Central Message: Love is ever-changing and uncontrollable, Emotions Evoked: Empathy, Frustration, Hopelessness, 'Hymn To Aphrodite' is a classic hymn in which Sappho prays to Aphrodite, asking for help in matters of love. Aphrodite is invoked as the queen of deception-designing or wiles-weaving. Hymenaon, Sing the wedding song! No, flitting aimlessly about, to throw herself, in her goading desire, from the rock passionate love [eros] for him, and off she went, carrying him to the ends of the earth, 11 so beautiful [kalos] he was and young [neos], but, all the same, he was seized 12 in the fullness of time by gray old age [gras], even though he shared the bed of an immortal female. Describing the goddesss last visit, Sappho uses especially lush imagery. GradeSaver, 6 June 2019 Web. 1 Everything about Nikomakhe, all her pretty things and, come dawn, 2 as the sound of the weaving shuttle is heard, all of Sapphos love songs [oaroi], songs [oaroi] sung one after the next, 3 are all gone, carried away by fate, all too soon [pro-hria], and the poor 4 girl [parthenos] is lamented by the city of the Argives. your beauty by god or mortal unseen, your power over heart and mind unknown, your touch unfelt, your voice unheard. Yet, in the fourth stanza, Aphrodites questions are asked in the speaker's voice, using the first person. Introduction: A Simple Prayer The Complexity of Sappho 1 , ' Pindar, Olympian I Sappho's Prayer to Aphrodite (Fragment 1 V. [1] ) holds a special place in Greek Literature. 17 They say that Leda once found resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss thenovel. Seizure Sappho wrote poems about lust, longing, suffering, and their connections to love. And myrrh and cassia and frankincense were mingled. The poet is practically hyperventilating and having a panic attack from the pain of her heartbreak. Charms like this one were popular in Sapphos time, and the passage wouldnt be read as disturbing or coercive in the way we might now. She completed, The Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington and Greece would like to express our sincerest condolences to the family of. throughout the sacred precinct of the headland of the White Rock. The poetry truly depicts a realistic picture of the bonds of love. She explains that one day, the object of your affection may be running away from you, and the next, that same lover might be trying to win your heart, even if you push them away. The poem is the only one of Sappho's which survives complete. Blessed Aphrodite Glorious, Radiant Goddess I give my thanks to you For guiding me this past year Your love has been a light Shining brightly in even the darkest of times And this past year There were many, many dark times This year has been a long one Full of pain . that shepherds crush underfoot. Carm. For day is near. Though now he flies, ere long he shall pursue thee; Save me from anguish; give me all I ask for. He is dying, Aphrodite; the meadow1 that is made all ready. Her name inspired the terms 'sapphic' and 'lesbian', both referencing female same-sex relationships. The poem is written as somewhat of a prayer to the goddess Aphrodite. 1 Timon, who set up this sundial for it to measure out [metren] 2 the passing hours [hrai], now [. Sappho of Lesbos (l. c. 620-570 BCE) was a lyric poet whose work was so popular in ancient Greece that she was honored in statuary, coinage, and pottery centuries after her death. To what shall I compare you, dear bridegroom? Not all worship of Aphrodite was centered on joy and pleasure, however. 14 [. The irony of again and again giving "Sappho" what she wants most of all, only for her to move on to another affection, is not lost on Aphroditeand the irony of the situation for Sapphos listeners is only heightened by the fact that even these questions are part of a recollection of a love that she has since moved on from! Death is an evil. Again love, the limb-loosener, rattles me If so, "Hymn to Aphrodite" may have been composed for performance within the cult. A whirring of wings through mid-air. to poets of other lands. After the invocation, the speaker will remind the god they are praying to of all the favors they have done for the god. <<More>> The persecution of Psykhe . the mules. Sappho identifies herself in this poem; the name Sappho (Psappho) appears in only three other fragments. Aphrodite has power, while Sappho comes across as powerless. We do know that Sappho was held in very high regard. (3) Although Sappho seemingly addresses the goddess in rather general terms, each of these words has considerable significance, acknowledging as they do the awesome power and potential of the goddess. Some sources claim that Aphrodite was born of the sea foam from Kronos' dismembered penis, whereas others say that Aphrodite was the daughter of Zeus and Dione. [9] However, Anne Carson's edition of Sappho argues for ,[8] and more recently Rayor and Lardinois, while following Voigt's text, note that "it is hard to decide between these two readings". It is believed that Sappho may have belonged to a cult that worshiped Aphrodite with songs and poetry. View our essays for Sappho: Poems and Fragments, Introduction to Sappho: Poems and Fragments, View the lesson plan for Sappho: Poems and Fragments, View Wikipedia Entries for Sappho: Poems and Fragments. 