After Sappho, fragment 98
My mother told me once that, in her salad days,
a purple headband was the thing for girls to wear,
but fashions change; for me, it’s wreaths of flowers in bloom
that best set off the glory of your yellow hair.
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Sappho, Fragment 98
[. . ] . θος· ἀ γάρ μ᾽ ἐγέννα[τ᾽
[σ]φᾶς ἐπ᾽ ἀλικίας μέγ[αν
[κ]όσμον, αἴ τις ἔχη φόβα[ι]ς[
πορφύρωι κατελιξαμέ[να πλόκωι,
ἔμμεναι μάλα τοῦτο δ[ή·
ἀλλ᾽ἀ ξανθοτέραις ἔχη[
ταὶς κόμαις δάιδος προ[
[σ]τεφάνοισιν ἐπαρτία[ις
ἀνθέων ἐριθαλέων·
μ]ίτρὰναν δ᾽ ἀρτίως κλ[
ποικίλαν ἀπὺ Σαρδίω[ν
…] . αονίας πόλις
