Poetry of Sappho

Body of literary work by Ancient Greek poet Sappho From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sappho was an ancient Greek lyric poet from the island of Lesbos. She is believed to have written around 10,000 lines of poetry, only a small fraction of which survives. Only one poem is known to be complete; in some cases as little as a single word survives.

In the ancient world, the standard edition of Sappho's poetry was compiled by scholars in Alexandria in the third or second century BC. This comprised eight or nine books of her poetry, probably grouping poems in the same metre. Manuscripts of Sappho's poetry continued to be produced into the seventh century AD, but by the ninth century her work appears to have been lost, known only indirectly through quotation in other sources. Modern editions of Sappho's poetry are the product of centuries of scholarship, first compiling quotations from surviving ancient works, and from the late 19th century rediscovering her works preserved on fragments of ancient papyri and parchment. Along with the poems which can be attributed with confidence to Sappho, a small number of surviving fragments in her Aeolic dialect may be by either her or her contemporary Alcaeus. Modern editions of Sappho also collect ancient "testimonia" which discuss Sappho's life and works.

Textual history

Ancient editions

The Cologne papyrus, on which Sappho's Tithonus poem is partially preserved

Sappho probably wrote around 10,000 lines of poetry; today, only 650 survive.[1] They were originally composed for performance, and it is unclear precisely when they were first written down. Some scholars argue that books of Sappho's poetry were produced in or shortly after her own lifetime; others believe that if they were written down in that time, it was only as an aid to reperformance rather than as a literary work in their own right.[2]

In the third or second century BC, Sappho's poems were edited into a critical edition by scholars in Alexandria.[3] This may have been based on an Athenian text of her poems, or one from her native island of Lesbos.[4] It is uncertain which of the Alexandrian scholars was responsible for the edition of Sappho; both Aristophanes of Byzantium and Aristarchus of Samothrace are reported to have produced editions of Alcaeus, and one or both of these may have been responsible for the Alexandrian edition of Sappho.[5] Alexander Dale argues that Aristophanes was more likely responsible.[6]

The Alexandrian edition of Sappho's poetry was divided into eight or nine books: the exact number is uncertain. Ancient testimonia mention an eighth book of the Alexandrian edition of Sappho;[7] an epigram by Tullius Laurea [it] mentions nine books of Sappho, though it is not certain that he is referring to the Alexandrian edition.[7] These books were probably divided up by metre, arranged based on the syllable count of the metre.[8] Ancient sources record that each of the first three books contained poems in a single specific metre.[a][10] Information about the contents of the later books is less certain: the fourth book appears to have contained many poems in acephalous hipponacteans with double choriambic expansion,[b] and possibly in other metres;[c][11] the fifth book was metrically heterogeneous, with ancient sources mentioning the use of Phaelecian hendecasyllables and lesser asclepiads;[12] of the sixth, nothing is known; a single couplet from the seventh book is preserved in Hephaestion[d] but it is unclear whether this was an entire stanza or part of a three- or four-line stanza.[13] Fragment 103 preserves 10 incipits of poems by Sappho, possibly from book 8, of which the first is in a different metre from the remaining nine; those nine may or may not all be in the same meter.[14] A ninth book may have been made up of epithalamia in various meters, though many scholars are skeptical of the evidence for this, and consider that the book of epithalamia mentioned in ancient sources might have been the eighth book of the Alexandrian edition.[15]

In addition to the Alexandrian edition, at least some of Sappho's poetry was in circulation in the ancient world in other collections. The Cologne papyrus on which the Tithonus poem is preserved was part of a Hellenistic anthology of poetry,[16] and predates the Alexandrian edition.[17] Two fragments list opening lines of poems: Fr. 103 contains openings to ten of Sappho's poems, and Fr. 213C Campbell quotes openings to poems by Sappho, Alcaeus, and Anacreon; both might be related to anthological collections.[18][19]

Loss and recovery

Friedrich Blass, whose publication of a parchment fragment of Sappho's poetry in 1880 marked the beginning of a new era in the rediscovery of her work

Today, most of Sappho's poetry is lost. The two major sources of surviving fragments of Sappho are quotations in other ancient works, from a whole poem to as little as a single word; and fragments of papyrus, many of which were discovered at Oxyrhynchus in Egypt.[20] A few fragments survive on other materials, including parchment and potsherds.[21] The oldest surviving fragment of Sappho currently known is the Cologne papyrus which contains the Tithonus poem;[22] it dates to the third century BC.[23]

Sappho's poetry survived into the seventh century, longer than that of the other canonical Greek lyric poets.[24] Unlike other, less popular authors, the Alexandrian edition of Sappho's poetry was copied from papyrus rolls to the codex.[25] Her work appears to have disappeared around the ninth century;[26] there is no evidence that it was ever copied into the minuscule handwriting which began to be used at this time.[27] Sappho's poetry continued to be accessible only in quotations from other ancient authors, which, until printed editions of Greek texts began to appear in the Renaissance, would only have been accessible in manuscript form in monastic libraries.[28] In 1508, a collection of Greek rhetorical works edited by Demetrios Doukas and published by Aldus Manutius made a poem by Sappho (the Ode to Aphrodite) available in print for the first time;[28] in 1554, Henri Estienne was the first to collect her poetry when he printed the Ode to Aphrodite and the Midnight poem after a collection of fragments of Anacreon.[29] The first modern edition devoted solely to Sappho's work was published in 1733 by Johann Christian Wolf [de], including fourteen fragments not previously included in collections of her poetry.[30] The work of collecting quotations from Sappho from ancient sources culminated in Theodor Bergk's edition of the Greek lyric poets, whose second edition contained 120 fragments of Sappho and 50 testimonia.[31]

