[st]'. by Sappho

This brief wedding fragment by Sappho is a song performed as the groom approaches the bridal chamber. The carpenters are summoned to lift the roof-beam high because the bridegroom stands as tall and impressive as the war-god Ares. It encapsulates an electrifying moment of joy and admiration. In just four lines, Sappho transforms a simple construction request into a vibrant tribute to the man on the verge of marriage.

Jubilant and commanding, Sappho raises her voice — this is a shout, not a whisper. There's a warmth and communal energy, reminiscent of a crowd gathered outside a house, swept up in the excitement of a wedding. The reference to Ares adds a touch of grandeur without becoming too serious.

Sappho lived on the island of Lesbos sometime between 630 and 570 BCE and is recognized as one of the earliest lyric poets whose work has survived. This fragment comes from her *epithalamia*—wedding songs sung at the entrance of the bridal chamber, often as the groom was arriving. In ancient Greece, wedding songs were a well-known genre, typically performed by choruses of young women, and Sappho was celebrated as a master of this form. Unfortunately, the poem exists only as a fragment, probably preserved because a later grammarian quoted it to illustrate a point about meter or dialect. The language used is Aeolic, the dialect of Lesbos. The comparison of a bridegroom to Ares can be found in other ancient wedding poetry, indicating it was a common compliment that Sappho conveys with her trademark brevity and power.