Sappho fr. 31 Voigt

Sappho 31 is an archaic Greek lyric poem by the ancient Greek poet Sappho of the island of Lesbos. The poem is also known as phainetai moi (φαίνεταί μοι) after the opening words of its first line. It is one of Sappho's most famous poems, describing her love for a young woman. Fragment 31 has been the subject of numerous translations and adaptations from ancient times to the present day. Celebrated for its portrayal of intense emotion, the poem has influenced modern conceptions of lyric poetry, and its depiction of desire continues to influence writers today. Preservation Fragment 31 was one of the few substantial fragments of Sappho to survive from ancient times, preserved in the first-century AD treatise on aesthetics On the Sublime. Four stanzas are well-preserved, followed by part of one more line; this, as well as Catullus' adaptation of the poem, suggests that there was originally one more stanza of the poem, often thought to have been Sappho resigning herself to the situation in which she finds herself. A reconstruction of the poem by classicist Armand D'Angour suggests that the original poem may have had up to 8 stanzas. The opening words of the poem ("To me it seems that man...") are almost identical to a fragment of Sappho quoted by Apollonius Dyscolus: "To himself he seems". This might have been an alternative opening to Sappho 31.