany the non-commercial copies were made with stickers and transparent papers (the so-called lettrafilms) that I tried to adapt to a single, basic design each time. Hence their monotonous character.

[*]A "piece of jewelry", aka circled kappa, which got copypasted as a registered trademark symbol ®. The part about separating lines is bullshit: what he separated are fragments and stanzas, but e.g. for όττινας he only has his jewels at the beginning and the end, despite it being 2 lines and a half.



OK, so apparently what he is doing is to try to get an emotional connection with the Sappho fragments and their mystery. This does not, in my opinion, justify smashing fragments together when they were presented to us separately, and above all when the meters don't match. Also, what the heck is this spitting of words across line breaks? Like, do you seriously do this normally in writing? No, not without hyphens, unless it's a translation of your Sappho mashups, where you do this. Imitating papyri, you say? Well then linebreak correctly 'cause that's what papyri do :). And btw, what the heck is this completely random linebreaking, not respecting the meter at all? For crying out loud, Sappho was famous as a POET, and you should respect the fact that she wrote in METERS. The right way to do what you state you aimed for is to present the original material with correct linebreaking, and then give a free translation where you put in the stuff you want to add as links. And you definitely didn't add enough, because your translations are still bunches of disconnected sentences. That said, I am not at all adverse to drawing inspiration from Sappho for something of your own, like we will see was done in Ατθίδα, our very last video for the post. In fact, I am myself preparing at least one Sappho medley, where I take fragments from different poems and set them to music together. I conceive this combination as a 3-voice dialogue, much like the "Monster Medley" that is announced in the spoiler of the index (when ever will I finish that?), and the music is made to follow the natural rhythm of long and short syllables, and even the pitch accent as marked by the various diacritics. As for ignoring the traditional classification, I have absolutely no problem with that: I myself have posted the fragments in groupings of my own conception, and have rearranged them in the Chinese and Modern Greek editions, and once again in the Italian and German one that are to come. In fact, there may or may not have been an ancient edition that rearranged the fragments according to topic rather than meter, which might suit your goals.
So Elýti̱s seems to have had a huge impact on Greek reception of Sappho, as after him many were doing mashups, either as Elytis, or of Elytis mashups, or completely of their own. We have seen some examples, and will see more. A few dates now: Elýti̱s's work is dated March 1984 as per the PDF I have, Avaton recorded their first album in 1991 as per here, Anastasia Guy (whose work on Sappho we shall soon see) worked in… huh, can't tell for sure, but something changed in 2001 as per here, so I'll assume that's when she started working (also, this was performer in 2011 and one of the soloist is her, so judge the age for yourselves), and then the Lyre 'n' Rhapsody group of that deformation of the Idyll formed in 2013 as per here, so we can reasonably assumed all these were influenced by Elýti̱s's mashupping. Therefore this man single-handedly wrecked the Greek reception of Sappho these days. Dang it Elytis, why?

And speaking of Anastasia Guy, we immediately find ourselves confronted with her work Η λύρα, which mixes together three things, one in Modern Greek whose origin is unknown to me, the last stanza of Cypris and Nereids in the most outdated completion possible with random parts removed, and the Elytis translation of the same, again with random parts removed. A horror in every way :). It's sung by three people, and for each section I give the name of the soloist. I follow this up with the Elytis text of the stanza, and the Elytis translation.



Κωστής·

Ἀλλ' ἄκουσ]ον
Αἴ κ[ε, θέα, ]ι
]ν σὺ δὲ, Κύπ[ρ', ἐ-]
ρέ[μ]να[ι ] θέμενα κάκαν

Ἀλλ' ἄκουσ]ον
Αἴ κ[ε, θέα, ]ι
]ν σὺ δὲ, Κύπ[ρ', ἐ-]
ρέ[μ]να[ι ] θέμενα κάκαν

Ελένη·

Με τη λύρα τη γλυκόηχη
Το τριήμερο το στίχο
Και τη φωνή σαν παιδί

Με τη λύρα τη γλυκόηχη
Το τριήμερο το στίχο
Και τη φωνή σαν παιδί

(Στο μεταξύ, ο Κωστής δις τραγουδά·
λύ... -κόηχη...
Το τρι... τι στίχο
Και τη... παιδί)

Μάριος·

Άκουσέ με
Και στη μαύρη νύχτα
Ρίξ' τα όλα τα κακά μακριά μου

Άκουσέ με
Και στη μαύρη νύχτα
Ρίχ' τα όλα τα κακά μακριά μου

Ελένη·

Με τη λύρα τη γλυκόηχη
Το τριήμερο το στίχο
Και τη φωνή σαν παιδί

Με τη λύρα τη γλυκόηχη
Το τριήμερο το στίχο
Και τη φωνή σαν παιδί

Με τη λύρα τη γλυκόηχη
Το τριήμερο το στίχο
Και τη φωνή σαν παιδί

Με τη λύρα τη γλυκόηχη
Το τριήμερο το στίχο
Και τη φωνή σαν παιδί

(Στο μεταξύ οι άλλοι δυο τραγουδάν δις·
λύ... -κόηχη...
Το τρι... τι στίχο
Και τη... παιδί)

Elytis text, laid out the proper way
(he uses his usual random linebreaking),
with completions as the translation
suggests:

Ἀλλ' ἄκουσ]ον, αἴ κ[ε, θέα, (μέλεσσ)]ι
(Σοὶ φρέν' ἴαινο)]ν, σὺ [δὲ,] Κύπ[ρ', ἐ]ρέ[μν]α[ι
(Νύκτι πάντα) θε]μέν̣α, κακαν(θε'
Ἄμμιν ἀλάλκο]ις)

