The Text
In Mixed Glyconic and Alcaic Metre
29 · Voigt 138¶Stand face to face, friend ... and unveil the grace in thine eyes.
Στᾶθι κἄντα φίλος ...
καὶ τὰν ἐπ’ ὄσσοις ἀμπέτασον χάριν.
Athenaeus, speaking of the charm of lovers’ eyes, says Sappho addressed this to a man who was admired above all others for his beauty. Bergk thinks it may have formed part of an ode to Phaon (cf. fr. 140), or of a bridal song; and A. Schoene suspects that it was possibly addressed to Sappho’s brother. The metre is quite uncertain.
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