The last quarter of the nineteenth century began a new period in the rediscovery of Sappho's poetry, with the discovery of a parchment fragment at Crocodilopolis (modern Faiyum) published by Friedrich Blass in 1880.[32] From then until the publication of the "newest Sappho" in 2014, 24 papyri preserving texts of Sappho, and eight preserving related materials such as commentaries on her work, have been published.[33] The most recent major editions of Sappho, by Edgar Lobel and Denys Page in 1955, and Eva-Maria Voigt in 1971, in conjunction with Lobel and Page's Supplementa Lyra Graeca, collect all of the material published by 1974; despite the publication of further papyrus fragments in 1997, 2004, 2005 and 2014, Voigt's remains the standard modern edition.[34]

Poems

The fragments of Sappho's poems are arranged in the editions of Lobel and Page, and Voigt, by the book from the Alexandrian edition of her works in which they are believed to have been found. Fragments 142 are from Book 1, 4352 from Book 2, 5357 from Book 3, 5891 from Book 4; 92101 from Book 5, 102 from Book 7, 103 from Book 8, and 104117B from the Epithalamia. Fragments 118168 are those which Lobel and Page did not assign to any particular book, and are arranged alphabetically.[35] Fragment numbers with capital letters (such as 16A) were assigned by later editors to fit into Lobel and Page's numeration; lowercase letters indicate different parts of the same fragment.