Elytis translation:

Ἀλλὰ θεά μου (ἀνίσως κι εὐφροσύνη
Κάποτε μὲ τὴ λύρα μου σοῦ ἔχω δώσει)
Ἄκουσέ με καὶ μένα
Καὶ στὴ μαύρη νύχτα ρίξε τα ὅλα[,]
Διῶξε τα ὅλα τὰ κακὰ μακριά μου...
Kōstí̱s:

But listen,
If, [oh Goddess], …
You, o Cypris,
In dark … putting …

But listen,
If, [oh Goddess], …
You, o Cypris,
In dark … putting …

Eléni̱:

With the sweet-sounding lyre
The three-day verse
And the voice like a child

With the sweet-sounding lyre
The three-day verse
And the voice like a child

(Meanwhile, Kosti̱s sings twice:
ly… -sounding
The three-… verse
And the… child)

Mários:

Hear me
And in the black night
Throw all the bad things away from me

Hear me
And in the black night
Throw all the bad things away from me

Eléni̱:

With the sweet-sounding lyre
The three-day verse
And the voice like a child

With the sweet-sounding lyre
The three-day verse
And the voice like a child

With the sweet-sounding lyre
The three-day verse
And the voice like a child

With the sweet-sounding lyre
The three-day verse
And the voice like a child

(Meanwhile, the other three sing four times:
ly… -sounding
The three-… verse
And the… child)

Elytis text, with proper layout
and completions, translated by me:



But listen [to me], if ever, o goddess, (with songs
I warmed your heart), you, o Cypris, in black
(Night everything) hiding, everything ill-fru(ited
Bring far from us.)

Elytis translation (translated by me):

But my goddess (if merriment
I ever gave you with my lyre)
Listen to me and myself
And into the dark night throw everything[,]
Chase all ills far from me...



And Anastasia Guy gives lectures about setting poetry to music, when she does so by ignoring the very thing that makes this constitute poetry, and doesn't even care to make the text make sense (even more so in the next thing), and what's worse randomly tampers with the text? My gosh, whatever place she's giving lectures at must be so desperate…
Next up we have another mashup, Σαπφώ 1 (aka Αὐως ]αν Ἀφροδί[τα), again set to music by Anastasia Guy, whose pieces are drawn drawn from 2.D.iv, Just now Dawn (1.E.x), 2.D.xxv l. 3, On the cicada (1.I.iii). I will discuss the Elytis origins of this mashup below as I discuss its Modern Greek version (basically). I will only add here that the line καὶ κάλα δῶρα is 100% Elytis's invention, as the line is lost in the papyrus, and the line before it was dropped by Anastasia because of reasons, and that whoever thinks including an incomplete line with brackets such as ]αν Ἀφροδί[τα not only in a song but in its title is freaking stupid. Also, what's with the random diselisions of elided words? If Sappho wrote δ', δ' you use. You don't just go diseliding it into δὲ, especially when you do nothing of the likes with θ', which should actually be entirely dropped as we have no idea what word it came from.



] μένοισα
]θ' ἐν θύοισι
{}
[καὶ κάλα δῶρα]

]ει δὲ βαῖσα
ε]ὖ γὰρ ἴδμεν
]ιν ἔργων
<>

] δὲ ὐπίσσω
κ]ἀπὶ κῦδ[
] τόδε εἴπην

] μένοισα
]θ' ἐν θύοισι
{}
[καὶ κάλα δῶρα]

]ει δὲ βαῖσα
ε]ὖ γὰρ ἴδμεν
]ιν ἔργων
<>

] δὲ ὐπίσσω
κ]ἀπὶ κῦδ[
] τόδε εἴπην

Ἀρτίως μὲν ἀ χρυσοπέδιλος Αὔως
]αν Ἀφροδί[τα (x2)
Ἀρτίως μὲν ἀ χρυσοπέδιλος Αὔως
]αν Ἀφροδί[τα (x2)

Χρύσειοι δ' ἐρέβινθοι ἐπ' αἰόνων ἐφύοντο.
Πτερύγων δὲ ὐπακακχέει λιγυράν ἀοίδαν,
Λιγυράν ἀοίδαν
Ὅ τι ποτ' ἂν φλόγιον καθέταν
Ἐπιπτάμενον καταυδείη
] remaining
] in sacrifices
{}
[and beautiful gifts]

] and (if?) having gone
we]ll we know
] of deeds
<>

] and may I place under
a]nd for glo[(ry)
] to say this

] remaining
] in sacrifices
{}
[and beautiful gifts]

] and (if?) having gone
we]ll we know
] of deeds
<>

] and may I place under
a]nd for glo[(ry)
] to say this

Just now Dawn the golden-sandalled one
] Aphrodite (x2)
Just now Dawn the golden-sandalled one
] Aphrodite (x2)

And golden chickpeas were born on the shores.
And from below the wings it pours down a clear song,
Clear song
(Whenever) flaming, vertically
Having flown, it speaks plainly