12. 13. So, even though Sappho received help in the past, now, the poet is, once again, left all alone in heartbreak. The Ode to Aphrodite comprises seven Sapphic stanzas. O hear and listen! [1] It was preserved in Dionysius of Halicarnassus' On Composition, quoted in its entirety as an example of "smooth" or "polished" writing,[2] a style which Dionysius also identifies in the work of Hesiod, Anacreon, and Euripides. [c][28] The poem contains few clues to the performance context, though Stefano Caciagli suggests that it may have been written for an audience of Sappho's female friends. In the poems final line, Sappho asks Aphrodite to be her sacred protector, but thats not what the Greek has to say about it. Hymn to Aphrodite By Sappho Beautiful-throned, immortal Aphrodite, Daughter of Zeus, beguiler, I implore thee, Weigh me not down with weariness and anguish O thou most holy! 27 [15] In Hellenistic editions of Sappho's works, it was the first poem of Book I of her poetry. The second practice seems to be derived from the first, as we might expect from a priestly institution that becomes independent of the social context that had engendered it. Because you are dear to me [] Many of the conclusions we draw about Sappho's poetry come from this one six-strophe poem. The next stanza seems, at first, like an answer from Aphrodite, a guarantee that she will change the heart of whoever is wronging the speaker. Alas, for whom? The most commonly mentioned topic in the fragments is marriage, while the longest poem is a prayer to Aphrodite. The poem survives in almost complete form, with only two places of uncertainty in the text, preserved through a quotation from Dionysius of Halicarnassus' treatise On Composition and in fragmentary form in a scrap of papyrus discovered at Oxyrhynchus in Egypt. Specifically, the repetition of the same verb twice in a line echoes the incantation-structure used in the sixth stanza, giving a charm-like quality to this final plea. Im older. Translations of Sappho Miller 1 (Fr 1), 4 (Fr 4), 6 (Fr 31) . irresistible, Sappho's writing is also the first time, in occidental culture, that . all of a sudden fire rushes under my skin. While the poems "Sappho" is concerned with immediate gratification, the story that the poet Sappho tells is deeply aware of the passage of time, and invested in finding emotion that transcends personal history. 21 Last time, she recalls, the goddess descended in a chariot drawn by birds, and, smiling, asked Sappho what happened to make her so distressed, why she was calling out for help, what she wanted Aphrodite to do, and who Sappho desired. . In one manuscript, the poem begins with the Greek adjective for on a dazzling throne, while another uses a similarly-spelled word that means wily-minded. Carson chose to invoke a little bit of both possibilities, and speculates that Sappho herself might have intentionally selected an adjective for cunning that still suggested glamour and ornamentation. Shimmering-throned immortal Aphrodite, Daughter of Zeus, Enchantress, I implore thee, Spare me, O queen, this agony and anguish, Crush not my spirit II Whenever before thou has hearkened to me-- To my voice calling to thee in the distance, And heeding, thou hast come, leaving thy father's Golden dominions, III This puts Aphrodite, rightly, in a position of power as an onlooker and intervener. Others say that, in the vicinity of the rocks at Athenian Kolonos, he [Poseidon], falling asleep, had an emission of semen, and a horse Skuphios came out, who is also called Skirnits [the one of the White Rock]. Come, as in that island dawn thou camest, Billowing in thy yoked car to Sappho. The poem makes use of Homeric language, and alludes to episodes from the Iliad. Love shook my breast. Sappho opens her prayer to Aphrodite with a three-word line: [LANGUAGE NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]. 3 Do not dominate with hurts [asai] and pains [oniai], 4 O Queen [potnia], my heart [thmos]. 