More information Fragment Number, Sources ...
Fragment Number[e] Sources Meter[f] No. of
lines
Fragment 1P. Oxy. 2288; Dionysius of HalicarnassusSapphic stanza28
Fragment 2PSI 1300Sapphic stanza17[g]
Fragment 3P. Berol. 5006; P. Oxy. 424Sapphic stanza18
Fragment 4P. Berol. 5006Sapphic stanza10
Fragment 5P. Oxy. 7; P. Oxy. 2289; P. GCSapphic stanza20
Fragment 6P. Oxy. 2289perhaps Sapphic stanza15
Fragment 7P. Oxy. 2289Sapphic stanza7
Fragment 8P. Oxy. 2289Sapphic stanza5
Fragment 9P. Oxy. 2289; P. GCSapphic stanza20
Brothers Poem[h]P. Oxy. 2289; P. Sapph. ObbinkSapphic stanza24
Fragment 12P. Oxy. 2289Sapphic stanza9
Fragment 15[i]P. Oxy. 1231Sapphic stanza12
Fragment 16P. Oxy. 1231; PSI 123; P. GCSapphic stanza20[j]
Fragment 16A[k]P. Oxy. 1231; PSI 123; P. GCSapphic stanza12
Fragment 17P. Oxy. 1231; P. Oxy. 2166(a); P. Oxy. 2289; P. GCSapphic stanza20
Fragment 18P. Oxy. 1231; P. GCSapphic stanza15
Fragment 18AP. GCSapphic stanza[39]9
Fragment 19P. Oxy. 1231Sapphic stanza12
Fragment 20P. Oxy. 1231Sapphic stanza24
Fragment 21P. Oxy. 1231; Apollonius DyscolusSapphic stanza15
Fragment 22P. Oxy. 1231Sapphic stanza19
Fragment 23P. Oxy. 1231Sapphic stanza14
Fragment 24aP. Oxy. 1231Sapphic stanza8
Fragment 24bP. Oxy. 2166Sapphic stanza5
Fragment 24cP. Oxy. 1231Sapphic stanza9
Fragment 24dP. Oxy. 1231Sapphic stanza7
Fragment 25P. Oxy. 1231Sapphic stanza7
Fragment 26P. Oxy. 1231, P. Sapph. ObbinkSapphic stanza16
Fragment 27P. Oxy. 1231Sapphic stanza13
Fragment 28aP. Oxy. 1231Sapphic stanza4
Fragment 28bP. Oxy. 1231Sapphic stanza5
Fragment 28cP. Oxy. 1231Sapphic stanza5
Fragment 29aP. Oxy. 1231Sapphic stanza4
Fragment 29bP. Oxy. 1231Sapphic stanza5
Fragment 29cP. Oxy. 1231; P. Oxy. 2166Sapphic stanza11
Fragment 29dP. Oxy. 1231Sapphic stanza4
Fragment 29eP. Oxy. 1231Sapphic stanza3
Fragment 29fP. Oxy. 1231Sapphic stanza7
Fragment 29gP. Oxy. 2081Sapphic stanza4
Fragment 29hP. Oxy. 2166Sapphic stanza8
Fragment 29iP. Oxy. 2166Sapphic stanza5
Fragment 30P. Oxy. 1231Sapphic stanza9
Fragment 31LonginusSapphic stanza17
Fragment 32Apollonius DyscolusSapphic stanza2
Fragment 33Apollonius DyscolusSapphic stanza2
Fragment 34EustathiusSapphic stanza5
Fragment 35StraboSapphic stanza1
Fragment 36Etymologicum GenuinumSapphic stanza?1
Fragment 37Etymologicum GenuinumSapphic stanza3
Fragment 38Apollonius DyscolusSapphic stanza1
Fragment 39Scholiast on Aristophanes' PeaceSapphic stanza3
Fragment 40Apollonius DyscolusSapphic stanza2
Fragment 41Apollonius DyscolusSapphic stanza2
Fragment 42Scholiast on PindarSapphic stanza2
Fragment 43P. Oxy. 1232]-uu-ux, possibly Glyconic with 2x dactylic expansion9
Fragment 44P. Oxy. 1232Glyconic with 2x dactylic expansion34[l]
Fragment 44Aa[m]P. Fouad. 239]-uu-uu-ux, possibly Glyconic with 2x dactylic expansion12
Fragment 44Ab[m]P. Fouad. 239xx-uu-[10
Fragment 45Apollonius DyscolusGlyconic with 2x dactylic expansion1
Fragment 46HerodianGlyconic with 2x dactylic expansion2
Fragment 47Maximus of TyreGlyconic with 2x dactylic expansion2
Fragment 48JulianGlyconic with 2x dactylic expansion2
Fragment 49Hephaestion; PlutarchGlyconic with 2x dactylic expansion2[n]
Fragment 50GalenGlyconic with 2x dactylic expansion2
Fragment 51ChrysippusGlyconic with 2x dactylic expansion1
Fragment 52HerodianGlyconic with 2x dactylic expansion?1
Fragment 53Scholiast on TheocritusGlyconic with 2x choriambic expansion1
Fragment 54Julius PolluxGlyconic with 2x choriambic expansion1
Fragment 55StobaeusGlyconic with 2x choriambic expansion4
Fragment 56ChrysippusGlyconic with 2x choriambic expansion3
Fragment 57Athenaeusll.12 uncertain; l.3 Glyconic with 2x choriambic expansion3
Pre-58 (Oxyrhynchus)P. Oxy. 1787Acephalous Hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion10
Pre-58 (Cologne)P. Köln inv.21351+21376Acephalous Hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion[42]8
Fragment 58P. Oxy. 1787; P. Köln inv.21351+21376Acephalous Hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion12[o]
Post-58 (Oxyrhynchus)P. Oxy. 1787Acephalous Hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion4
Fragment 59P. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]3
Fragment 60P. Halle. 3]-uu-u-x, possibly acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion11
Fragment 61P. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]2
Fragment 62P. Oxy. 1787x-uu--uu-[, possibly acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion12
Fragment 63P. Oxy. 1787x-uu--uu-[, possibly acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion10
Fragment 64aP. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion, possibly three line strophes based on acephalous hipponacteans with a shorter third line]15
Fragment 64bP. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]4
Fragment 65P. Oxy. 1787x-uu-[, possibly acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion, possibly three line strophes based on acephalous hipponacteans with a shorter third line11
Fragment 66aP. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]3
Fragment 66bP. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]4
Fragment 66cP. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]3
Fragment 67aP. Oxy. 1787x-uu-[, possibly acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion8
Fragment 67bP. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]7
Fragment 68aP. Oxy. 1787]uu--uu-u-x, possibly acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion12
Fragment 68bP. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]6
Fragment 69P. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion][44]3
Fragment 70P. Oxy. 1787]--uu-[14
Fragment 71P. Oxy. 1787]uu--uu-u-x, possibly acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion8
Fragment 72P. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]8
Fragment 73aP. Oxy. 1787-]uu-u-x, possibly acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion, possibly three line strophes based on acephalous hipponacteans with a shorter third line9
Fragment 73bP. Oxy. 1787-]uu-u-x, possibly acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion, possibly three line strophes based on acephalous hipponacteans with a shorter third line3
Fragment 74aP. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]6
Fragment 74bP. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]3
Fragment 74cP. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]4
Fragment 74dP. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]3
Fragment 75aP. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]8
Fragment 75bP. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]5
Fragment 75cP. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]5
Fragment 76P. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]7
Fragment 77aP. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]9