Mashups and the Elyti̱s havoc, Modern Greek edition

As announced, we go into Modern Greek, thus starting a new section with our next video, Σαπφώ 2, which is Elýti̱s translation of his own mashup of 2.D.xxv (ll. 3 4 6 9), Golden chickpeas (1.C.i), On the cicada (1.I.iii) – a mashup that evidently was drawn from in the last videoo, which adds the first part, and drops some random parts in between. I will give the text set to music and the Elytis original text, with translations. The mashup as is makes no sense, even in translation. It's a bunch of completely disconnected sentences. Moreover, the cicada fragment is a corruption mess, so it shouldn't be left without emendation and definitely shouldn't be set to music in Ancient Greek. But let's see this thing. Actually, let me first comment on how Elytis handled «ἀ]δύλογοι δ’ ἐρ[ ]βαλ- / λοι ]ις ἔχοισα ]ένα θαασ[σ ]άλλει ]ας / ἐέρσας[». First of all, I always hate it when people translate stuff that isn't in the original because they fail to complete the original and translate the complete version, as Elytis did here with ἐρ[ -> Ἔρ[ωτες. Then what the heck is he doing to «βαλ- / λοι ]ις ἔχοισα»? It looks like he's taking the beta away, reading «αλλοι ]ις» as ἄλλοις, and the beta as some other word which he doesn't translate. What the heck? The things don't even add up, and they were clearly in different lines! Elytis, are you stupid right here? Or are you entirely ignoring the βάλλοι and treating ]ις = ἐτέρο]ις, with Edmonds levels of phantasy? And where are you putting the «]ένα θαασ[σ ]άλλει ]ας» part? Completely ignored? Is this seriously to be called a translation? Also, ληγυρός doesn't exist, it's λιγυρός. And «ὅ τι ποτ’ ἂν» is garbage. Not sure what happens in the second repetition at the line Φούντωναν χρυσορέβιθα, it sounds like she makes a singing mistake and catches up, ending up with *"Φούντωναν σου χρυσορέβιθα" or something like that.



Λίγο πρὶν ἡ Αὐγὴ μὲ τὸ χρυσό της πέδιλο
Τὴν Ἀφροδίτη
Κι οἱ Ἔρωτες μὲ τὰ γλυκὰ τὰ λόγια
Κι ἄλλους
Ἔχοντας αὐτὴ
Δροσοσταγόνες
Φούντωναν χρυσορέβιθα
Σ’ ὅλο τὸ μάκρος τοῦ γιαλοῦ
Καὶ τώρα
Ἕνα τραγούδι βγαίνει τὸ τζιτζίκι
Δυνατὸ
Κάτω ἀπὸ τὰ φτερούγια τοῦ
Καθὼς ἀπολαμβάνει
Τὴν πύρα ποὺ ἀναδίνει
Ὁ κάμπος μές στον ήλιο.



ἀρτίως μεν ἀ χρυσοπέδιλλος Αὔως ®
]αν Ἀφροδί[τα ἀ]δύλογοι δ’ ἔρ[(ωτες) ]βαλ-
λοι ]ις ἔχοισα ]ένα θαασ[σ ]άλλει ]ας
ἐέρσας[ ® χρύσειοι δ’ ἐρέβινθοι ἐπ’ ἀι-
όνων ἐφύοντο ® πτερύγων δ’ ὑποκακ-
χέει ληγυρὰν ἀοίδαν ὅ τι ποτ’ ἂν φλό-
γιον καθέταν ἐπιπτάμενον καταυδείη.
A short while ago Dawn with her golden sandal
Aphrodite
And the Loves with [their] sweet words
And others
She, having
Dew drops
Golden chickpeas were born
On the whole length of the beach
And now
The cicada produces a song
[A] loud [song]
From below its wings
As it takes
The heat that there gives out
The field in the sun.



A short while ago golden-sandalled Dawn ®
… Aphrodite… and the sweet-worded Loves … may he
throw… she, having… I sat… [bl]ooms…
of dew… ® Golden chickpeas on the
shores were born ® From below the wings [it] pours
down a shrill song everytime(?) the
heat(?) that has flown vertically it takes in (?).



Keeping with Anastasia Guy, we have Υμέναιος, which may not even be Sappho. I put it in because I found it, I have no idea where it comes from.



Κι αφού όλα γίνουν καθώς πρέπει,
Όπως τα ονειρεύτηκα, εσύ, Αφροδίτη,
Τον Υμέναιο να μου τραγουδήσεις
Και θα κάνω πολλά παιδιά
Να ευτυχήσω εγώ κι η πόλη μου,
Η Πάφος.
And after everything takes place as is fitting,
Like I dreamt it, you, Aphrodite,
Sing the Nuptial Hymn to me,
And I will make many children
That I may be happy and also my city,
Paphus.



Next up, Ἀερίων ἐπέων ἄρχομαι | Aeríōn epéōn árkhomai, "From airy words I start", which is essentially an Elytis translation with a few repetitions. The originals are From airy words (4.ccvii), Second quotation in commentary 2.D.xlvi, They made me famous, Someone will remember me, and it's here that we see who came up with "served" in the dord fragment we commented on above when we found it in Avaton: it's Elytis who invented that verb, though he had the dord as two pieces, not a single word. Below I give the text of the video, and the Elytis mashup as presented by him, with my translations.



Ἀερίων ἐπέων ἄρχομ' ἀλλ' ὀνάτων·
Αρχινώ το τραγούδι μου
Μ’ αιθέρια λόγια
Μα γι’ αυτό κι απαλά στ’ άκουσμα.
Τήν Ομορφιά διακόνησα·
Τι πιο μεγάλο θα μπορούσα;
Που μ’ αξίωσαν οι Μούσες
Τη δική τους δύναμη δίνοντας
Να λέω· αλήθεια
Σε μελλούμενους καιρούς
Κάποιος θα βρίσκεται
Να με θυμάτ’ εμένα.
Κάποιος θα βρίσκεται
Να με θυμάτ’ εμένα.