33 Come now, luxuriant Graces, and beautiful-haired Muses. Sappho's A Prayer To Aphrodite and Seizure Sappho wrote poems about lust, longing, suffering, and their connections to love. That sonic quality indicates that rather than a moment of dialogue, these lines are an incantation, a love charm. Sappho creates a plea to Aphrodite, calling on the goddess to assist her with her pursuit of love. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Sappho: Poems and Fragments. Sappho implores Aphrodite to come to her aid as her heart is in anguish as she experiences unrequited love. gifts of [the Muses], whose contours are adorned with violets, [I tell you] girls [paides] 2 [. This translates to something like poor Sappho, or dear little Sappho.. [Sappho compared the girl to an apple.she compared the bridegroom to Achilles, and likened the young mans deeds to the heros.] But I sleep alone. This repetitive structure carries through all three lines of Sapphos verse, creating a numbing, ritualistic sound. to make any sound at all wont work any more. Yours is the form to which The sons of Atreus, kings both, . Like a sweet-apple Immortal Aphrodite, throned in splendor! Most English translations, instead, use blank verse since it is much easier to compose in for English speakers. Sappho paraphrases Aphrodite in lines three and four. While the poem offers some hope of love, this love is always fleeting. like a hyacinth. A multitude of adjectives depict the goddess' departure in lush colorgolden house and black earthas well as the quick motion of the fine sparrows which bring the goddess to earth. And the Trojans yoked to smooth-running carriages. [6] Both words are compounds of the adjective (literally 'many-coloured'; metaphorically 'diverse', 'complex', 'subtle'[7]); means 'chair', and 'mind'. You must bring [agein] her [to me], tormenting her body night and day. .] For example, Queen Artemisia I is reputed to have leapt off the white rock out of love for one Dardanos, succeeding only in getting herself killed. To learn more, check out our transcription guide or visit our transcribers forum, Hymn to Aphrodite is the oldest known and only intact poem by Ancient Greek poet Sappho, written in approximately 600 BC. Sappho refers to Aphrodite as the "daughter of Zeus." This is an interesting reflection on the dichotomy between Aphrodite's two birth myths. lord king, let there be silence In the same way that the goddess left her/ fathers golden house, the poem leaves behind the image of Aphrodite as a distant, powerful figure to focus on her mind and personality. Or they would die. Get the latest updates from the CHS regarding programs, fellowships, and more! She consults Apollo, who instructs her to seek relief from her love by jumping off the white rock of Leukas, where Zeus sits whenever he wants relief from his passion for Hera. On the other hand, the goddess is lofty, energetic, and cunning, despite her role as the manager of all mortal and divine love affairs. 8 6 Let him become a joy [khar] to those who are near-and-dear [philoi] to him, 7 and let him be a pain [oni] to those who are enemies [ekhthroi]. The moon shone full After Adonis died (how it happened is not said), the mourning Aphrodite went off searching for him and finally found him at Cypriote Argos, in a shrine of Apollo. Some scholars question how personal her erotic poems actually are. 1 O Queen Nereids, unharmed [ablabs] 2 may my brother, please grant it, arrive to me here [tuide], 3 and whatever thing he wants in his heart [thmos] to happen, 4 let that thing be fulfilled [telesthn]. Aphrodite asks the poet who has hurt her. Beat your breasts, young maidens. 1) Immortal Aphrodite of the splendid throne . Enable JavaScript and refresh the page to view the Center for Hellenic Studies website. [3] It is also partially preserved on Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 2288, a second-century papyrus discovered at Oxyrhynchus in Egypt. 6 Ode to Aphrodite (Edm. Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc. As a wind in the mountains The Hymn to Aphrodite by Sappho was initially composed in Sapphic stanzas, a poetic structure named after Sappho. Eros 22 But come to me once again in kindness, heeding my prayers as you did before; O, come Divine One, descend once again from heaven's golden dominions! Come to me now, if ever thou . Come to me now, Aphrodite; dispel the worries that irritate and offend me; fulfill the wishes of my heart; and fight here beside me. Apparently her birthplace was either Eressos or Mytilene, the main city on the island, where she seems to have lived for some time. In closing, Sappho commands Aphrodite to become her , or comrade in battle. Austin and Bastianini, quoted in Athenaeus 13.596c. By stanza two of Sapphos Hymn to Aphrodite, the poet moves on to the argument potion of her prayer, using her poetics to convince Aphrodite to hear her. The myth of Kephalos