Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Prayers : p. 102 PRAYERS What do you want? Say it. If you should wish I'll sell my last jewel, so that a watchful slave may wait upon the wishes of your eyes, upon whatever thirst your lips may have. If our goat's milk should seem flat to you, I'll hire, as for a child, a wet-nurse with great swollen...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. To One : p. 146 TO ONE WHO HAS STRAYED The love of women is more beautiful than all the loves we can experience, and even you would think so, Kleon, if your soul were truly amorous; but you only dream of vanities. You waste your nights in cherishing these youths, who have no true perception of our worth...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Eyes : p. 103 EYES Mnasidika's great eyes, how you delight me when desire darkens your lids and fires you and drowns you in its tears! How wild you make me when you turn aside, distracted by some passing lovely girl, or by a memory which is not my own. Then my cheeks grow hollow, my hands tremble and I...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Advice : p. 156 ADVICE TO A LOVER If you would be beloved of a woman, young friend, no matter what she may be, do not tell her you want her, but see that she sees you each day, and then disappear, to return. If she speaks to you, you may be amorous, without being eager at all. She will come to you, quite...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. The Kiss : p. 89 THE KISS I shall kiss from end to end the long black wings spreading from your neck, oh, gentle bird, captive dove whose heart throbs wild beneath my hand! I shall take your mouth into my mouth as the child takes its mother's breast. Tremble! for the kiss sinks deep and should suffice...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. The Living Past : p. 77 THE LIVING PAST I left the bed as she had left it, unmade and rumpled, coverlets awry, so that her body's print might rest still warm beside my own. Until the next day I did not go to bathe, I wore no clothes and did not dress my hair, for fear I might erase some sweet caress. That morning I...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Counsels : p. 71 COUNSELS Then Syllikmas entered, and, seeing that we were so intimate, sat down upon the bench. Taking Glottis on one knee and Kyse on the other, she began: "Come here, my dear." But I remained away. Then she went on: "Are you afraid of us? Come closer: these children truly love you. They...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Sea Side Promenade : p. 99 SEA-SIDE PROMENADE As we were walking on the shore, unspeaking, wrapped to the chin in our dark woolen robes, some happy young girls passed by. "Ah! it's Bilitis and Mnasidika! See the lovely little squirrel that we caught: it is soft as a bird and frightened as a rabbit. "At Lydia's house...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Hymn : p. 119 HYMN TO THE NIGHT The midnight masses of the trees move no more than do the mountains. The stars are crowded in a spreading sky. A breeze warm as a human breath caresses my cheeks and eyes. Oh! Night who gave birth to the Gods! how sweet thou art upon my lips! how warm thou art in my hair...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Little : p. 162 LITTLE PHANION Stranger, stop, look who is signalling you: 'tis little Phanion of Ks, she is well worth your choice. See, her hair is curled like parsley, her skin is soft as the down of a woodland bird. She is small and brown. And she converses well. If you should follow her, she would not...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Mnasidika's Breasts : p. 82 p. 83 MNASIDIKA'S BREASTS Carefully, with one hand, she opened her tunic and tendered me her breasts, warm and sweet, just as one offers the goddess a pair of living turtle-doves. "Love them well," she said to me, "I love them so! They are little darlings, little children. I busy myself with...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. The Sleeper : p. 88 THE SLEEPER She sleeps in her undone hair, her hands entwined behind her neck. But does she dream? Her lips are parted and her breath is gentle. With a little dab of down I dry, without awakening her, the perspiration from her arms, the fever from her cheeks. Her closed eyelids are two...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. The Bath : p. 137 THE BATH Child, keep watch upon the door, and do not let any passers-by come in, for I and six young girls with lovely arms are going secretly to bathe in the basin's tepid pool. We only want to laugh and swim a while. Let lovers stay outside. We'll drench our legs in the water, and, seated...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Attempt : p. 110 ATTEMPT You were jealous of us, Gyrinno, over-ardent girl. How many garlands have you had suspended upon the knocker of our door! You waited for our passing and you followed us in the street. Now you have attained your wish, stretched in the beloved place, your head upon the pillow where...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Desire : p. 133 p. 134 DESIRE At night, they left us on a high white terrace, fainting among the roses. Warm perspiration flowed like heavy tears from our armpits, running on our breasts. An over-whelming pleasure-lust flushed our thrown-back heads. Four captive doves, bathed in four different perfumes...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Shadowlight : p. 87 SHADOWLIGHT We slipped beneath the transparent coverlet of wool, she and I. Even our heads were hidden, and the lamp lit up the cloth above us. And thus I saw her dear body in a mysterious glow. We were much closer to each other, freer, more naked and more intimate. "In the selfsame shift,"...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. Her Friend, Married : p. 40 HER FRIEND, MARRIED Our mothers carried us together, and tonight Melissa, my dearest friend, was married. The roses still are lying on the road; the torches still are flaming, flaming... And I return by the same path with mother, and I dream. Thus, what she is today, I also might have been...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Dispute : p. 160 DISPUTE Ah! by Aphrodite, there you are! offal! filth! stink! trash! slut! clumsy! good-for-nothing! dirty sow! Don't try to flee me, but come here; come closer! Let me see this sailor's wench who does not even know how to fold her robe over her shoulder, and who paints so badly that her...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. Phitta Meliai : p. 35 PHITTA MELIAI As soon as the sun's heat diminishes, we will go and play on the banks of the river; we will struggle for a frail crocus, or for a sopping hyacinth. We will make a human necklace, and we'll weave a wreath of girls. We will take each other by the hand, and grasp each other's...