Two more fragments from the wedding poem (Epithalamium), which still seem as strange today as when the papyrus was first unrolled.
Bride
“Virginity, Virginity, where have you gone?”
“No longer will I come for you, no longer will I come.”
Groom
To what, beloved groom, would I place you in comparison?
The new shoot that bows in the evening — this is my comparison.
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παρθενία, παρθενία, ποῖ με λίποισ’ ἀποίχῃ;
οὐκέτι ἤξω πρὸς σέ, οὐκέτι ἤξω†.
τίῳ σ’, ὦ φίλε γάμβρε, καλῶς ἐικάσδω;
ὄρπακι βραδίνῳ σε μάλιστ’ ἐικάσδω.
These fragments are part of a longer wedding poem that can be found at The Digital Sappho.
