The Anactoria Poem by Sappho

This week: Jim Powell’s beautiful translation of Sappho’s Anactoria poem. Her passion, as always, shines through.


The Anactoria Poem

Some say thronging cavalry, some say foot soldiers,
others call a fleet the most beautiful of
sights the dark earth offers, but I say it's what-
ever you love best.

And it's easy to make this understood by
everyone, for she who surpassed all human
kind in beauty, Helen, abandoning her
husband--that best of

men--went sailing off to the shores of Troy and
never spent a thought on her child or loving
parents: when the goddess seduced her wits and
left her to wander,

she forgot them all, she could not remember
anything but longing, and lightly straying
aside, lost her way. But that reminds me
now: Anactória,

she's not here, and I'd rather see her lovely
step, her sparkling glance and her face than gaze on
all the troops in Lydia in their chariots and
glittering armor.





Sappho lived in 7th-6th Century BC on the Greek island of Lesbos. While not much is known about her life, she is believed to have run a school for women that was dedicated to the cult of Eros and Aphrodite. She was highly regarded by the ancients and remains highly regarded today.