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Funeral Chant : p. 116 FUNERAL CHANT Sing a funeral song, Mytilenian muses, sing! The earth is dark like a mourning cloak, and the yellow trees are trembling like tresses that are shorn. Heraos! oh, sad and gentle month! the leaves fall gently as the falling snow, the sun-beams are much stronger in the naked...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Love : p. 95 LOVE Alas! if I think of her my throat is parched, my head is drooped, my breasts grow hard and make me ill at case, I tremble and I weep the while I walk. If I see her my heart stops, my hands shake, my feet grow cold and fire mounts in my checks, while my temples pulse sadly on and on. If...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Psappha : p. 69 PSAPPHA I rub my eyes.. it is already day, I think. Ah! who is by my side?... a woman?... By Paphia, 69 I had forgotten!... Oh, Charites! how hot with shame I am! To what country have I come, what isle is this, where love is comprehended in this fashion? If I were not so tired, I should...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Morning Rain : p. 173 MORNING RAIN The night is fading. The stars are far away. Now the very latest courtesans have all gone homewards with their paramours. And I, in the morning rain, write these verses in the sand. The leaves are loaded down with shining water. The little streams that run across the roads...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Friends : p. 157 FRIENDS FOR DINNER Myromeris and Maskale, my friends, come with me, I have no lover for tonight, and couched on beds of byssos we'll pleasantly discourse through dinner-time. A night of rest will do you good: you'll sleep in my bed, unpainted and uncoiffed. Put on a simple woolen tunic...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Effort : p. 111 EFFORT More! enough of sighing and stretching out your arms! Begin again! Or do you think that love is relaxation? Gyrinno, 'tis a task, and by far the most severe. Awaken! You must not go to sleep! What matters to me your purple eyelids and the streak of pain which burns your slender legs...
The Tomb Of Bilitis. Second Epitaph : p. 179 SECOND EPITAPH On the dark shores of the Melas, at Tamassos in Pamphylia, I, Bilitis, daughter of Damophylos, first saw the light. I rest far away from my birth-place, you see. As a child I was taught the loves of Adon and Astarte, the mysteries of holy Syria, and death and the return...
The Life Of Bilitis : p. 13 THE LIFE OF BILITIS Bilitis was born at the beginning of the sixth century before our era, in a mountain village situated on the banks of the Melas, towards the east of Pamphylia. This country is solemn and dreary, shadowed by heavy forests, dominated by the vast pile of the Taurus; streams...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. To Her : p. 138 TO HER BREASTS Flesh in blossom, oh, my breasts! how rich and heavy you are with desire! My breasts in my hands, how soft you are, and with what mellow warmths and young perfumes. Formerly you were frozen like the breasts of a statue, and hard as senseless marble. Since you have softened I...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. The Tomb Of The Naiads : p. 66 THE TOMB OF THE NAADS I walked through the frost-encrusted wood; my hair blossomed with tiny icicles before my mouth and my sandals were heavy with soiled and caked-up snow. He said to me: "What do you seek?"--"I follow the tracks of the satyr. His little cleft foot-prints alternate like...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Clear : p. 132 CLEAR WATER OF THE BASIN "Clear water of the basin, silent mirror, tell me of my beauty. --Bilitis, or whoever you may be, Tethys 132 or mayhap lovely Amphitrite, you are beautiful, oh, know it well! "Your face bends over, 'neath your heavy hair, thick with perfumes and entwined flowers...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Meeting : p. 73 MEETING I found her as a treasure, in a field, under a myrtle bush; she was wrapped from throat to feet in a yellow peplos broidered fine with blue. "I have no lover," she told me, "for the nearest town is forty stadia 73 from here. I live alone but for my mother, who is a widow and is...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. To The Washerwomen : p. 57 TO THE WASHERWOMEN Oh, washerwomen, do not say that you have seen me! I trust myself to you; do not betray me! Between my garment and my breasts, I bring you something to be washed. I am like a little frightened hen... I cannot say just yet if I dare tell... My beating heart may even kill me...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. The Command : p. 148 THE COMMAND "Hear me, old girl. In three days I shall give a festival. I must have a novel entertainment, You will rent me all your girls. How many have you, and say, what can they do?" "--I have seven. Three dance the kordax with the scarf and phallos. Nephele of the glossy armpits will...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Purification : p. 96 PURIFICATION There you are! Undo your bandelettes, your clasps and tunic. Undress right to your sandals, down to the ribbons twined about your legs, down to the cincture bound about your breast. Sponge the black from your brows and the rouge from your lips. Wash the whiting from your...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. The Dove : p. 172 THE DOVE I have long been lovely; the day is coming when I shall no longer be a woman. Then I'll know rending memories, burning solitary envies, and my tears will bathe my hands. If life is a long dream, what use is there in resisting it? Now, four and five times every night I ask...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. Maternal Counsel : p. 24 MATERNAL COUNSEL My mother bathes me in the dark, she dresses me in the sunlight and coifs me in the soft glow of the lamp; but if I go out in the moonlight she ties my girdle and makes a double knot. She tells me: "Play with the virgins, dance with the little children; do not look out...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. Rain : p. 30 RAIN Softly and in silence the fine rain has moistened everything. It is still raining a little. I am going to stroll under the trees. Bare-footed, not to soil my sandals. The spring rains are delicious. Branches laden with rain-soaked blossoms daze me with their perfume. The delicate sk...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. Bilitis : p. 59 BILITIS One woman drapes herself in snowy wool. Another clothes herself in silk and gold. And still another hangs herself with flowers, green leaves and purple grapes. As for myself, I must live forever nude. My lover, come and take me as I am; without a dress or jewels or little boots...