In the poem “To Her You Were Like a Visible Goddess”, Sappho shows the beauty and dangers of love. Sappho describes the beauty of her lover as comparable to that of the gods. Beauty, however, is not the only quality of Atthis that Sappho admires; she is also attracted to the talents of Atthis, “your singing her greatest delight.” The praise of both physical beauty and natural talent lets the reader know that Sappho truly loved Atthis. It marks the distinction between lust and love. Sappho then talks about her present life. She has become more confident and it radiates through her appearance. She emphasizes her conspicuousness among Lydian women to show how her broken heart has led her to become more appealing, perhaps to find a new partner. I thought this was a contrast between the deep relationship she had with Atthis and lust.
Sappho compares her beauty to that of “the rose-tipped moon” whose beauty becomes prominent “after the sun has set.” This comparison expands on the idea that she has become more concerned with her appearance after the loss of her lover. The sun setting represents the end of a relationship. Later, Sappho describes the aesthetics of nature and compares it to feminine beauty. Sappho mentions the flowering fields, roses blooming, tender parsley and honey- flowered clover to illustrate the likeness in aesthetics among beauty and nature. Regardless of its appeal, nature is impermanent, just as beauty is.
In the last stanza, Sappho does not seem to be contented with the attention she receives from her physical attractiveness. She remains melancholic over the loss of Atthis. This highlights the superficiality of beauty and how lust does not compare to the warmth of love.
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