Fragment 77bP. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]6
Fragment 77cP. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]4
Fragment 78P. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]7
Fragment 79P. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]6
Fragment 80P. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]6
Fragment 81P. Oxy. 1787; Athenaeusacephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion7
Fragment 82aHephaestionacephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion1
Fragment 82bP. Oxy. 1787acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion5
Fragment 83P. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]7
Fragment 84P. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]7
Fragment 85aP. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]4
Fragment 85bP. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]3
Fragment 86P. Oxy. 1787]-uu--uu-u-x, possibly acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion, possibly three line strophes based on acephalous hipponacteans with a shorter third line8
Fragment 87aP. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]9
Fragment 87bP. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]4
Fragment 87cP. Oxy. 1787[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]2
Fragment 87dP. Oxy. 2166[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]10
Fragment 87eP. Oxy. 2166[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]4
Fragment 87fP. Oxy. 2166[acephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion]8
Fragment 88aP. Oxy. 2290-[ ]u--uu-u[-x||
x-[ ]--uu-[u-x||
-[ ]uu-u-x|||
28
Fragment 88bP. Oxy. 2290-[ ]u--uu-u[-x||
x-[ ]--uu-[u-x||
-[ ]uu-u-x|||
10
Fragment 90aP. Oxy. 2293[commentary]47[p]
Fragment 90bP. Oxy. 2293[commentary]15[q]
Fragment 90cP. Oxy. 2293[commentary]7
Fragment 90dP. Oxy. 2293[commentary]18
Fragment 90eP. Oxy. 2293[commentary]4
Fragment 91Hephaestionacephalous hipponacteans with 2x choriambic expansion1
Fragment 92P. Berol. 9722xx-u[16
Fragment 93P. Berol. 9722]uu-u-5
Fragment 94P. Berol. 9722glyconic ||
glyconic ||
glyconic with dactylic expansion|||
29
Fragment 95P. Berol. 9722-u-xx-[
xx-uu-[
xx-uu-u[ (possibly the same as fr.96)
16
Fragment 96P. Berol. 9722creticus; 3x glyconics; baccheus|||36
Fragment 97P. Berol. 9722uncertain27[r]
Fragment 98aPap. Haun. 301glyconic||glyconic||creticus glyconic|||12
Fragment 98bPap. Mediol. 32glyconic||glyconic||creticus glyconic|||9
Fragment 100Julius Polluxuncertain1
Fragment 101Athenaeusperhaps: glyconic||glyconic||glyconic with dactylic expansion|||4
Fragment 101A[s]Demetrius, On Style[t]uncertain; perhaps glyconic||hipponactean||4
Fragment 102Hephaestioniambus glyconic bacchius2
Fragment 103P. Oxy. 2294]-uu-uu-u[
^hipp2ch or 3cho ba[u].[47]
10
Fragment 103AaP. Cair. Mediol. 7[Alcaic stanza]9
Fragment 103AbP. Cair. Mediol. 7[Alcaic stanza]4
Fragment 103B[v]P. Oxy. 2308]--uu--[5
Fragment 103Ca[w]P. Oxy. 2357uncertain[48]8
Fragment 103Cb[w]P. Oxy. 2357uncertain[48]6
Fragment 104aDemetrius, On Style[t]l.1: 6 dactyls catalectic, l.2 iamb|pherecratean with 2x dactylic expansion2
Fragment 104bHimeriusuncertain1
Fragment 105aSyrianus on Hermogenesdactylic hexameter3
Fragment 105b[x]Demetrius, On Style[t]6 dactyls catalectic2
Fragment 106Demetrius, On Style[t]6 dactyls catalectic1
Fragment 107Apollonius DyscolusPossibly dactylic hexameter[49]1
Fragment 108HimeriusPossibly dactylic hexameter[49]1
Fragment 109Homeric Parsings[y]Possibly dactylic hexameter[50]1
Fragment 110Hephaestionpherecratean with dactylic expansion3
Fragment 111Hephaestionuncertain, perhaps pherecratean||iamb||acephalous pherecratean with dactylic expansion||iamb|||8
Fragment 112Hephaestionchoriambus bacchius choriambus bacchius||5
Fragment 113Dionysius of Halicarnassus3x ionics?2
Fragment 114Demetrius, On Style[t]l.1 3 choriambus bacchius; l.2 uncertain2
Fragment 115Hephaestionpherecratean with 2x dactylic expansion2
Fragment 116Serviusuncertain1
Fragment 117Hephaestion3 iambs catalectic?1
Fragment 117AHesychius of Alexandria-uu-uu[51]1
Fragment 117Ba[z]Marius Plotius Sacerdos-uu-uu1
Fragment 117Bb[z]Marius Plotius Sacerdos-uu-uu1
Fragment 118Hermogenesuncertain2
Fragment 119Scholiast on Aristophanes' Plutusuncertain1
Fragment 120Etymologicum Magnumglyconic with choriambic expansion2
Fragment 121Stobaeusuncertain2
Fragment 122Athenaeusuncertain1
Fragment 123Ammonius Grammaticuscreticus hipponactean?1
Fragment 124Hephaestion--uu-uu-(x-u-u--)1
Fragment 125Scholiast on Aristophanes' Thesmophoriazusaeuncertain1
Fragment 126Etymologicum Genuinumuncertain1
Fragment 127Hephaestionithyphallicus|ithyphallicus||1
Fragment 128Hephaestion3 choriambs bacchius1
Fragment 129aApollonius Dyscolusuncertain1
Fragment 129bApollonius Dyscolusuncertain1
Fragment 130[aa]Hephaestionglyconic with dactylic expansion4
Fragment 132Hephaestionuncertain3
Fragment 133Hephaestionia 2io anacl2
Fragment 134Hephaestion3 io anacl1
Fragment 135Hephaestion3 ionics1
Fragment 136Scholiast on Sophocles' Electrapherecratean with 2x dactylic expansion1
Fragment 137AristotleAlcaic stanza7
Fragment 138Athenaeusia ^gl or ia ^gl ia2
Fragment 139Philouncertain[52]2
Fragment 140[ab]Hephaestionpherecratean with 2x choriambic expansion2
Fragment 141Athenaeusll.1 and 4 acephalous pherecratean?
ll.2-3 and 5-6 uncertain
6
Fragment 142Athenaeusdactylic hexameter (or pherecratean with 3x dactylic expansion)[ac]1
Fragment 143Athenaeusdactylic hexameter (or pherecratean with 3x dactylic expansion)[ac]1
Fragment 144Herodianglxd2
Fragment 145Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodiusxx-uu-?[54]1
Fragment 146Tryphonpherecratean with dactylic expansion1
Fragment 147Dio Chrysostomuncertain1
Fragment 148Scholiast on Pindaruncertain2
Fragment 149Apollonius Dyscoluspherxd?1
Fragment 150Maximus of Tyreglyconic with 2x choriambic expansion?2
Fragment 151Etymologicum Genuinumpherecratean with choriambic expansion1
Fragment 152Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodiusglxd?2
Fragment 153Atilius Fortunatianusuncertain1
Fragment 154Hephaestion^gl ba||2
Fragment 155Maximus of Tyrecr| ^hippd or cr ^gl1
Fragment 156Demetrius, On Style[t]possibly glyconic with 2x dactylic expansion2
Fragment 157Etymologicum GenuinumSapphics?1
Fragment 158Plutarch2 ad?2
Fragment 159Maximus of Tyreuncertain1
Fragment 160AthenaeusSapphics?2
Fragment 161P. Bouriantuncertain, perhaps ^ia pher2d[55]1
Fragment 162Choeroboscus[u-u---u][56]1
Fragment 163Julian[uu-u-u][56]1
Fragment 164Apollonius Dyscolus[---uu-][57]1
Fragment 165Apollonius DyscolusSapphic stanza[57]1
Fragment 166Athenaeusglc2
Fragment 167Athenaeusglxd1
Fragment 168Marius Plotius SacerdosSapphic stanza?1
Fragment 168A[ad]Etymologicum Genuinumglyconic?1
Fragment 168B[ae]HephaestionAcephalous hipponacteans4
Fragment 168C[af]Demetrius, On Style[t]Alcaic stanza?1
Close

