Blog Post 3 - Sappho and Archilocus in Relation to Carson

Sappho Selection 1

Immortal Aphrodite on your richly crafted throne,

daughter of Zeus, weaver of snares, I beg you,

do not with sorrows and with pains subdue

            my heart, O Lady,

but come to me, if ever at another time as well,

hearing my voice from far away,

you heeded it, and leaving your father’s house

            of gold, you came,

yoking your chariot. Graceful sparrows

brought you swiftly over the black earth,

with a thick whirring of wings, from heaven down

            through the middle air.

Suddenly they were here, and you, O Blessed,

with a smile on your immortal face

asked me what was wrong this time, and why

            I called you this time,

and what in my maddened heart I wanted most

to happen. “Whom shall I persuade this time

to welcome you in friendship? Who is it,

            Sappho, that wrongs you?

For if she flees now, soon she shall pursue;

if she refuses presents, she shall give them;

if she does not love, soon she shall love

            even against her will.”

Come to me now as well; release me from

this agony; all that my heart yearns

to be achieved, achieve, and be yourself

            my ally in arms.

            This fragment demonstrates Carson’s concept that eros can only exist when one is not in possession of what one desires, as it implies that in order to eliminate longing, one must remove the separation between the lover and the beloved. In the fragment, Aphrodite, assuming she has been called upon to once again help Sappho win the affection of a beloved, tells Sappho that she will make her beloved pursue her, accept her gifts, and love her—under the clear assumption that the beloved is currently doing the opposite. The presumed distance between Sappho and the woman she so strongly desires indicates that Aphrodite knows that a certain separation is necessary in order for desire to thrive. By sending this woman into Sappho’s arms, Aphrodite will relieve Sappho from the “agony” that is her longing.

            Though there are only two individuals in this situation of desire—Sappho and her beloved—this concept of separation relates strongly to Carson’s discussion of eros as a triangular relationship. Carson exemplifies this triangle by examining a poem in which Sappho is kept from her beloved by the presence of a man. As Carson explains, the man is necessary to the structure of the triangle because without him, the distance between Sappho and her beloved would collapse; without this distance, eros would no longer exist, as one can only desire what one does not have. In this fragment, the beloved’s rejection of Sappho is serving as the third point of the triangle; it is both what is creating Sappho’s desire and, paradoxically, what is preventing it from being fulfilled. As Carson and, apparently, Sappho believe, desire vanishes as soon as the subject of longing has been acquired. 

           

Archilocus Selection 36

In wretchedness I lie here, gripped by longing,

lifeless, with bitter pain by the gods’ will

pierced through the bones.

            Archilocus’ fragment reflects what Carson describes as the dual nature of eros; as she derives from Sappho’s writings, love is simultaneously sweet and bitter, positive and negative. While many likely identify the sweet side of love easily, Archilocus’ poem displays its perhaps less obvious bitter element. His desire, or “longing”, has left him miserable; he lies in “wretchedness”, “with bitter pain…pierced through the bones.” This image sharply contrasts the common tenderness and gentleness associated with desire and love. Instead of giving him these lighthearted sensations, Archilocus’ desire has seized him, leaving him to endure a pain that only the gods could have willed upon him. As Carson describes, desire is both “an experience of pleasure and pain”. Though she addresses its pleasant aspects, she also portrays eros as an aggressor that attacks its helpless “victim[s]”. This concept is clearly displayed by Archilocus’ fragment, as his longing is not bringing him happiness, but rather is tormenting him against his will.