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Melancholy : p. 161 MELANCHOLY I shiver, the night is chill and the woods are wet. Why have you brought me here? isn't my big bed softer than all this pebble-studded moss? My flowery robe will get all grass-stained and my hair all tangled up with little twigs; my elbow, look at my elbow, how dirty it is...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. The Mysteries : p. 124 THE MYSTERIES 124 In the thrice mysterious hall where men have never entered, we have fted you, Astarte of the Night. Mother of the World, Well-Spring of the life of all the Gods! I shall reveal a portion of the rite, but no more of it than is permissible. About a crowned Phallos...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Jealous Cares : p. 90 2 JEALOUS CARES You must not dress your hair for fear the iron might burn your neck or singe your lovely locks. You'll let it rest upon your shoulders, and spread along your arms. You must not dress yourself, for fear your girdle might redden the fine-drawn lines about your hips. Rem...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. Regrets : p. 55 REGRETS At first I did not answer, shame sat upon my cheeks and the throbbing of my heart hurt my breasts. Then I struggled, I said "No! no!". I turned my head, and the kiss did not meet my lips, nor did desire spread my close-locked knees. He asked my pardon, kissed my hair, I felt his hot...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Part 08 : p. 164 THE VENDOR OF WOMEN Who is there? --I am the woman-vendor. Open your door, Sostrata, I'll give you two good reasons. This one first. Approach, Anasyrtolis, and undress yourself. --She is a little heavy. --She's a beauty. Besides, she does the kordax; and knows eighty songs. --Turn around...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. Interrupted Sleep : p. 56 INTERRUPTED SLEEP I fell asleep alone like a partridge in the heath.... The light breeze, the noise of the water and the softness of the night had held me there. I had fallen asleep, imprudently, and I awoke with a scream, and I struggled and I wept; but it was too late already. What service...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Part 12 : p. 150 p. 151 THE JUGGLERESS When the rays of dawn were mingling with the feeble torches' glow, I had a dissolute, nimble flutist join the orgy; she trembled slightly, being slightly cold. Praise the little purple-lidded girl, with short hair and impertinent sharp breasts, clothed solely...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. The Wax Doll : p. 115 THE WAX DOLL Wax-doll, dear plaything that she called her child, she has left you too and forgets you, like myself, who was with her your father or your mother, I forget. The pressure of her lips has worn the paint from your little cheeks; and, on your left hand, here is the broken finger...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. Stories : p. 39 STORIES I am beloved by little children; when they see me come they run to me and tug upon my tunic, and grasp my legs about with tiny arms. If they have gathered flowers, all are mine; if they have caught a beetle, they place it in my hand; if they have nothing, they fondle me and make me...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Intimacies : p. 147 INTIMACIES You ask why I am now a Lesbian, oh, Bilitis? But what flute-player is not lesbian a little? I am poor; I have no bed; I sleep with her who wishes me, and thank her with whatever charms I have. We danced quite naked when we still were small; you know what dances, oh, my dear!:...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. Tresses : p. 52 TRESSES 52 He said to me: "Tonight I dreamed a dream.-- Your hair came down and fell about my throat. Your locks were as a yoke about my neck, a black fan spreading on my breast. "And I caressed them; and they were my own; and we were bound together thus forever, by the same tresses, mouth...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. The Maenads : p. 120 THE MAENADS Through the forests that overhang the sea, the Maenads madly rushed. Maskale of the fiery breasts, howling, brandished the sycamore phallos, smeared with red. All leaped and ran and cried aloud beneath their robes and crowns of twisted vine, crotals clacking in their hands...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. The Object : p. 100 THE OBJECT Hail Bilitis, Mnasidika hail. --Sit down. How is your husband? --Much too well. Do not tell him that you have seen me. He'd kill me if he knew that I was here. --You need not fear. --And there is your room? and there your bed? I beg your pardon. I am curious. --You know...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Part 04 : p. 129 THE TORN DRESS Ho! by the two goddesses, who is the brute who put his foot upon my dress? --One who loves you. --He's a blockhead. --I was clumsy, pardon me. The idiot! my yellow dress is all torn up the back, and if I walk the streets like this they'll take me for a wretched girl who...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Mnasidika's Three : p. 80 MNASIDIKA'S THREE BEAUTIES That Mnasidika may be protected by the gods, I sacrificed two doves and two male hares to laughter-loving Aphrodite. To Ares 80 I have given two armed cocks, and sinister Hecate has received two dogs who howled beneath the knife. Nor have I wrongly prayed these...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. The Dance Of Glottis : p. 70 THE DANCE OF GLOTTIS AND KYSE Two little girls had led me to their home, and as soon as the door was closed they touched the wick unto the fire and wished to dance for me. Their unrouged cheeks were tan, just like their little bellies. They grasped each other by the arms and chattered...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Cosmetics : p. 104 COSMETICS Everything, my life and all the world., and men, all that is not she, is naught. All that is not she, I give you, passer-by. Does she know how many tasks I accomplish to be lovely in her eyes, tasks with my coiffure and my paints, my dresses and my perfumes? Just so long would I...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Rending Memory : p. 114 RENDING MEMORY I remember... (at what hour of the day is she not before my eyes!). I remember the way She had of lifting her hair with pale and dainty fingers. I remember a night she passed, cheek against my breast, so sweetly that happiness kept me long awake; and the next day she had...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Dancer : p. 142 DANCER WITH CASTANETS You tie your sounding crotals to your airy hands, Myrrhinidion my dear, and no sooner have you taken off your dress, than you stretch your tensing limbs. How pretty you are with arms flung in the air, arched flanks and rouge-red breasts! You begin: your feet step one...