and his dive may be as old as the concept of the White Rock. Sappho begs Aphrodite to listen to her prayer, reminding the goddess that they have worked well together in the past. The speaker begins by describing a beautiful orchard of apple trees studded with altars which burn incense in devotion to the goddess. The form is of a kletic hymn, a poem or song that dramatizes and mimics the same formulaic language that an Ancient Greek or Roman would have used to pray to any god. 11 And Iaware of my own self 12 I know this. New papyrus finds are refining our idea of Sappho. for a tender youth. Yet there are three hearts that she . [1] Muse, tell me the deeds of golden Aphrodite the Cyprian, who stirs up sweet passion in the gods and subdues the tribes of mortal men and birds that fly in air and all the many creatures [5] that the dry land rears, and all that the sea: all these love the deeds of rich-crowned Cytherea. Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes. Alas, how terribly we suffer, Sappho. For by my side you put on 16. The poem ends with an appeal to Aphrodite to once again come to the speaker's aid. Iridescent-throned Aphrodite, deathless Child of Zeus, wile-weaver, I now implore you, Don't--I beg you, Lady--with pains and torments Crush down my spirit, But before if ever you've heard my. Hymenaon, Sing the wedding song! Sappho, depicted on an Attic kalpis, c.510 BC The Ode to Aphrodite (or Sappho fragment 1 [a]) is a lyric poem by the archaic Greek poet Sappho, who wrote in the late seventh and early sixth centuries BCE, in which the speaker calls on the help of Aphrodite in the pursuit of a beloved. Drinking all night and getting very inebriated, he [= Philip] then dismissed all the others [= his own boon companions] and, come [= pros] daylight, he went on partying with the ambassadors of the Athenians. The persistent presence of "Sappho"'s voice signals that she too sees the irony of her situation, and that the goddess is laughing with her, not at her. After the invocation and argument, the Greeks believed that the god would have heard their call and come to their aid. [19] Its structure follows the three-part structure of ancient Greek hymns, beginning with an invocation, followed by a narrative section, and culminating in a request to the god. But come, dear companions, .] In Archaic and Classical Greek, poets created rhythm and meter using syllable length, where the vowel sound determined the length of the syllable. She was born probably about 620 BCE to an aristocratic family on the island of Lesbos during a great cultural flowering in the area. 35 The poem begins with Sappho praising the goddess before begging her not to break her heart by letting her beloved continue to evade her. in the future. When you lie dead, no one will remember you Its the middle of the night. 5 But come here [tuide], if ever at any [] In this poem, Sappho expresses her desperation and heartbrokenness, begging Aphrodite to be the poet's ally. And the news reached his dear ones throughout the broad city. And now let me say it even more colloquially: the goddess should go out and get her. The Ode to Aphrodite survived from antiquity. I often go down to Brighton Beach in order to commune with Aphrodite. By calling Aphrodite these things, it is clear that Sappho sees love as a trick or a ruse. But then, ah, there came the time when all her would-be husbands, 6 pursuing her, got left behind, with cold beds for them to sleep in. .] The speaker, who is identified in stanza 5 as the poet Sappho, calls upon the . Here, she explains how the goddess asked why the poet was sad enough to invoke a deity for help. Himerius (Orations 1.16) says: Sappho compared the girl to an apple [] she compared the bridegroom to Achilles, and likened the young mans deeds to the heros.. And you, sacred one, Smiling with deathless face, asking. More books than SparkNotes. The focal emphasis defines the substance of the prayer: Aphrodite, queen of deception, make my beloved blind to any attraction but me. The final line, You, be my ally, balances these concerns. Accordingly, the ancient cult practice at Cape Leukas, as described by Strabo (10.2.9 C452), may well contain some intrinsic element that inspired lovers leaps, a practice also noted by Strabo (ibid.). and said thou, Who has harmed thee?O my poor Sappho! Prayers to Aphrodite: For a New Year. Its not that they havent noticed it. In closing the poem, Sappho begs Aphrodite to come to her again and force the person who Sappho yearns for to love her back. Book transmission is a tricky business, and often, when working with handwritten copies of ancient texts, modern scholars must determine if specific words include typos or if the mistakes were deliberate. Anne