Ἀερίων ἐπέων,
Ἀερίων ἐπέων
Ἄρχομ' ἀλλ' ὀνάτων·
Ἀερίων ἐπέων.
Αρχινώ το τραγούδι μου
Μ’ αιθέρια λόγια
Αρχινώ το τραγούδι
Μ’ αιθέρια λόγια



ἀερίων ἐπέων ἄρχομαι ἀλλ’ ὀνάτων ®
[ἔ]γω τὸ κάλλος ἐπιτ[   ]μέζον· τί γάρ
ἠνεμ[(οι?) ® αἴ με τιμίαν ἐπόησαν ἔργα
τά σφά δοϊσαι ® μνάσεσθαί τινά φα-
μι καὶ ὔστερον ἀμμέων.
Ἀερίων ἐπέων ἄρχομ' ἀλλ' ὀνάτων·
I start my song
With airy words
But [which] by this reason [are] soft to the ears.
Beauty I served:
What more could I [do]?
Of which the Muses judged me worthy
Their own power giving me
May I say: in sooth
In coming times
Someone will be found
To remember me myself.
Someone will be found
To remember me myself.

Ἀερίων ἐπέων,
Ἀερίων ἐπέων
Ἄρχομ' ἀλλ' ὀνάτων·
Ἀερίων ἐπέων.
I start my song
With airy words
I start the song
With airy words



From airy words I start, but delightful ®
I Beauty (served?)   greater: for what
(could I?) ® [the Muses] who made me honored, their
by giving me ® I say, someone will remember   [works
us even in the end.



Next up, Theós moy fä́netä, a recitation of the Elytis translation of the Ode to Anactoria. I absolutely hate the ultraspeed and the echoes which make it exceptionally hard to hear what is being said. The linebreaks are deduced from the pauses in the video rather than taken from the crappy random linebreaking of Elytis's work. This time we get polytonic because I'm copypasting from the video description.



Θεὸς μοῦ φαίνεται στ' ἀλήθεια ἐμένα
Κεῖνος ὁ ἄντρας
Ποὺ κάθεται ἀντικρύ σου
Κι ἀπὸ κοντὰ
Τὴ γλύκα τῆς φωνῆς σου ἀπολαμβάνει
Καὶ τὸ γέλιο σου ἂχ
Ποὺ ξελογιάζει
Καὶ ποὺ λιώνει
Στὸ στῆθος τὴν καρδιά μου
Σοῦ τ ὁρκίζομαι
Γιατὶ μόλις ποὺ πάω νὰ σὲ κοιτάξω
Νιώθω ξάφνου
Να μοῦ κόβεται ἡ μιλιά μου
In truth to me a god seemeth
That man
Who sits face to face with you
And from near [you]
The sweetness of your voice enjoys
And your laughter, ah,
Which leads asunder
And which crushes
My heart in my breast
I swear it to you
Because as soon as I come look at you
I feel suddenly
That my speech is cut from me



Then we find Goggýla, a recitation of Elytis's version of the Gongyla fragment. Below are the video's text, and the Elytis Ancient Greek text, with linebreaking fixed. Note how the background music is Hatzidákis's musication of the fragment. Oh sorry, it's not just Gongyla, there's also a few things mashed into this. Namely, random parts of the other Gongyla fragment.



Γύρνα πάλι κοντά μου,
Σε εξορκίζω, Γογγύλα,
Το χιτώνα φορώντας το λευκό σα γάλα,
Πάλι φανερώσου, όμορφη.
Να 'ξερες τι λαχτάρες μου γεννάς
Έτσι ντυμένη!
Και πως νιώθω
Χαρούμενη που όχι εγώ
Μα η θεά μας
Η Κύπρια η ίδια σου το λέει
Που τόσα χρόνια την παρακαλώ
Και την παρακαλώ
Γογγύλα,
Λες κι ένας πόθος με πιάνει να πεθάνω
Στις όχθες όπου ανθεί ο λωτός
Μέσα στη δρόσο
Να αντικρίσω τον Αχέρωντα.



]ν[ [κ]έλομαί σ[ε
Γο]γγύλα [πέφα]νθι λάβοισα μα[
Γλα]κτίναν· σὲ δηῦτε πόθος τ[έαυτος]
Ἀμφιπόταται

Τάν κάλαν· ἀ γὰρ κατάγωγις αὔτα[
Ἐπτόαισ’ ἴδοισαν· ἔγω δέ χαίρω·
Καὶ γὰρ αὔτα δὴ τ[όδ]ε μέμφ[εταί σοι
Κ]υπρογέν[ηα

Τ]ᾶς ἄραμα[ι
Τοῦτο τω]
Β]όλλομα[ι
®
Γογγύλα
Κατθάνην δ’ ἴμερός τις [ἔχει με καὶ
Λωτίνοις δροσόεντας [όχ-
[θ]οις ίδην Άχερ[(οντος)
Return again near me,
I beg you, Gongyla,
Wearing the chiton as white as milk,
Appear again, beautiful.
Find out what longings you give me
Thus dressed!
And how I feel
Happy that not I
But our Goddess
The Cyprus-born one herself tells you
How many years I've begged her
And I've begged her
Gongyla,
As if a desire filled me to die
[And] on the banks where lotus blooms
In the dew
To set my eyes on the Acheron.