Next. Song : p. 27 SONG Torti-tortue, what are you doing there? --I am winding wool and I spin Milesian thread. --Alas! alas! Why don't you come and dance? --I am so sad. I am so sad. Torti-tortue, what are you doing there? --I cut a reed to make a funeral pipe. --Alas! alas! And tell me what has happened...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. I Sing : p. 126 I SING MY FLESH AND MY LIFE Certainly I shall not sing of celebrated mistresses. For, if they live no longer, why speak of them at all? Am I not quite similar to them? Have I not enough to do to think about myself? I shall forget you, Pasipha, 126 although your passion was extreme. I shall...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Solitude : p. 108 SOLITUDE For whom shall I rouge my lips now? For whom shall I polish my nails? For whom perfume my hair? For whom shall I rub my breasts with rouge, if they can no longer tempt her? For whom shall I flush my arms with milk, if they never again can hold her! How shall I be able to sleep? How...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Domesticity : p. 136 DOMESTICITY Four slaves watch my house: two robust Thracians at the door, a Sicilian in the kitchen, and a docile Phrygian mute at my bed. The two Thracians are handsome men. They have sticks in their hands with which to chase poor lovers, and a hammer to nail upon the wall the garlands...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. Pedestrian : p. 28 PEDESTRIAN One evening, as I sat before my door, a young man passed me by. He looked at me, I turned away. He spoke to me, I did not answer him. He would have come nearer. I took a scythe that leaned against the wall and should have split his cheek had he advanced one pace. Then, stepping...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. The Old M : p. 26 THE OLD MAN AND THE NYMPHS An old blind man lives on the mountain. For having looked at the nymphs his eyes have long been dead. And from that time his happiness has been a far-off memory. "Yes, I saw them," he told me: "Helopsychria, Limnanthis; they were standing near the bank...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. The Goblet : p. 53 THE GOBLET Lykas saw me coming, clad only in a short and filmy shift, so torrid was the day; he wished to mould my breast, which was uncovered. He took a handful of the finest clay, kneaded it in water, fresh and light. When he spread it gently on my skin, it was so cold I thought that I...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Tenderness : p. 85 TENDERNESS Softly clasp your arms, like a girdle, about me. Touch, oh, touch my skin like that again! Neither water nor the noon-time breeze is gentle as your hand. Today you shall fondle me, little sister; 'tis your turn. Remember the caresses that I taught you last night, and kneel beside...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. The Heart : p. 92 THE HEART Panting, I took her hand and pressed it tightly beneath the humid skin of my left breast. My head tossed here and there and I moved my lips, but not a word escaped. My maddened heart, sudden and hard, beat and beat upon my breast, as a captive satyr would beat about, tied...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Part 14 : p. 145 TO A HAPPY HUSBAND I envy you, Agorakrites, for having so zealous a wife. 'Tis she herself who tends the stable, and in the morning, instead of making love, she waters the beasts. And you rejoice in it. How many others, you say, think only of base pleasures, 'wake the night, sleep all day...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. Night : p. 64 NIGHT And now 'tis I who seek him. Each night I softly steal from out the house, and travel by a long and devious path unto his meadow, there to watch him sleep. Sometimes I stay a long time, never speaking, happy just to see him; just to kiss his breath I bend my lips unto his own. Then...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. The Little Clay Astarte : p. 74 THE LITTLE CLAY ASTARTE The little guardian Astarte which protects Mnasidika, was modeled at Camiros by a very clever potter. She is as large as your thumb, of fine-ground yellow clay. Her tresses fall and circle about her narrow shoulders. Her eyes are cut quite widely and her mouth is very...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Part 10 : p. 158 THE TOMB OF A YOUNG COURTESAN Here lies the fragile body of Lydia, little dove, the happiest of all the courtesans, who, more than any other, cared for orgies, and floating hair, soft dances and hyacinth-colored tunics. More than any other she adored the savorous throat-caresses, kisses...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. Roses In The Night : p. 54 ROSES IN THE NIGHT After night creeps up the sky, the earth belongs to us and to the gods. We come from the fields to the brink of the stream; our bare feet guide us from the heavy-shadowed woods into the clearings. Tiny stars shine brilliantly enough for the tiny shadows that we are...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Mnasidika's Silence : p. 105 MNASIDIKA'S SILENCE All day she laughed and even mocked at me a little. She refused to obey me, in the presence of some strangers. When we had come home again I affected not to speak to her, and when she threw her arms about my neck, saying: "Are you angry?" I said to her: "Ah! you are no...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Song : p. 155 SONG The first one gave me a necklace, a necklace of pearls worth a city, with temples and palaces, treasures and slaves. The second wrote poetry for me. He said that my tresses were black as the night's, and my eyes were as blue as the day's. The third one was handsome; so handsome, th...
Untitled : First published in Paris in 1894, this purports to be translations of poems by a woman named Bilitis, a contemporary and acquaintance of Sappho. This caused a sensation, not only because finding an intact cache of poems from a completely unknown Greek poet "circa" 600 B.C. would be a miracle, but...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. Flowers : p. 31 FLOWERS Nymphs of the woods and fountains, beneficent friends, oh! here I am. Do not hide yourselves, but come to my aid, for I am sorely overburdened by the weight of so many plucked flowers. I shall choose from among you a poor hamadryad with lifted arms, and into her leafy hair I'll...