Glosses

These fragments are isolated words quoted by other ancient authors, arranged alphabetically.

More information Fragment Number, Sources ...
Fragment NumberSources
Fragment 169Scholiast on the Iliad
Fragment 169AHesychius, Lexicon
Fragment 170Strabo, Geography
Fragment 171Photius, Lexicon
Fragment 172Maximus of Tyre, Orations
Fragment 173Choeroboscus on Theodosius
Fragment 174Orion, Lexicon
Fragment 175Apollonius Dyscolus, Adverbs
Fragment 176Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae
Fragment 177Julius Pollux
Fragment 179Phrynichus
Fragment 180Hesychius
Fragment 181Scholiast on Dionysius of Thrace
Fragment 182Scholiast on the Iliad
Fragment 183Porphyry on the Iliad
Fragment 184Choeroboscus on Theodosius
Fragment 185Philostratus, Images
Fragment 186John of Alexandria
Fragment 187Homeric Parsings[y]
Fragment 188Maximus of Tyre
Fragment 189Phrynichus
Fragment 190Scholiast on the Iliad
Fragment 191Julius Pollux
Fragment 192Julius Pollux
Close

Testimonia

The testimonia are ancient accounts of Sappho, her life, and her poetry, which are conventionally included in critical editions of her work.[58] The selection included in these editions varies considerably.[59] Along with the seventy included in Voigt's edition, those given in Campbell's Loeb edition are listed here.