I urge you
Gongyla appear having taken the (chiton?)
White as milk; such a wish again around you
Flutters,

O beautiful; for that dress
Shakes (me?) when (I?) see it; and I rejoice:
For the Cyprus-born herself also indeed
Blames you for this

Whom I pray
This (word?)
I want
®
Gongyla
A wish to die fils me, and
The lotus-covered dewy banks
Of the Ache(ron) to see



We then proceed with Ós' ástra gýrō vrískontä, Elytis's rendition of The stars and the moon – with some words taken out for the musication. I made musical translations of this into Italian (11/3/21 in the evening with «Con il colore dell'argento» changed on 20/3 in the morning) and English (straight after the Italian one). I give you the original, the literal English, and the musical translations, and the original will include the words taken out, in brackets. I will forgo the repetitions. I will point out that Elytis's Ancient Greek has ἂψ, not the αἶψ' emendation by Bergk I took up because I didn't realize it was an emendation. Then again, the omitted παρευθὺς is a very good translation for the emendation, and not for the ἂψ, so…



(Κι) Όσ’ άστρα γύρω βρίσκονται
Στην έκπαγλη σελήνη, (παρευθὺς)
Το φωτεινό τους πρόσωπο
Κρύβουν κάθε φορά
Που εκείνη,
Ολόγιομη,
Καταλάμπει τη γη (τη σκοτεινή)
Ανεβαίνοντας
Ασημοκαπνισμένη,
Ασημοκαπνισμένη.



Whatever star happens to be
Around the marv'lous moon,
Will quickly hide its shiny face
At any time in which
The moon
Appears in full,
Shining over the earth,
Taking to the sky
Shrouded in silver beaūty,
Shrouded in silver beaūty.
(And) All stars that are around
The sublime moon, (immediately)
Their bright face
They hide every time
That she[1] [the moon],
Full round,
Illuminates the (dark) earth
Rising
In silver smoke
In silver smoke.



Le stelle che si trovano
Attorno alla luna piena,
Il volto loro luminoso
Nascondon ogni volta
Che lei,
Meravigliosa,
La terra rischiara,
Salendo su nel cielo,
Con un colore argentëo,
Con il color dell'argento.



To conclude this section, we go back to The moon has set, and listen to Nykhtōdía, another rendition of that fragment in Modern Greek.



Να, το φεγγάρι έγειρε,
Βασίλεψε κι η Πούλια,
Να, το φεγγάρι έγειρε,
Βασίλεψε κι η Πούλια.

Είναι μεσάνυχτα, είναι μεσάνυχτα,
Περνά, περνά η ώρα,
Κι εγώ κοιμάμαι μόνη μου.

Να, το φεγγάρι έγειρε,
Βασίλεψε κι η Πούλια,
Να, το φεγγάρι έγειρε,
Βασίλεψε κι η Πούλια.

Είναι μεσάνυχτα, είναι μεσάνυχτα,
Περνά, περνά η ώρα,
Κι εγώ κοιμάμαι μόνη μου.
Look, the moon hath gone west,
The Pleiads too have set,
Look, the moon hath gone west,
The Pleiads too have set.

It's midnight, it's midnight,
Time passes, passes,
And I sleep alone with myself.

Look, the moon hath gone west,
The Pleiads too have set,
Look, the moon hath gone west,
The Pleiads too have set.

It's midnight, it's midnight,
Time passes, passes,
And I sleep alone with myself.



More Modern Greek Sappho-inspired songs – Elýti̱s mashups done right, in a way

And it is this poem which leads us into the next section, where we start with Γρήγορα η ώρα πέρασε | Grí̱gora i̱ ṓra pérase, "Fast did time pass", another rendition of that fragment in Modern Greek, with some extras. Below, the video text, and the originals of both the fragment and the extras. On 19/8/21 at 11:33-11:51, I translated it to Italian, tweaking «Il tempo passa rapido» to «Il tempo è volato via» 14/12/23 10:31. I will have to add the translation after all the above-mentioned things, centered and lonely. I don't think I'll translate it to another language. Actually, I will put in the transliteration so that the literal English can keep the Italian company. Oh hey, this is actually an Elýtis translation (or almost)! Who'd have thought! So basically "done right" means taking it away from its original mashup :).



Γρήγορα η ώρα πέρασε,
Μεσάνυχτα κοντεύουν,
Πάει το φεγγάρι,
Πάει κι η Πούλια,
Βασιλέψανε
Και μόνο εγώ
Κείτομαι δω
Μοναχός κι έρημος.

Ο Έρωτας
Που βάσανα μοιράζει,
Ο Έρωτας
Που παραμύθια πλάθει
Άρπαξε την ψυχή μου
Και την τράνταξε
Ίδια καθώς αγέρας
Απ' τα βουνά
Χυμάει, χτυπάει,
Μέσα στους δρυς
Φυσομανώντας.

Γρήγορα η ώρα πέρασε,
Μεσάνυχτα κοντεύουν,
Πάει το φεγγάρι,
Πάει κι η Πούλια,
Βασιλέψανε
Και μόνο εγώ
Κείτομαι δω
Μοναχή κι έρημη.

Ο Έρωτας
Που βάσανα μοιράζει,
Ο Έρωτας
Που παραμύθια πλάθει
Άρπαξε την ψυχή μου
Και την τράνταξε
Ίδια καθώς αγέρας
Απ' τα βουνά
Χυμάει, χτυπάει,
Μέσα στους δρυς
Φυσομανώντας.

