Sappho's Fragment 16

Fragment 16 is a poetic remnant by Sappho, a poet who lived in Lesbos during the 7th century B.C. It is often referred to by the English title given it by one of Sappho's most famous translators, Mary Barnard, "To an Army Wife, in Sardis". This fragment presents a feminine perspective on what beauty is, making allusions to both unknown figures from Sappho’s time such as Anaktoria and figures from Greek myth such as Homer’s Helen. Though not a direct retelling of Homer’s poetry, this fragment imitates his narrative themes and poetic style.

Poem Text

Possible continuation after line 20

There is scholarly contention as to whether this poem continues after line 20. One possible reconstruction has been proposed by Jakob Sitzler. He proposes that lines 21–22 of fragment 16 read as follows: ἀλλ’ ἄραν] μὲν οὐ δύνατον γένεσθαι / παῖσ]α̣ν ἀνθρώπ[ωι, π]εδέσχην δ’ ἄρασθαι (“but it is not possible that every wish / for a human is fulfilled, but to pray to partake in…”). ^[1] Edwin Marion Cox has given the following:^[2]

εὶ μεν ἴδ]μεν οὔ δύνατον γένεσθαι
λῷστ᾽] ὀν᾽ ἀνθρώποισ, πεδέχην δ᾽ ἄρασθαι,
[τῶν πέδειχόν ἐστι βρότοισι λῷον]
[ἢ λελάθεσθαι.]

So must we learn in world made as this one
Man can never attain his greatest desire,
[But must pray for what good fortune Fate holdeth,
Never unmindful.]

Connections to Homer and Greek Myth

Helen dazzles Menelaus with her beauty: he drops his sword. Eros (flying) and Aphrodite (on the left) watch the scene. Detail of an Attic red-figure krater, c. 450–440 BC (Paris, Louvre)

Love is a theme and motivator which falls far secondary to the glory attainable through militaristic greatness in Homer’s Iliad, yet the theme of longing for love resonates clearly throughout this fragment.^[3] The speaker of this poem clearly characterizes Helen and gives her authority from the very priamel structure (listing alternative descriptions) of the initial stanza. By opening with a list three distinctly masculine opinions before presenting one of definitive disagreement, the tone of assertive dissent prefaces and solidifies the persona of Helen who is addressed in the subsequent quatrain.^[4] The speaker also stresses the importance of the individual's view point as opposed to a community consensus through this nexus of opinions, as fortified through the speaker's juxtaposition of Helen's decision.^[5] This fragment Sappho not only contends Homer’s stance on the types of beauty which wield merit, but she gives a voice to a character of Homer’s creation who he did little to develop.

Much like Homer’s glimpses of Helen in the Iliad, the fragment is restless in both form and tonal pattern, gathering logic into itself rather than unfolding it through rational sequence.^[4] The fragment serves to present a female perspective on the priorities in life during war. And much as in Fragment 44, Sappho augments her Homeric references with details of the circumstances in Lesbos at the time of her floruit: she refers to the attacking Lydians whose military insistently threatened her region.^[6]

Sappho's uses of imagery imitate the style of Homer, emphasising beauty of the individual over beauty in aggression. The visual images describing Anaktoria's complexion and gait, for instance, add both authentic and sentimental aspects to the tone.^[7] She presents a set of wartime values alternative to the standard masculine view of her time, using the myth of Homer’s Helen as the poetic medium.^[8]

References