A scented hymn to Sappho….

 

Sappho (c. 630–570 BCE) was the beloved Greek lyric poet from the island of Lesbos. Renowned for her romantic and personal musical verses.  She wrote love poetry, often to women, with a vivid, intimate voice and a skillful use of the Sapphic stanza (a metrical form named for her). Most of her work survives only in fragments; the longest complete poem is the "Ode to Aphrodite." Ancient critics called her a Muse and one of the greatest lyric poets.

 

The violet was a repeating theme in Sappho’s work. It was a symbol of feminine love, fertility, and the worship of Aphrodite. In Ancient Greece, violets were highly regarded and associated with many myths and legends.

 

  The Greeks valued violets and saw them as the symbol of fertility and love, thus used in classic love potions. In Ancient Rome, they made a famous wine from Violet flowers.

Sappho Incense contains:

- Mysore Sandalwood 75%

- Sultan’s Ivory Frankincense 25%

- With a gorgeous essential blend of Violet leaf absolute, Fir balsam resin, Cananga flower, with hints of Rose and Jasmine Grandiflorum

 

This price is for Sappho powdered Sandalwood blend in a 1oz amber glass jar, comes in a violet satin Gift Pouch

 

Fragments of Sappho’s poetry

Ode to Aphrodite – “violet-bosomed earth”

 

…Delicate winds
set the leaves to quivering,
and from the buzzing bees
comes a droning through the springtime.

And the shepherds, with their flocks,
graze among flowers desirable…

(where) in your hands (are) roses,
and the violet-flowered earth’s rich bosom…

 

....and the earth blooms with the flowers
of violets and roses…

 

(There are different reconstructions, but the focus  is that the meadow/earth is imagined as “violet‑bearing” or “violet‑bosomed,” part of a lush, eroticized landscape where Aphrodite is invoked.)

 

Memory of a Lover

 

“And I wreathed you
with soft garlands
of roses and violets and saffron,

and around you, putting them on,
I wrapped soft, delicate cloaks…”

 

Violets are literally woven garlands for a beloved. The flowers are a sensual adornment and a remembered touch.

 

…among violet-garlanded girls…