Γρήγορα η ώρα πέρασε…



Δέδυκε μὲν ἀ σελάννα
Καὶ Πληίαδες· μέσαι δὲ
Νύκτες, παρὰ δ’ ἔρχετ’ ὤρα·
Ἔγω δὲ μόνα κατεύδω.

Ἀλγεσίδωρος

Μυθόπλοκος

Ἔρος δ᾽ ἐτίναξέ ‹μοι›
Φρένας, ὠς ἄνεμος κὰτ ὄρος δρύσιν
                                                        [ἐμπέτων.



Time has past fast,
Midnight approaches,
The moon leaves,
The Pleads leave too,
They have set
And only I
Lie here
Alone and desolate.

Love
Which distributes torments,
Love
Who creates tales
Has stolen my soul
And has shaken it
Just like the wind
From the mountains
Rushes, beats,
Among the oaks
Madly blowing.

Time has past fast,
Midnight approaches,
The moon leaves,
The Pleads leave too,
They have set
And only I
Lie here
Alone and desolate.

Love
Which distributes torments,
Love
Who creates tales
Has stolen my soul
And has shaken it
Just like the wind
From the mountains
Rushes, beats,
Among the oaks
Madly blowing.

Time has past fast…
Grí̱gora i̱ ṓra pérase,
Mesánykhta kontév̆oyn,
Páë to feggári,
Páë ki i̱ Poýlia,
Vasilépsane
Kä móno egṓ
Kë́tomä dō
Monakhós ki éri̱mos.

O Érōtas
Poy vásana mörázë,
O Érōtas
Poy paramýthia pláthë
Árpaxe ti̱n psykhí̱ moy
Kä ti̱n trántaxe
Ídia kathṓs agéras
Ap' ta voyná
Khymáë, khtypáë,
Mésa stoys drys
Fysomanṓntas.

Grí̱gora i̱ ṓra pérase,
Mesánykhta kontév̆oyn,
Páë to feggári,
Páë ki i̱ Poýlia,
Vasilépsane
Kä móno egṓ
Kë́tomä dō
Monakhí̱ ki éri̱mi̱.

O Érōtas
Poy vásana mörázë,
O Érōtas
Poy paramýthia pláthë
Árpaxe ti̱n psykhí̱ moy
Kä ti̱n trántaxe
Ídia kathṓs agéras
Ap' ta voyná
Khymáë, khtypáë,
Mésa stoys drys
Fysomanṓntas.

Grí̱gora i̱ ṓra pérase…



The moon has set
And the Pleiads; it is mid-
night, and time passes;
I lie alone.

Giver of pains

Weaver of tales

Love hath shaken ‹my›
Breast, like the wind falling onto the oaks down
                                                                        [the mountain.



Il tempo è volato via,
Vicina è mezzanotte,
Va via la luna,
Van via le Pleiadi,
Trāmontate son.
Io solo qui
Giaccio così,
Nella solitudine.

Perché l'Amor
Che distribuisce pene…
Perché l'Amor
Che molte fiabe tesse
L'anima m'ha rapita
E l'ha scōssa
Proprio sì come il vento
Dai monti giù
Si scaglia, in tempesta,
In mezzo alle querce
Soffiāndo fōrte.

Il tempo è volato via,
Vicina è mezzanotte,
Va via la luna,
Van via le Pleiadi,
Trāmontate son.
Io sola qui
Giaccio così,
Nella solitudine.

Perché l'Amor
Che distribuisce pene…
Perché l'Amor
Che molte fiabe tesse
L'anima m'ha rapita
E l'ha scōssa
Proprio sì come il vento
Dai monti giù
Si scaglia, in tempesta,
In mezzo alle querce
Soffiāndo fōrte.

Il tempo è volato via…



Next up is Τί θέλω τί | Tí thélō tí, yet another Elýtis mashup set to music. Since I posted an English translation and the originals to Lyricstranslate, I will only include the original text and my French translation of it here. That translation dates to 22:03-22:09 on 14/11/21. And as I record it, on 6/1/23 at 12:10, I realize "douleur" is feminine, and thus correct "mon douleur".



Ολονυχτίς ο σκοτεινός
Κα μάτια ο ύπνος κυριεύει
Αα... αα...
Και με καίει, με καίει,
Και με καίει, με καίει
Και μ’ ανάβει ο πόθος
Σύγκορμη.

Τί θέλω τί, μήτε ξέρω τί,
Δυο γνώμες μέσα μου,
Σταγόνα τη σταγόνα ο πόνος μου.
Τί θέλω τί, μήτε ξέρω τί θέλω τί...

Και με καίει, με καίει,
Και με καίει, με καίει
Και μ’ ανάβει ο πόθος
Σύγκορμη.

Τί θέλω τί, μήτε ξέρω τί,
Δυο γνώμες μέσα μου,
Σταγόνα τη σταγόνα ο πόνος μου.
Τί θέλω τί, μήτε ξέρω τί θέλω τί...
Toute la nuit le sommeil noir,
Fils de la nuit, mes yeux il couvre.
Aa… aa…
Il me brûle, me brûle,
Il me brûle, me brûle,
Le désir m'enflamme
Tout le corps.

Quoi veux-je, quoi, et je n'sais pas quoi,
Y a deux pensées en moi,
Et ma douleur vient goutte à goutte, ah!
Quoi veux-je, quoi, et je n'sais pas quoi veux-je quoi…

Il me brûle, me brûle,
Il me brûle, me brûle,
Le désir m'enflamme
Tout le corps.

