Since the appearance of the new papyrus fragments in ZPE 189 (2014), this is the second English translation of all Sappho's remaining fragments, after that of D.J. Rayor and A. Lardinois (2014) (compare my review of this last book in JHS 135 [2015], 183–4). The book consists of two sections. The first section contains an introduction by G. and a ‘Translator's Note’ by L. The second section contains the translations, a chapter on the epigrammatic and elegiac imitation and reception of Sappho and a useful glossary.
The book is extremely intelligible for all; and two selective bibliographical lists are offered: the first, at the end of the introduction, lists works on the ‘Greek’ Sappho, on literary and erotic aspects, and on modern reception; the second (p. 79) lists works on the epigrammatic and elegiac reception of Sappho and about the Ovidian Sappho (Ov. Her. 15). Only works in English are quoted. The book contains almost no Greek word, and very few Greek words are transliterated.
In the introduction different aspects are explained to the reader: (1) when, where and the context in which Sappho lived and how fragments from her poems have come to us (papyri, quotations etc.); (2) how Sappho's fragmentary poems have been studied, read and interpreted by modern scholars and readers; (3) Asiatic influence on Sappho; and (4) was Lesbian Sappho a lesbian? Although always attempting to actualise the different problems discussed, the introduction adds almost nothing to modern debates and is to be considered an introduction to Sappho for Greekless readers.
The ‘Translator's Note’ should be read before the translation of the fragments, since it contains a series of key facts. The translation is identical, or nearly so, to that which L. published in the Hackett edition of 2002. For the old fragments, L. has followed the Greek text of D.A. Campbell's Loeb (1982). New fragments are identified by their papyri designations. Some fragments are divided into sections, which are labelled i and ii, such as fr. 16 V. Decisions regarding the divisions are not always convincing: 49 is divided following H.R. Parker, CQ 56 (2006), but 22 is not despite D. Yatromanolakis, ZPE 128 (1999), who argued persuasively for the division on strong papyrological grounds. Every fragment is accompanied by a short footnote about the sources, either direct (papyri) or indirect (ancient authors). Papyrus designations are not always systematically cited (e.g. fr. 2 – the third-century potsherd is P.S.I. 13.1300), and ancient authors are quoted only by name and book title (no chapter numbers are given). The edition of P. Köln inv. 21351 + 21376 (now P. Köln 11.429) by M. Gronewald and R.W. Daniel (M. Gronewald, R.W. Daniel, ‘Ein neuer Sappho-Papyrus’, ZPE 147 [2004], 1–8; M. Gronewald, R.W. Daniel, ‘Nachtrag zum Neuen Sappho-Papyrus’, ZPE 149 [2004], 1–4) is only indirectly quoted (p. 28): no journal or year of publication is given. No explanatory or exegetical notes on the fragments feature. The translation is clear, energetic and close to the Greek text. It would have been better to use square brackets in the translation in order to give the reader an idea of length, right position and distribution of the lacunas.
The last section presents the three epigrams of the Greek Anthology (AP 6.269; 7.489; 7.505) ascribed to Sappho, two epigrammatic Epitaphs for Sappho (AP 7.14; 7.17) and a series of four Tributes to Sappho (AP 7.407; 4.1.5; 7.15; 9.506). A section about the Ovidian Sappho (Ov. Her. 15, with English translation) concludes the work. In conclusion, this book will be particularly useful for instructors of courses in translation.