Title Page : PIERRE LOUS' THE SONGS OF BILITIS Translated From The Greek title PRIVATELY PRINTED FOR SUBSCRIBERS BY MACY-MASIUS: "Publishers" NEW YORK ENGLISH VERSION BY ALVAH C. BESSIE ILLUSTRATIONS BY WILLY POGANY [1926] Scanned , November, 2003. J. B. Hare, redactor. This text is in the public doma...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. The Unknown : p. 169 THE UNKNOWN He sleeps. I do not know him. He horrifies me. However, his purse is full of gold, and he gave the slave four drachmae when he entered. I expect a mina for myself. But I told the Phrygian to go to bed in my place. He was drunk and took her for me. I had rather die in torment...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Part 06 : p. 121 THE SEA OF KYPRIS I had crouched on the edge of the highest promontory. The sea was black as a field of violets. And the Milky Way was gushing from the great supernal breast. About me a thousand Maenads slept in the torn-up flowers. Long grasses mingled with their flowing hair. And now...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Part 02 : p. 140 THE TRIUMPH OF BILITIS The processionaries carried me in triumph, me, Bilitis, naked in a shell-shaped car, into which all through the night slaves had stripped the petals from ten thousand roses. I was resting, hands behind my neck, my feet alone were shod in gold, my body softly stretched...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. To Gyrinno : p. 112 TO GYRINNO Do not think that I have loved you. I have eaten you like a ripe fig, and drunk you like a draught of burning water, and worn you about me like a girdle of flesh. I have amused myself with you, because you have short hair and pointed breasts upon your slender body, and nipples...
Bibliography : p. i BIBLIOGRAPHY I I--Bilitis' smmtliche Lieder zum ersten Male herausgegeben und mit einem Woerterbuche versehen, von G. Heim.--Leipzig, 1894. II--Les Chansons de Bilitis, traduites du grec pour la premiere fois par P. L.--Paris, 1895. III--"Six Chansons de Bilitis, traduites en vers par Mme...
The Tomb Of Bilitis. First Epitaph : p. 178 FIRST EPITAPH In the land where the rivers are born from the sea, and the beds of the streams made of fine flakes of quartz, I, Bilitis, was born. My mother was Phoenician, my father Damophylos, Hellenic. My mother taught me the sad songs of Byblos, sad as the coming of dawn. I adored...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. Bare Feet : p. 25 BARE FEET I have long black hair down my back, and a little round cap. My frock is of white wool. My sturdy legs are browning in the sun. If I lived in town I should have golden trinkets and gold-embroidered frocks and silver slippers... I look at my naked feet in their slippers of dust...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. Cradle Song : p. 65 CRADLE SONG Sleep. I have brought your baubles far from Sardis; your clothes from Babylon. Sleep on: daughter of Bilitis and a king of the rising sun. The woods, these arc the palaces that have been built for you--that I have given. The trunks of pine-trees are your colonnades; the branches...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. Little Children : p. 38 LITTLE CHILDREN The brook is nearly dry, the drying rushes perish in the mud; the air is burning, and far from the steep embankments a thin clear streamlet flows upon the sand. There it is from morn to night that little naked children come to play. They bathe, no higher than their calves, so...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. To The Ship : p. 68 TO THE SHIP Lovely ship that bore me here, skirting the coast of the Ionic sea, I leave you to the gleaming waves again and with a light step leap upon the strand. You are returning to the distant land, where the virgin is companion to the nymphs. Do not forget to thank the unseen...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Part 11 : p. 152 THE FLOWER DANCE Anthis, the Lydian dancer, has seven veils about her. She unrolls the yellow veil and her jet-black tresses spread upon the air. The rosy-veil slides from her mouth. The white veil falling shows her naked arms. She frees her little breasts from the opening scarlet veil. She...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Hymn. Part 02 : p. 118 HYMN TO ASTARTE Mother inexhaustible and incorruptible, creatures, born the first, engendered by thyself and by thyself conceived, issue of thyself alone and seeking joy within thyself, Astarte! Oh! perpetually fertilized, virgin and nurse of all that is, chaste and lascivious, pure...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Part 15 : p. 144 THE WARM GIRDLE "You believe you do not love me any more, oh, Teleas! and for a month you've passed your nights at table, as though the fruits and wines and honey could make you forget my mouth. You think you do not love me any more, poor fool!" And saying that I untied my girdle, still...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. The Inn : p. 135 THE INN Inn-keeper, we are four. Give us a room with two beds. It is too late now to return to the city, and the rain has split the roads. Bring us a basket of figs, some cheese and black wine; but first take off my sandals and wash my feet, for the mud is tickling me. You'll have two...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. Comparisons : p. 33 COMPARISONS Sparrow, 33 bird of Kypris, accompany our first desires with your notes. The new body of young girls blooms with flowers, just as blooms the earth. The night of all our dreams arrives and we whisper it together. At times we match our different beauties, our long hair, our budding...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Scene : p. 106 SCENE Where were you? --At the florist's. I bought some lovely irises. Behold them, I have brought them just for you. --And you took all that time to buy four flowers? --The merchant kept me waiting. --Your cheeks are pale, and your eyes are shining. --The weariness of walking such away...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Mydzouris : p. 139 MYDZOURIS Mydzouris, little baggage, cry no more. You are my friend. If the women hurt you again, 'tis I who will answer them. Come to my arms and dry your tears. Yes, I know you are a dreadful child, and that your mother taught you early to try out all the passions. But you are young...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Stranger : p. 166 STRANGER Stranger, go no further in the town. You'll not find younger or more expert girls at any other place besides my own. I am Sostrata, known beyond the sea. See this one whose eyes are green as water on the grass. You do not wish her? Here are other eyes, black as the violet and hair...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Perfumes : p. 127 PERFUMES 127 I shall scent my skin all over to attract my lovers. Over my lovely limbs, in a silver basin, I'll pour the spikenard of Tarsos and metopion of Egypt. Beneath my arms, some crisped mint; upon my lashes and my eyes, sweet-marjoram of Ks. Slave, undo my hair, and fill it with...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. The Wedding : p. 76 THE WEDDING The wedding feast was given in the morning, in Acalanthis' house whom she had taken for a mother. Mnasidika wore a milk-white veil, and I the virile tunic. Then after, in the midst of twenty women she donned her festal robes. Perfumed with bakkaris and spread with gold-dust, her...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Part 03 : p. 131 THE IMPARTIAL ONE As soon as he enters the room, no matter what he be (and can it matter?): "Behold," I say to the slave, "what a handsome man! and how happy a courtesan is." I call him Adonis, Ares or Herakles, according to his face, or the Old Man of the Seas, if his locks are silver-pale...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Violence : p. 153 p. 154 VIOLENCE No, you shall not take me by force, and do not think you will, oh, Lamprias! If you have heard that Parthenis was raped, know then she met her ravisher half-way, for we cannot be enjoyed without our invitation. Oh! do your best, make your strongest effort. See, you have...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Part 07 : p. 171 THE LAST LOVER Child, do not go on without having loved me. I still am fair, beneath the cloak of night; you shall see how much warmer my autumn is than any other's spring.... Do not seek the love of virgins. Love is a difficult art in which young girls are not highly versed. I have spent...