More information Voigt Number, Campbell Number ...
Voigt NumberCampbell NumberSources
Fragment 193[ag]Aelius Aristides
Fragment 194Himerius
Fragment 194A[ah]Michael Italikos
Fragment 195Demetrius, On Style[t]
Fragment 196Aelius Aristides
Fragment 197Libanius
Fragment 198aScholiast on Apollonius Rhodius
Fragment 198bScholiast on Theocritus
Fragment 198cPausanias
Fragment 199Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius
Fragment 200Scholiast on Hesiod
Fragment 201Aristotle
Fragment 203aAthenaeus
Fragment 203bEustathius of Thessalonica
Fragment 203cScholiast on Iliad
Fragment 204aScholiast on Pindar
Fragment 204bPausanias
Fragment 205Aulus Gellius
Fragment 206Servius on Virgil
Fragment 207Servius on Virgil
Fragment 208Himerius
Fragment 209Eustathius of Thessalonica
Fragment 210Scholiast on Theocritus
Fragment 211aT. 3, 23[ai]Pseudo-Palaephatus; Strabo; Alciphron; Plutarch; Scholiast on Libanius; Suda; Servius; Lucian; Scholiast on Lucian; Hesychius
Fragment 211bPliny the Elder
Fragment 211c[aj]Aelian; Athenaeus; Comes Natalis
Fragment 212Comes Natalis
Fragment 213P. Oxy. 2292
Fragment 213AaP. Oxy. 2506
Fragment 213AbP. Oxy. 2506
Fragment 213AcP. Oxy. 2506
Fragment 213AdP. Oxy. 2506
Fragment 213AeP. Oxy. 2506
Fragment 213AfP. Oxy. 2506
Fragment 213AgP. Oxy. 2506
Fragment 213AhT. 14P. Oxy. 2506
Fragment 213AiP. Oxy. 2506
Fragment 213AkP. Oxy. 2506
Fragment 213BPSI (Ommaggio all' XI congresso internationale di papirologia, Florence 1965, 16s.)
Fragment 213C[ak]P. Mich. inv. 3498
Fragment 214[ab]Pausanias
Fragment 214A[al]P. Oxy. 2637
Fragment 214B[am]P. Colon. 5860
Fragment 214C[an]P. Colon. inv. 8
Fragment 215T. 45Demetrius, On Style[t]
Fragment 216Philostratus
Fragment 217Philostratus
Fragment 218[x]Himerius
Fragment 219T. 20Maximus of Tyre
Fragment 220Himerius
Fragment 221T. 50Himerius
Fragment 222T. 47Menander
Fragment 223T. 21Philostratus
Fragment 224T. 18Horace
Fragment 225T. 51Horace
Fragment 226T. 29Scholiast on metre of Pindar
Fragment 227Hephaestion
Fragment 228T. 30Hephaestion
Fragment 229Hephaestion
Fragment 230T. 31Caesius Bassus
Fragment 231Atilius Fortunatianus
Fragment 232Hephaestion
Fragment 233T. 32Photius
Fragment 234Servius on Virgil
Fragment 235Suda
Fragment 236Hephaestion
Fragment 237T. 36Dionysius of Halicarnassus
Fragment 238Atilius Fortunatianus
Fragment 239Marius Victorinus
Fragment 240Scholiast on Hephaestion
Fragment 242Marius Victorinus
Fragment 243Servius
Fragment 244T. 22Seneca the Younger
Fragment 245T. 41Strabo
Fragment 246T. 37Aristoxenus[ao]
Fragment 247T. 38Menaechmus[ap]
Fragment 248T. 40Suda
Fragment 249T. 6Eusebius
Fragment 250T. 8Athenaeus
Fragment 251T. 5Parian Chronicle
Fragment 252T. 1P. Oxy. 1800
Fragment 253T. 2Suda
Fragment 254a[aq]Herodotus
Fragment 254b[aq]Strabo
Fragment 254c[aq]Athenaeus
Fragment 254d[aq]Photius
Fragment 254e[aq]Suda
Fragment 254f[aq]Appendix Proverbiorum
Fragment 254g[aq]John Tzetzes
Fragment 255Scholiast on Plato
Fragment 256T. 4Aelian
Fragment 257Suda
Fragment 258Maximus of Tyre
Fragment 259Scholiast on Lucian
Fragment 260aT. 34Horace
Fragment 260bT. 17Porphyrio
Fragment 260cT. 17Dionysius Latinus[ar]
Fragment 261Ovid
Fragment 262Tatian
Fragment 263T. 13, 16, 19, 44[as]Heroides 15
Fragment 264T. 7Strabo
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Uncertain authorship

Sappho and Alcaeus, illustrated on an Attic red-figure kalathos by the Brygos Painter. The two poets were contemporaries, and both wrote in the same Aeolic dialect; there are several fragments where it is uncertain which of the two is the author.

Fragments where the authorship is uncertain. In most cases, this is because the dialect is identifiable as Aeolic, but the poem may be by either Sappho or Alcaeus of Mytilene.[61]