Quoi veux-je, quoi, et je n'sais pas quoi,
Y a deux pensées en moi,
Et ma douleur vient goutte à goutte, ah!
Quoi veux-je, quoi, et je n'sais pas quoi veux-je quoi…



We then proceed with Sapfṓ, a rendition of I wish to visit the underworld in Modern Greek. Not sure who made this, either it's the singer Elef̆thería Arvanitáki̱ or I don't know, but the translation is good. Though the dream element I don't think was in the original.



Ήρθε και τρύπωσε ο Ερμής
Στο όνειρό μου μέσα
Και του είπα· "Αφεντάκο μου,
Πως χάθηκε η ζωή μου.
Και δε γελώ, δε χαίρομαι
Μήτε τα πλούτη θέλω,
Και δε γελώ, δε χαίρομαι
Μήτε τα πλούτη θέλω,
Μα κάποιος πόθος με βαστά
Ζητάω να πεθάνω.
Τις υγρές να είδω με τους λωτούς
Του Αχέροντα τις όχθες.
Τις υγρές να είδω με τους λωτούς
Του Αχέροντα τις όχθες.
Ήρθε και τρύπωσε ο Ερμής
Στο όνειρό μου μέσα
Hermes came and snuck
Into my dream
And I said to him: "My lord,
How my life has perished.
And I don't laugh, I'm not happy
Nor do I want riches,
And I don't laugh, I'm not happy
Nor do I want riches,
But some desire takes me
I ask to die.
To see the lotus-covered wet
Banks of the Acheron.
To see the lotus-covered wet
Banks of the Acheron.
Hermes came and snuck
Into my dream



We then have Athánati̱ Afrodíti̱, "Immortal Aphrodite", which is a partial musication of the Elytis translation of, you guessed it, the Hymn to Aphrodite.



Αθάνατη Αφροδίτη,
Του Διός κόρη,
Όλο παγίδες
Στήνεις της αγάπης,
Δέσποινα, παρακαλώ,
Μη, να χαρείς,
Μη ρίχνεις άλλο βάρος
Από καημούς και πίκρες
Στην ψυχή μου.

Δέσποινα, παρακαλώ,
Μη να χαρείς.

Τι να 'ναι πάλι τι
Εκείνο που ποθεί
Η τρελή καρδιά μου.
Ποια να 'ναι πάλι αυτή
Που την Πειθώ ικετεύεις
Να σου φέρει πίσω.
Ποια να πονέσεις
Σ' έκανε Σαπφώ?
Ποια να 'ναι πάλι αυτή
Που την Πειθώ ικετεύεις
Να σου φέρει πίσω.

Έλα λοιπόν ακόμα μια φορά
να με λυτρώσεις
Απ' τα βάσανά μου.

Αθάνατη Αφροδίτη,
Του Διός κόρη,
Μη, να χαρείς,
Μη ρίχνεις άλλο βάρος
Από καημούς και πίκρες
Στην ψυχή μου.

Αθάνατη Αφροδίτη,
Του Διός κόρη
Immortal Aphrodite,
Daughter of Zeus,
Always you set
Traps of love,
Queen, I pray,
Don't, please,
Don't throw more weight
From longings and bitternesses
Onto my soul.

Queen, I pray,
Don't, please.

What could it be again, what
[Is] that which there suffers
My crazy heart?
Who could she be again
Whom you beg Peitho
To bring back to you?
Who to suffer
Made you, Sappho?
Who could she be again
Whom you beg Peitho
To bring back to you?

Come then once more
To ransom me
From my torments.

Immortal Aphrodite,
Daughter of Zeus,
Don't, please,
Don't throw more weight
From longings and bitternesses
Onto my soul.

Immortal Aphrodite,
Daughter of Zeus.



And we conclude our peregrination with Atthída "Atthis", another song inspired by Sappho written in Modern Greek. This one is inspired by the fragments given below. Between the song and the originals, My Hindi translation of the song, dating 12:32-14:09 of 6/4/21 with a tweak at 14:19. Me and ATajuddin then start correcting it over videocall on 23/5/21, and at 18:05 I come up with प्रणय ने ही -> मुहब्बत ने since praṇay' is a word she isn't familiar with. Then, बीती आफ़रोदीती की -> बाच्ची आफ़रोदीती की at 18:46 because I have no idea what that bītī was supposed to be. On 15/3/23 shortly before 19 I realize that "Kaise maiṅne ḍhūḿḍhī thī" shouldn't have an ergative since it's not perfective, and also, it's ḍhūḿṛhtī. And at 19:45 on 18/3/23 as I edit this in I also change the maiṅne to tujh'ko. 21/10/23 12:14, I realize और अच्छा की aur' acchā kī has a misgender because it's acchā that's the subject, but just fixing the gender doesn't fit the tune, so first I drop the aur', giving अच्छा किया acchā kiyā, then I make it अच्छा करता acchā kar'tā, but now the subject of this is the addressee, Atthīdā, so it must be kar'tī, as I realize at 19:44 on 28/10/23.



Σαν άνεμος μου τίναξε
Ο έρωτας τη σκέψη,
Σαν άνεμος που σε βουνό
Βελανιδιές λυγάει.
Ήρθες, καλά που έκανες -
Που τόσο σε ζητούσα! -
Δρόσισες την ψυχούλα μου,
Που έκαιγε ο πόθος.