Game Of Dice : p. 62 SONG "The night is so deep that it creeps between my eyelids. --You will never find the path. You'll be lost within the wood. --The noise of falling waters fills my ears. --You would not hear the murmurs of your lover though he should be but twenty steps away. --The odor of the flowers is so...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Information : p. 163 INFORMATION If you should like, oh! halting passer-by, slim thighs and high-strung flanks, a hard, strong throat and knees which clasp, go seek out Plango, she who is my friend. If you are looking for a laughing girl with round luxurious breasts, a fragile build, plump buttocks and lovely...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. Pastoral Song : p. 23 PASTORAL SONG One must sing a pastoral song to invoke Pan, God of the summer wind. I watch my flock, and Selenis watches hers, in the round shade of a shuddering olive-tree. Selenis is lying on the meadow. She rises and runs, or hunts grasshoppers, picks flowers and grasses, or bathes her...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. The Lost Letter : p. 61 THE LOST LETTER Alas, for me! for I have lost his letter. I had placed it 'twixt my skin and my strophion, 61 beneath the shielding warmth of my breast. I ran, it must have fallen out. I shall return upon my homeward path; should someone find it he would tell my mother, and I'd be whipped...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Part 13 : p. 149 THE MASQUE OF PASIPHA 149 At a debauch given by two young men and some courtesans, at my home, where love flowed out like wine, Damalis, to celebrate her name, danced the Masque of Pasipha. She had had two masks, a cow and a bull, made at Kition, one for herself, and one for Karmantides...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. Confidences : p. 41 CONFIDENCES The next day I went to visit her, and we blushed the moment that we saw each other. She had me come into her private room, that we might be alone. I had many things to tell her; but when I saw her I forgot them all. I did not even dare to throw myself upon her neck, I looked...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Part 09 : p. 143 THE FLUTE PLAYER Melixo, with tight-locked legs and body bent, your arms before you, you slip your light and double flute between your wine-wet lips and play above the couch where Teleas still embraces me. Am I not unwise, I who hire so young a girl to lighten my laborious hours; am I not...
Game Of Dice. Part 1 : p. 58 SONG When he came back, I hid my face within my hands. He said: "Fear nothing. Who has seen our kiss? --Who saw us? The night and the moon." "And the stars and the first flush of dawn. The moon has seen its visage in the lake, and told it to the water 'neath the willows. The water told it...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Mnasidika's Lullaby : p. 98 MNASIDIKA'S LULLABY My little child, as few years older as I am than you, I love you, not as a lover loves, but as though you had come forth from my womb in labour. When, stretched upon my knees, frail arms about my neck, you seek my breast, and with mouth held forward you slowly suck with...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. The Cottage : p. 60 THE COTTAGE The little cottage where he has his bed is the loveliest on earth. It is made of the boughs of trees, four walls of sun-baked clay, and ringleted above with moss and sod. I love him, for there we lie now that the nights are cool; and, the cooler the nights, the longer they become...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. Impatience : p. 32 IMPATIENCE I threw myself weeping into her arms, and for long minutes she felt my warm tears flowing over her shoulder before my anguish allowed me once again to speak: "Alas! I am only a child; the young men will not look at me. When shall I have lovely young breasts like yours, to swell my...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. The Moon With Blue Eyes : p. 42 THE MOON WITH BLUE EYES At night the hair of women and the willow's branches merge and mingle softly with each other. I walked upon the water's edge. Suddenly I heard a singing voice: 'twas then I knew there were some maidens there. I said to them: "What do you sing?" They answered me: "We...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. Lykas : p. 44 LYKAS Come, we will stray in the fields, under the juniper bushes; we will eat honey fresh from the hive and make grasshopper traps from the daffodil stems. Come, we'll see Lykas, who watches his father's flocks on the shadowy slopes of the Tauros. Surely he'll give us some milk. I can hear...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. Offering To The Goddess : p. 45 OFFERING TO THE GODDESS This garland plaited by my very hands is not for Artemis who rules at Perga--though Artemis will shield me from the labour-pangs. Nor for Sidonian Athene, although she be of ivory and gold, and bears in her hand a pomegranate to tempt the birds. No, but for Aphrodite...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. Game Of Dice : p. 48 GAME OF DICE Since both of us adored him, we engaged to play a game of dice for him. That was a famous party. Many maidens watched most anxiously. She led off with the Cyclops throw, and I cast the Solon. Then she threw Kallibolos, and I, sensing my defeat, besought the Goddess. I played, I...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. The Vow : p. 63 THE VOW "When the waters of the river climb the snowy-covered peaks; when wheat and barley sprout between the moving ocean hills; "When pine-trees take their birth from lakes and water-lilies spring from stones, and when the sun grows black and the moon falls on the grass; "Then but then...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. The Flute : p. 50 p. 51 THE FLUTE For the Hyacinthian day he gave me some Panic pipes, of measured reeds well-cut, bound each to each with soft white wax, sweet as honey to my lips. He teaches me to play, I seated on his knees; perhaps I tremble just a bit too much. He then plays after me in tones so sweet I...