More information Fragment Number, Sources ...
Fragment NumberSourcesMeter[f]Lines
Fragment 1Scholiast to Odysseyglxc1
Fragment 2Etymologicum Genuinum1
Fragment 3Apollonius Dyscolus1
Fragment 4Homeric Parsings[y]aeolxc1
Fragment 5aHerodiangl2d?1
Fragment 5bHerodian1
Fragment 5cHerodian1
Fragment 6Anonymous grammarianuncertain1
Fragment 10HerodianAlcaic stanza2
Fragment 11Herodianuncertain1
Fragment 12Homeric Parsings[y]uncertain (u--uuu)[62]1
Fragment 14Homeric Parsings[y]uncertain ((-)u---uu-)[62]1
Fragment 15aZenobius1
Fragment 15bScholiast on Aelius Aristides1
Fragment 16Hephaestion^hippc3
Fragment 18Anonymous]uu-u-u--, ^gl ba?2
Fragment 19Apollonius Dyscolus1
Fragment 20Joannes Zonaras1
Fragment 21Hephaestionia ^gl ia2
Fragment 22Hephaestionuncertain1
Fragment 23Philodemuscho 2io anacl or hemiepes u-u--1
Fragment 25Scholiast on Theocritusuncertain (5da^)[63]1
Fragment 25AEtymologicum Genuinum1
Fragment 25BEtymologicum Magnum1
Fragment 25C[at]Eustathius of Thessalonica2
Fragment 27P. Vind. 29777Sapphic stanza?3
Fragment 28[au]P. Oxy. 2299uncertain[65]8
Fragment 29P. Oxy. 22992
Fragment 30P. Oxy. 2299uncertain8
Fragment 31aP. Oxy. 2299]u-u--uu-[15
Fragment 31bP. Oxy. 2299]u-u--uu-[4
Fragment 32P. Oxy. 2299uncertain11
Fragment 33P. Oxy. 22993
Fragment 34aP. Oxy. 2299xx-uu[17
Fragment 34bP. Oxy. 2299xx-uu[5
Fragment 35P. Oxy. 2299]u---uu-u--, ^hippxc or 3cho ba8
Fragment 36aP. Oxy. 2299uncertain (-u-[)[66]6
Fragment 36bP. Oxy. 2299uncertain (-u-[)[66]4
Fragment 37P. Oxy. 2299uncertain13
Fragment 38P. Oxy. 2299uncertain (]u--[)[67]3
Fragment 39P. Oxy. 2299uncertain (]uu-[)[67]3
Fragment 40P. Oxy. 2299uncertain (]u--[)[68]4
Fragment 41P. Oxy. 22997
Fragment 42[av]P. Oxy. 2378uncertain16
Alcaeus 303Aa[aw]P. Oxy. 2291^gl || ^gl ia9
Alcaeus 303Ab[aw]P. Oxy. 22912 ia || ? || 2 ia |||15
Alcaeus 303Ac[aw]P. Oxy. 2291uncertain (ia? gl?)[69]25
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Spurious epigrams

According to the Suda, Sappho wrote epigrams and elegies. Three epigrams in the Greek Anthology are attributed to Sappho, though none of them are authentic.[70] These are nonetheless included in Campbell's and Neri's editions.

More information Poem number (Neri), Poem number (Campbell) ...
Poem number (Neri)Poem number (Campbell)SourceMeterLines
307157DGreek Anthology 6.269elegiacs6
308158DGreek Anthology 7.489elegiacs4
309159DGreek Anthology 7.505elegiacs2
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Notes