Carson's Translations of Sappho: A Dialogue with the Past? ground. Thou alone, Sappho, art sole with the silence, Sole with night and dreams that are darkness, weaving 29 Himerius (4th cent. . Poem Solutions Limited International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct,London, EC1A 2BN, United Kingdom. To Aphrodite. . It has eluded the notice of the apple pickers. The marriage is accomplished as you prayed. Rather comeif ever some moment, years past, hearing from afar my despairing voice, you listened, left your father's great golden halls, and came to my succor, I have a beautiful daughter The first is the initial word of the poem: some manuscripts of Dionysios render the word as "";[5] others, along with the Oxyrhynchus papyrus of the poem, have "". She mentions the grief one feels at the denial of love, but that is all. 14. I dont know what to do: I am of two minds. Thats what the gods think. 1 Close by, , 2 O Queen [potnia] Hera, your [] festival [eort], 3 which, vowed-in-prayer [arsthai], the Sons of Atreus did arrange [poien] 4 for you, kings that they were, [5] after first having completed [ek-telen] great labors [aethloi], 6 around Troy, and, next [apseron], 7 after having set forth to come here [tuide], since finding the way 8 was not possible for them 9 until they would approach you (Hera) and Zeus lord of suppliants [antiaos] [10] and (Dionysus) the lovely son of Thyone. And with precious and royal perfume Little is known with certainty about the life of Sappho, or Psappha in her native Aeolic dialect. Wile-weaving daughter of Zeus, enchantress, and beguiler! She makes clear her personal connection to the goddess who has come to her aid many times in the past. Sappho also uses the image of Aphrodites chariot to elevate and honor the goddess. She causes desire to make herself known in dreams by night or visions during the day. You see, that woman who was by far supreme 7 in beauty among all humans, Helen, 8 she [] her best of all husbands, 9 him she left behind and sailed to Troy, [10] caring not about her daughter and her dear parents, 11 not caring at all. Meanwhile all the men sang out a lovely high-pitched song. [ back ] 2. [31] Sappho's Homeric influence is especially clear in the third stanza of the poem, where Aphrodite's descent to the mortal world is marked by what Keith Stanley describes as "a virtual invasion of Homeric words and phrases". [4][5], Though the poem is conventionally considered to be completely preserved, there are two places where the reading is uncertain. Prayer to my lady of Paphos Dapple-throned Aphrodite . bittersweet, Daughter of Zeus, beguiler, I implore thee, Weigh me not down with weariness and anguish, Hearkenedst my words and often hast thou, Heeding, and coming from the mansions golden, Yoking thy chariot, borne by the most lovely. You will wildly roam, GitHub export from English Wikipedia. I cry out to you, again: What now I desire above all in my. This stanza ties in all of the contrasting pairs in this poem and drives home the central message: love is polarizing, but it finds a way. Aphrodite is known as the goddess of love, beauty, and sexual desire. For if she is fleeing now, soon she will give chase. they say that Sappho was the first, Her poetry is vivid, to the point where the reader or listener can feel the sentiments rising from the core of his or her own being. Poseidon Petraios [of the rocks] has a cult among the Thessalians because he, having fallen asleep at some rock, had an emission of semen; and the earth, receiving the semen, produced the first horse, whom they called Skuphios.And they say that there was a festival established in worship of Poseidon Petraios at the spot where the first horse leapt forth. 9 But may he wish to make his sister [kasignt] [10] worthy of more honor [tm]. even when you seemed to me Hymn to Aphrodite by Sappho is a classical Greek hymn in which the poet invokes and addresses Aphrodite, the Greek goddess who governs love. For instance, when Sappho visited Syracuse the residents were so honored they erected a statue to commemorate the occasion! It begins with an invocation of the goddess Aphrodite, which is followed by a narrative section in which the speaker describes a previous occasion on which the goddess has helped her. Up with them! Still, it seems that, even after help from the gods, Sappho always ends up heartbroken in the end. Accessed 4 March 2023. "Throned in splendor, deathless, O Aphrodite" is a prayer to Aphrodite to intercede and "set [her] free from doubt and sorrow." The woman Sappho desires has not returned her love. no holy place Abstracted from their inherited tribal functions, religious institutions have a way of becoming mystical organizations. [29], The