The Tomb Of Bilitis. Last Epitaph : p. 180 LAST EPITAPH Beneath the black leaves of the laurel, 'neath the amorous blooms of the rose, 'tis here I am resting forever; I who could weave verses together, I who could make kisses to bloom. I grew up in the land of the Nymphs; I lived on the island of lovers; I died on the isl...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Conversation : p. 128 CONVERSATION Good-day. --Good-day to you. --You are in a hurry. --Perhaps less in a hurry than you think. --You are a pretty girl. --Perhaps more pretty than you even know. --What is your charming name? --I do not tell my name in such a hurry. --Have you some one for this evening? --I...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Part 05 : p. 123 THE PRIESTESSES OF ASTARTE Astarte's priestesses engage in love at the rising of the moon; then they arise and bathe themselves in a great basin with a silver rim. With crook'd fingers they comb their tangled locks, and their purple-tinted hands twined in their jet-black curls are like so...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. The Symbolic Ring : p. 36 THE SYMBOLIC RING Travelers coming from Sardis speak of the necklaces and precious stones with which the Lydian women deck themselves, from the tops of their tresses to their tinted feet. The young girls of my country have neither bracelets nor diadems, but their fingers bear a silver ring...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. The Stream In The Wood : p. 34 THE STREAM IN THE WOOD I bathed alone in the stream in the wood. I must have frightened the poor naads, for I could scarcely see them far away in the dark water. I called to them. To mimic them I plaited iris blossoms, black as my hair, about my neck, twined with knots of yellow...
Translator's Notes : p. ii NOTES Since previous editions of the "Songs of Bilitis" have been complacently unconcerned with the desirability of sympathetic treatment, accurate translation or rhythmic presentation, I offer this version of an extremely lovely book, in all humility, as leaven to their dough, although...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Games : p. 86 GAMES More than her baubles and her doll am I a plaything for Mnasidika. For hours on end, unspeaking, like a child, she amuses herself with all my body's charms. She undoes my hair and does it up again according to her fancy, sometimes knotting it beneath my chin like some heavy cloth...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. Prayer To Persephone : p. 47 PRAYER TO PERSEPHONE Cleansed by the ritual ablutions and clothed in violet robes, we droop our olive branches to the earth. "Oh, underworld Persephone, whatever be the name that thou desirest, if this name pleases thee, oh, hear our prayer, Crowned with Shadows, barren smile-less Queen...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. The Accommodating Friend : p. 46 THE ACCOMMODATING FRIEND The storm had lasted all night. Selenis of the lovely hair had come to spin with me. She stayed for fear of the mud, and, pressed tightly each to each, we filled my tiny bed. When young girls sleep together sleep itself remains outside the door. "Bilitis, tell me...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Evening : ] p. 101 EVENING BY THE FIRE The winter is severe, Mnasidika. Everything is cold outside our bed. Arise, however; come with me, for I have built a great fire of dead logs and split kindling wood. We will crouch down and warm ourselves, quite nude, our hair hung down our backs, and drink milk out...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. Song : p. 43 SONG Shades of the wood where she now ought to be, tell me, whence has my fair mistress strayed? --She has gone down to the plain. --Meadow, oh! tell me, where is my mistress? --She has followed the banks of the stream. --Beautiful river who just saw her passing, tell me, is she hereabouts...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Metamorphosis : p. 78 METAMORPHOSIS I formerly was amorous of the beauty of young men, and the memory of their words, one time, would keep me long awake. I remember having carved a name in the bark of a sycamore. I remember having left a fragment of my gown upon the road where one was wont to pass. I remember...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. The Grotto Of The Nymphs : p. 81 THE GROTTO OF THE NYMPHS Your little feet are daintier than those of silver Thetis. 81 You cross your arms and press your breasts together, and rock them softly, like two snowy doves. Beneath your hair you hide your moistened eyes, your trembling mouth and the red flowers of your ears; but...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Egypti : p. 125 EGYPTIAN COURTESANS I went with Plango to the Egyptian courtesans, far above the old city. They have amphoras of earth and copper salvers, and yellow mats on which they may squat without an effort. Their rooms are silent, without angles or corners, so greatly have successive coats of blue...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. The Doll : p. 84 THE DOLL I have given her a doll, a waxen doll with rosy cheeks. Its arms are attached by little pins, and even its little legs can bend. When we are together she places it between us in the bed; it is our child. At eventide she rocks it and gives it the breast before putting it to sleep...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Incertitude : p. 72 INCERTITUDE I do not know if I shall mate myself with Glottis or with Kyse. As they are not much alike, one cannot soothe me for the other's loss, and greatly fear to make an evil choice. Each has one of my hands, and one of my breasts too. To which I wonder shall I give my mouth? to which...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Last Attempt : p. 113 LAST ATTEMPT What do you want, old girl? --To console you. --'Tis wasted effort. --I have been told that since your quarrel, you've gone from love to love, but have never found forgetfulness or peace. I come to suggest some one to you. --Speak. --She is a young slave born in Sardis. She h...