Desire in "Sapphic Fragments" by Sappho


In the poem "Sapphic Fragments" by the ancient Greek poet Sappho, from whom the term "Lesbian" originates due to her residence in Lesbos and passionate writings about other women, there are several different images and similes serving to elucidate the dualities of love. Mortality and immortality is mentioned at the beginning, with the statement "I tell you // someone will remember us // in the future" as well as at the end with Atthis' response, "when you lie dead, no one will remember you [...] death is an evil [...] I don't dare live with a young man --- I'm older;" these conflicting views suggest that Atthis refuses to wed Sappho because she is older than her and feels that she will not be remembered after she’s gone. So the tragedy of the poem is that only in poetry can passion be immortalized. Another image pertaining to the nature of desire is in the description of Aphrodite as a "servant // of wile-weaving,” and Eros is a “giver of pain;" these personifications indicate that beauty is seen by Sappho as a catalyst for enticement, and love is seen as inherently painful. This reflects the duality of love, where passion, inspired by beauty, can produce in us immense pain while also being something that we can’t live without because it is so fulfilling. The theme of love as bittersweet is emphasized by the statement that "there was no dance, // no holy place // from which we were absent" in reference to the satisfaction of passion between the two lovers. The association of satisfied passion with holiness and presence points to an understanding of love as a sacred experience of wholeness or koinonia. Finally, love is compared with imagery surrounding intoxication, including “wreaths of roses // and garlands of flowers // around your soft neck // // And with precious and royal perfume // you anointed yourself;" additionally, she refers to the passage of time as the "hôrâ" passing, indicating that time is here personified as the horae which are led by Dionysus; that Sappho "[sleeps] alone" while both Dionysus and Atthis have passed her by suggests an association between death, passion, and intoxication; this association points to a view of love and passion as resulting from the friction between ideals of koinonia or satisfaction and a material reality of death and absence.

Sapphic Fragments - https://www.uh.edu/~cldue/texts/sappho.html#_ftn1

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