Ode to Aphrodite is strongly influenced by Homeric epic. Immortal Aphrodite, on your intricately brocaded throne, 1 child of Zeus, weaver of wiles, this I pray: Dear Lady, don't crush my heart with pains and sorrows. Sappho was an archaic Greek poet from the island of Lesbos. Sappho's Prayer to Aphrodite (Fragment 1 V. [] ) holds a special place in Greek Literature.The poem is the only one of Sappho's which survives complete. She asks Aphrodite to instead aid her as she has in the past. I love the sensual. In the original Greek version of this poem, Aphrodite repeats the phrase once again this time three times between stanzas four and six. And when the maidens stood around the altar, 5 1 Some say a massing of chariots and their drivers, some say of footsoldiers, 2 some say of ships, if you think of everything that exists on the surface of this black earth, 3 is the most beautiful thing of them all. Sappho's "Hymn to Aphrodite" is the only poem from her many books of poetry to survive in its entirety. The last stanza begins by reiterating two of the pleas from the rest of the poem: come to me now and all my heart longs for, accomplish. In the present again, the stanza emphasizes the irony of the rest of the poem by embodying Aphrodites exasperated now again. Lines 26 and 27, all my heart longs to accomplish, accomplish also continue the pattern of repetition that carries through the last four stanzas. This idea stresses that Sappho and Aphrodite have a close relationship, which is unusual in Ancient Greek poetry. assaults an oak, Beautifully [20] The speaker is identified in the poem as Sappho, in one of only four surviving works where Sappho names herself. Smiling, with face immortal in its beauty, Asking why I grieved, and why in utter longing. What now, while I suffer: why now. [26] The poem concludes with another call for the goddess to assist the speaker in all her amorous struggles. It is through you visiting Poem Analysis that we are able to contribute to charity. Consecrated birds, with dusky-tinted pinions, Waving swift wings from utmost heights of heaven. are the sparrow, the dove, the swan, the swallow, and a bird called iynx. Asking what I sought, thus hopeless in desiring,Wildered in brain, and spreading nets of passion Alas, for whom? The rapid back-and-forth movements of the wings mimic the ideas of stanza six, where Aphrodite says: Though now he flies, ere long he shall pursue thee; Fearing thy gifts, he too in turn shall bring them; Loveless to-day, to-morrow he shall woo thee. "Fragment 1" is an extended address from Sappho to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. Merchants and sailors spent so much money on the city's pleasures that the proverb "Not for every man is the voyage to Corinth" grew popular. Despite Sapphos weariness and anguish, Aphrodite is smiling. So here, again, we have a stark contrast between Aphrodite and the poet. 9 Instead, send [pempein] me off and instruct [kelesthai] me [10] to implore [lissesthai] Queen Hera over and over again [polla] 11 that he should come back here [tuide] bringing back [agein] safely 12 his ship, I mean Kharaxos, 13 and that he should find us unharmed. Mia Pollini Comparative Literature 30 Sappho's Ode to Aphrodite: An Analysis Ancient Greek poetess Sappho's "Ode to Aphrodite" and both her and its existence are cannot be overstated; consider that during Sappho's era, women weren't allowed to be writers and yet Plato still deemed Sappho the "10th muse". A.D.), Or. She asks Aphrodite to instead aid her as she has in the past. [34] Some elements of the poem which are otherwise difficult to account for can be explained as humorous. While Sappho asks Aphrodite to hear her prayer, she is careful to glorify the goddess. Even with multiple interventions from the goddess of love, Aphrodite, Sappho still ends up heartbroken time and time again. 2. Thus seek me now, O holy Aphrodite!Save me from anguish; give me all I ask for,Gifts at thy hand; and thine shall be the glory,Sacred protector! The themes in Hymn to Aphrodite by Sappho are love, devotion, desire, religion, heartbreak, and mercy. 4. These titles emphasize Aphrodites honor, lineage, and power. 1 Drikha, your bones have turned into dust a long time agoand so too the ribbons 2 of your hair, and so too the shawl, exhaling that perfumed scent of yours, 3 in which you enveloped once upon a time the charming Kharaxos, 4 skin next to skin, complexion making contact with complexion, as you reached for cups of wine at the coming of the dawn. .] 3 The girl [pais] Ast [. [33] Arguing for a serious interpretation of the poem, for instance, C. M. Bowra suggests that it discusses a genuine religious experience. 16 The exact reading for the first word is .