Sappho and the crack of Dawn (fragment 58 L-P)

One of the scraps of ancient papyrus found in the wastedumps of the Egyptian city of Oxyrhynchus(1) contains 26 broken lines from a poem by Sappho concerning old age.(2) The page is torn down the middle of a column of writing and there remain only the closing words of the lines. Lines 25-26 can be completed from a quotation in Klearchos' essay on erotic desire,(3) but the remainder of this fragmentary poem can only be restored by an intelligent use of parallels and conjectures. This has not often been attempted; the fragment, beautiful as it is, has largely escaped critical notice. The reading proposed here, tentative and hypothetical as all such reconstructions must be, is that in fragment 58 Sappho used traditional Greek mythology in a striking way to picture herself in old age cradled and enfolded in the loving arms of the great goddess. For a complete reprint of this article contact Haworth Press by telephone (1-800-HAWORTH) or EMAIL (getinfo@haworthpressinc.com). Article copyright The Haworth Press, Inc.