Sappho 94

The poem is written as a conversation between Sappho and a woman who is leaving her, perhaps in order to marry, and describes a series of memories of their time together.

[5] It is part of the collection of the Egyptian Museum of Berlin, which acquired it in 1896,[7] a gift of a Dr Reinhardt, then the German vice-consul in Bushehr.

It was part of Book V of the Alexandrian edition of Sappho's poetry,[13] which may have contained poems in a number of different metres based on glyconics.

On the other hand, Wilhelm Schubart, the first to edit the poem, initially thought that it was spoken by the departing woman;[15] this is a position that has been taken up more recently by scholars such as Stephanie Larson.

[28] The eighth stanza of the poem has been subject of much scholarly debate[3] – along with the identity of the speaker in the first paragraph, Margaret Williamson describes it as one of the two key points of uncertainty in the text.

[31] Not all commentators agree with this, however; Larson notes that scholars "have made every attempt" to "explain away the overt sexuality" of the lines.

[32] One suggestion, originating with Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, is that the poem is referring to satisfying the departing woman's desire for sleep.

[33] Sappho 94 has sympotic overtones, containing references to garlands, flowers, sweet oils, and soft beds, all of which are images associated with the symposium – an ancient Greek drinking party, which was accompanied by entertainment, including music and dance.

André Lardinois observes that they could describe the activities of a chorus of women culminating in a performance at a holy site ("no holy site... we left uncovered, no grove... dance"[36]),[37] and Margaret Williamson interprets the final section of the poem as discussing the same kind of religious practice as that in Sappho 2.

A fragmentary piece of parchment, with Greek lettering
P. Berol. 9722, the parchment on which Sappho 94 is preserved.
line drawing of three figures: a man embraces a woman, with another woman looking on
Simeon Solomon , Erinna Taken from Sappho (1865). In the 19th century, the poet Erinna was believed to be a contemporary of Sappho. Here she is shown leaving Sappho, just as the woman in fragment 94 does.