*Κι από το γάλα πιο λευκή,
Απ' το νερό πιο δροσερή,
Κι από το πέπλο το λεπτό πιο απαλή.
Από το ρόδο πιο αγνή,
Απ' το χρυσάφι πιο ακριβή,
Κι από τη λύρα πιο γλυκειά, πιο μουσική.

Πάει καιρός που κάποτε
Σ' αγάπησα, Ατθίδα,
Μα τότε μου 'μοιαζες μικρό
Κι αθώο κοριτσάκι.
Συ που μαγεύεις τους θνητούς,
Παιδί της Αφροδίτης,
Απ' όλα το καλύτερο
Εσύ 'σαι το αστέρι.

*



तरह हवा की मेरा दिल
मुहब्बत ने हिला है,
तरह हवा की, जो कोह पे
बलूतों को झुकाए
आई है तू, अच्छा करती:
कैसे तुझको ढूँढ़ती थी!
मेरा आत्मा ठंडा किया,
जो आकांक्शा जलाता।

*अधिक सफेद तू है दूध से,
अधिक ठंडी तू पानी से,
अधिक मुलायम तू पतला आवरण से।
अधिक पवित्र तू रोज़ से,
अधिक क़ीमती तू सोना से,
अधिक मीठी और संगीतिक तू वीणा से!

बहुत पहले मैं तुझसे
करती थी प्यार, अत्थीदा,
लेकिन मुझे छोटी मासूम
तब लड़की तू लगती थी।
तू, बच्ची आफ़्रोदीती की,
जो सब लोग है रिझाती,
तू तारों सारे से बहुत
अधिक सुंदर रखती रूप।

*



Ἔρος δ᾽ ἐτίναξέ ‹μοι›
Φρένας, ὠς ἄνεμος κὰτ ὄρος δρύσιν
                                                        [ἐμπέτων.

Ἦλθες, κά‹λ'› ἐπόησας, ἔγω δέ σ᾿ ἐμαιόμαν,
ὂν δ᾿ ἔ‹ψυ›ξας ἔμαν φρένα καιομέναν πόθῳ·
χαῖρε πόλλα ‹σὺ κάλ’› ἰσάριθμά ‹τε›
                                                                [τῷ χρόνῳ.
1.J.vi
Γάλακτος λευκοτέρα
῎Υδατος ἀπαλωτέρα
Ἰματίω ἐάνω μαλακωτέρα
Βρόδων ἀβροτέρα
Χρύσω τιμιωτέρα
Πακτίδων ἐμμελεστέρα

Ἠράμαν μὲν ἔγω σέθεν, Ἄτθι, πάλαι πότα.
Σμίκρα μοι πάϊς ἔμμεν ἐφαίνεο κἄχαρις.

5.A.xiv
Ὦ γένος θελξίμβροτον Ἀφροδίτας

1.I.v
Ἀστέρων πάντων ὀ κάλιστος
Like a wind to me shook
Love the breast
Like a wind that on a mountain
Bends oaks.
You came, and you did well –
How much I sought you! –
You cooled down my little soul,
Which desire was burning.

*And whiter than milk,
And cooler than water,
And softer than a thin veil.
Purer than a rose,
More precious than gold,
Sweeter, more musical than a lyre.

It's been a long time since once
I loved you, Atthis,
But then to me you seemed a little
And innocent girl.
You who enchant the mortals,
Daughter of Aphrodite,
The most beautiful of all
Stars you are.

*



Tarah' havā kī merā dil'
Můhåbbat' ne hilā hai,
Tarah' havā kī, jo koh' pe
Balūtoṅ ko jhukāe.
Āī hai tū, acchā kar'tī:
Kaise tujh'ko ḍhūḿṛhtī thī!
Merā ātmā ṭhańḍā kiyā,
Jo ākāńkṣā jalātā.

*Adhik' saphed' tū hai dūdh' se,
Adhik' ṭhańḍī tū pānī se,
Adhik' mulāyam' tū pat'lā āvaraṇ' se.
Adhik' pavitra tū roz' se,
Adhik' qīm'tī tū sonā se,
Adhik' mīṭhī aur' sańgītik' tū vīṇā se!

Båhůt päh'le maiṅ tujhǝse
Kar'tī thī pyār', Atthīdā,
Lekin' mujhe choṭī māsūm'
Tab' laṛkī tū lag'tī thī.
Tū, baccī Āfrodītī kī,
Jo sab' log' hai rijhātī,
Tū tāroṅ sāre se båhůt
Adhik' suńdar' rakh'tī rūp.

*



Love hath shaken to me
The breast, like a wind falling down the mountain
                                                                [onto oak trees.

You came, you did well, I craved for you,
You cooled down my breast that ablaze with desire:
May you enjoy many times, equal in number
                                                                        [to [your] life.
1.J.vi
Whiter than milk
More tender than water
Softer than a fine cloth
More tender than roses
More precious than gold
More harmonious than pektides (harps)

I loved you, Atthis, long ago.
You seemed to me a small and graceless child.

5.A.xiv
Oh mortal-enchanting offspring of Aphrodite

1.I.v
The most beautiful of all stars



Note that 5.A.xiv is entirely Edmonds' invention, the original is an indirect quote saying Σαπφὼ δέ φησιν τὴν Πειθὼ Ἀφροδίτης θυγατέρα, «Sappho says Peitho is the daughter of Aphrodite», and the θελξίμβροτον "mortal-enchanting" is just invented.