Sappho lived in 4th cent B.C. (see info below)
The poem in Ancient Greek:
Οἶον τὸ γλυκύμαλον (D 116)
“ οἶον τὸ γλυκύμαλον ἐρεύθεται ἄκρωι ἐπ΄ ὔσδωι͵
ἄκρον ἐπ΄ ἀκροτάτωι͵ λελάθοντο δὲ μαλοδρόπηες͵
οὐ μὰν ἐκλελάθοντ΄͵ ἀλλ΄ οὐκ ἐδύναντ΄ ἐπίκεσθαι. ”
Lyrics in contemporary Greek and their English translation:
Όπως το γλυκό το μήλο κοκκινίζει στην κορφή
κοκκινίζει ᾽πα στου κλώνου την ψηλότερη κορφή
κι οι εργάτες να το κόψουν λησμονήσαν οι φτωχοί
κι όμως δεν το ᾽χουν ξεχάσει, να το φτάσουν δε μπορούν.
As the sweet apple turns red at the tree’s top,
it reddens on the branch’s the highest peak
and the poor workers forgot to collect it,
and yet they have not forgotten it, they cannot reach it.
Please note that we provide above translation of the lyrics (from contemporary Greek to English). You may also visit “links” for sources translating the ancient text to English.
Brief info about the poet and the poem:
Sappho: She was born in the village of Eressos on Lesbos, around 360 BC. but lived in Mytilene. Her husband was someone named Kerkylas and her daughter was the beloved Cleida. Place and poetic altar of her inspiration were the gatherings of girls, the devotional dance of the immaculate beauty of virginity. Her love is part of the peculiarities of the Lesbian society and the educational character of the girls’ premarital apprenticeship in the “philological” societies of the time. A fragment of her most beautiful “Epithalamia” seems to be the one in our collection.
The comments on the poets are written by K. Martinides
The “Epithalamia” were wedding songs sung in front of the “Thalamos” (the bridal room). Wedding song customs reached some regions of Greece until recent years through traditional music. In this and in several other songs of “Melos Erotiko” there is a willingness to explore, lyrically and musically, possible affinities between ancient lyrical poetry and Greek traditional music
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