  1. For book 1, Sapphic stanzas; for book 2, glyconics with double dactylic expansion in distichs; for book 3, glyconics with double choriambic expansion in distichs.[9]
  2. x x - u u - - u u - - u u - u - -
  3. No ancient source describes the contents of book 4 of the Alexandrian edition of Sappho's works. Lobel & Page assigned the fragments of poems found on P. Oxy. 1787 to book 4 on the grounds that all are compatible with the same metre and that the first three books of Sappho were metrically homogeneous while the fifth was not; if there was another metrically homogeneous book, it was therefore likely the fourth.[10]
  4. Fr. 102; the meter of the two lines quoted by Hephaestion is an iambic dimeter, followed by a glyconic and a bacchius (u - u - u - - u u - u - u - -).
  5. Fragment numbers are largely those of Voigt 1971, the standard critical edition of Sappho's poetry, whose numeration in most cases matches that of Lobel & Page 1955. Fragments discovered between 1955 and 1963 were included as addenda to Lobel & Page 1963, a reprint of the 1955 volume; those have different numberings in Voigt and in Lobel-Page. Fragments published after Voigt's edition was completed up to 1974 are included in Lobel & Page 1974 (SLG); the numbers are those as given in Campbell 1982 to fit in with Voigt's and Lobel & Page's numerations.[36] A small number of fragments attributed to Sappho by Voigt are not included in Lobel-Page; they are instead found in Page 1962 (PMG). Two major discoveries from 2004 and 2014 postdate all of these editions; in this list they are referred to by the names given in Rayor & Lardinois 2014, and follow the Greek texts given in Obbink 2011, Obbink 2014 and Burris, Fish & Obbink 2014.
  6. Except where otherwise noted, metres are those given in Voigt 1971. Where a metre is only partially reconstructed, it is expressed using "-" to indicate a long syllable, "u" to indicate a short syllable, and "x" to indicate a syllable which can be either long or short, with "]" and "[" respectively indicating that the metre before and after that point is lost. "||" and "|||" indicate the end of a line and a stanza, respectively.
  7. Voigt numbers the lines 1a, followed by 116;[37] line 1a is not in the Lesbian dialect and may not have been part of the original poem.[38]
  8. Follows fragment 9 in the Alexandrian edition. Called fr.9a by e.g. West 2014 and fr.10 by Neri 2021. Overlaps with fr.10 LP (omitted from Voigt).
  9. Voigt divides the fragment into 15a and 15b, but the two fragments join from line 9
  10. Voigt gives 32 lines; P. GC shows that the final 12 lines of Voigt are a separate poem (16A)
  11. Included in both Lobel & Page 1955 and Voigt 1971 as part of fragment 16. The discovery of P. GC shows that fragment 16A comes from a different poem to fragment 16.
  12. Voigt numbers the lines up to 34, including l.3a, which is entirely lost[40]
  13. 44A Voigt = Alcaeus 304 LP.
  14. Though often presented as a single fragment, the lines come from two separate sources, and Rayor & Lardinois 2014 follow Parker 2006 in taking the fragments as separate.[41]
  15. Voigt's edition groups the 26 lines of Pre-58 (Oxyrhynchus), Sappho 58, and Post-58 (Oxyrhynchus) as a single fragment.[43] A second papyrus which overlapped 12 lines of Sappho 58V, first published in 2004, preserves different text both before and after what is here called Fragment 58. Pre-58 Cologne is apparently also by Sappho. The text which comes after Fragment 58 in the Cologne papyrus is not in an Aeolic metre, and in a different hand; it is therefore not by Sappho.[23] Some, such as Obbink 2011, divide these poems into four separate Sapphic fragments; others, such as Rayor & Lardinois 2014, consider Post-58 (Oxyrhynchus) to be an alternative ending to fragment 58.
  16. Voigt divides 90a into Col. II, ll.127, and Col. III, ll.1130
  17. Voigt numbers from l.5
  18. ll.112 and 1923 are illegible
  19. 101A V = Alcaeus 347b LP. The fragment cited in Demetrius is not attributed to any author, but comes after three fragments of Sappho. Campbell says that Lobel and Page's identification of the fragment as by Alcaeus is more probable.[45]
  20. Demetrius was the author of a stylistic handbook for writers and orators, once identified with Demetrius of Phalerum; this theory is now rejected. The date of his treatise is disputed: one view attributes it to the late-Hellenistic period; another to the Second Sophistic.[46]
  21. Fr. 103 lists the first line of ten poems by Sappho. The first appears to be in an Aeolic metre with dactylic expansion; the remaining nine are all metrically compatible though they may not all have been the same metre and can be reconstructed as either acephalous hipponacteans with double choriambic expansion, or as catalectic choriambic tetrameter
  22. 103B V = inc. auc. 26 LP
  23. 103C V = 214 LP
  24. 105b Voigt = 105c LP; 105b LP = 218 Voigt
  25. The Homeric Parsings, or Epimerismoi, are a Byzantine textbook which explains single words from Homer.
  26. 117B V = inc. auc. 24 LP
  27. Lobel & Page 1955 assigns ll.12 of this fragment to 130 LP, and ll.34 to 131 LP. Campbell 1982 and Rayor & Lardinois 2014 follow Lobel and Page on this, but Voigt groups them as a single fragment.
  28. 140 Voigt = 104a LP; 140b LP = 214 Voigt
  29. Fragments 142 and 143 can be analysed either as dactylic hexameters, or according to Aeolic principles.[53]
  30. 168A Voigt = 178 LP
  31. Not included in Lobel & Page 1955. Fr.976 PMG.
  32. Not included in Lobel & Page 1955. Fr.964 PMG.
  33. Voigt cites this in her apparatus to fr. 55; Campbell and Neri 2021 both follow Lobel & Page 1955 in listing it as fr. 193.
  34. First published in 1960 by Robert Browning, and so not in Lobel & Page 1955. Included in the addenda to Lobel & Page 1963 as 117A.
  35. Campbell includes only Pseudo-Paelaphetus under the lemma Sappho 211a; he quotes Suda Σ108 as T. 3 and Strabo 10.2.9 as T. 23
  36. 211b V = 211c LP; 211c V = 211b LP
  37. List of incipits of poems by Sappho, Alcaeus, and Anacreon. First published in 1973 and therefore not included in Voigt. Campbell 213C = SLG S286 = Neri 306A
  38. Not included in Voigt. Campbell 214A = SLG S259261
  39. Not included in Voigt. Campbell 214B = SLG S261A
  40. Not included in Voigt. Campbell 214C = SLG S476 = Neri 87A
  41. Cited by Plutarch in On Music, under whose name Campbell lists the fragment.
  42. Greek historian, c.300 BC.[60]
  43. 254 V = 202 LP
  44. A scholiast on Horace
  45. While 263 V refers to the whole of Heroides 15, Campbell quotes four parts of it separately.
  46. Eustathius says that this poem was variously attributed to Sappho, Alcaeus, and Praxilla of Sicyon. Not included in Lobel & Page 1955, Page lists it among the fragments of Praxilla as fr. 749 PMG, and among the carmina conviviala as fr. 897 PMG.
  47. The fragments of poetry preserved in P. Oxy. 2299 are attributed to Alcaeus in Lobel & Page 1955 but listed among the fragments of uncertain authorship by Voigt 1971. A possible reference to Atthis (inc. auc. 31 Voigt = Alcaeus 256 Lobel-Page l.5; cf. frr. 8, 49, 96, 131, and fr. 214C Campbell) and a mention of Abanthis (inc. auc. 35 Voigt = Alcaeus 261b col. I Lobel-Page; cf. fr. 22) suggests that these fragments are authored by Sappho.[64]
  48. Not included in Lobel-Page; fr. 919 PMG
  49. Alcaeus 303A Voigt = Sappho 99 LP. Lobel identified the fragment as probably by Sappho when it was first published in 1951; Lobel & Page 1955 also attributed it to Sappho. Campbell 1982, Rayor & Lardinois 2014, and Neri 2021 all follow Lobel and Page in listing it as Sappho 99. Gauthier Liberman excludes it from his edition of Alcaeus as being more likely by Sappho.

References

Works cited

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