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Absence : p. 94 ABSENCE She has gone out, and she is far away, but I see her still, for all within this room is full of her, all is hers, and I just like the rest. This bed, still warm, where my mouth is wandering now, is rumpled to the pattern of her body. In this soft pillow her little ringleted head h...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Trickery : p. 170 TRICKERY I awaken. Then he is gone! He left something! No: two empty amphora and some sullied flowers. The rug is red with wine. I slept, but I am still intoxicated... With whom did I come home?... Anyhow, we went to bed together. The bed itself is even soaked in sweat. There might even...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Jewels : p. 130 JEWELS A diadem of pierced gold crowns my white and narrow forehead. Five golden chainlets, hung from cheek to cheek, swing from my hair by two large golden hasps. Upon my arms, which Iris 130 herself would envy, thirteen silver bracelets rise in tiers. How heavy they are! But these are...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Desire : p. 75 DESIRE She entered, and passionately, with half-closed eyes, she joined her lips with mine, and our tongues knew each other... Never in my life had there been a kiss like that. She stood against me, amorous and willing. Little by little my knee rose between her warm thighs, which spread...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. Awakening : p. 29 AWAKENING It is already daylight. I should have long arisen. But morning sleep is sweet, and the warmth of the bed keeps me snuggled up. I want to stay still longer. Soon I'll go to the stable. I'll give grass and flowers to the goats, and a skin of fresh water, drawn from the well; and I...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. The Nameless Tomb : p. 79 THE NAMELESS TOMB Mnasidika then took me by the hand, and led me through the portals of the town to a little barren field where a marble shaft was standing. She said to me: "This was my mother's mistress." I felt a sudden tremor, and, clinging to her hand, leaned on her shoulder, to read...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. Moonlight Dances : p. 37 MOONLIGHT DANCES Upon the soft grass, in the night, young girls with violet hair have danced together, and one of each pair gave the lover's answer. The virgins said: "We are not for you." And, as though they were ashamed, they shielded their virginity. An aegipan played a flute beneath...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Memory : p. 167 MEMORY OF MNASIDIKA They danced before each other in swift and fleeting movement; they always seemed to wish to touch each other, but never touched, unless it be their lips. When they turned their backs in the mazes of the dance, and looked at one another, head on shoulder, the perspirati...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. True Death : p. 174 p. 175 TRUE DEATH Aphrodite! inexorable Goddess, thou hast desired that happy youth with lovely curls should fade from me, too, in a few short days. Why did I not die altogether then? I looked at myself in my mirror: I can no longer smile or even cry. Oh! lovely face that Mnasidika loved, I...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus. Young Mother : p. 168 YOUNG MOTHER Do not think, Myromeris, that because you were a mother your beauty has diminished in the least. Now your body, underneath its robe, has drowned its fragile lines beneath voluptuary softness. Your breasts are two vast flowers overturned upon your chest, whose cut stems furnish...
Iii. Epigrams In The Isle Of Cyprus : p. 141 TO THE WOODEN GOD Oh, Venerable Priapos! wooden god that I had fastened in the marble border of my bath, it is not wrongly, guardian of the orchards, that you keep watch here o'er the courtesans. God, we did not buy you to sacrifice to you our maidenhood. Naught can return that which no...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Night Words : p. 93 NIGHT WORDS We are resting, our eyes closed; the quietude is great about our bed. Ineffable summer nights! But she, thinking that I sleep, puts her warm hand on my arm. She murmurs: "Bilitis, are you asleep?" My heart pounds, but without answering I breathe as calmly as a sleeping wom...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. The Tree : p. 22 THE TREE I undressed to climb a tree; my naked thighs embraced the smooth and humid bark; my sandals climbed upon the branches. High up, but still beneath the leaves and shaded from the heat, I straddled a wide-spread fork and swung my feet into the void. It had rained. Drops of water fell...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. The Mad Embrace : p. 91 THE MAD EMBRACE Love me, not with smiles and flutes or plaited flowers, but with your heart and tears, as I adore you with my bosom and my sobs. When your breasts alternate with mine, when I feel your very life touching my own, when your knees rise up behind me, my panting mouth no longer...
I. Bucolics In Pamphylia. The Distaff : p. 49 THE DISTAFF All day my mother has shut me in the women's rooms, together with my sisters whom I loathe, who speak among themselves in lowered voice. In my own little corner, far away, I ply my distaff. Distaff dear, since I'm alone with you, 'tis you alone who'll be my confidante. Your...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Waiting : p. 107 WAITING The sun spent all the night in the country of the dead, while I have waited, seated on my bed, fatigued from having stayed so long awake. The wick of the exhausted lamp has burned until the end. She will not come: there is the last star. How well I know that she will come no more. I...
Ii. Elegies At Mytilene. Letter : p. 109 LETTER This is impossible, impossible. I beg you on my knees, in tears, all the tears that I have wept upon this dreadful letter; do not abandon me this way. Think of how dreadful it is to lose you forever, for the second time, after having had the immense joy of hoping to recapture you. Ah...