Campbell 1990

David A. Campbell (1990): Greek Lyric I: Sappho & Alcaeus. Loeb Classical Library 142. Harvard University Press.

xix, 492pp. 210 frr.

Ornate-throned immortal Aphrodite, wile-weaving daughter of Zeus, I entreat you: do not overpower my heart, mistress, with ache and anguish

The Loeb Classical Library, with its iconic little red and green hardbacks, is beloved by classicists. Until 1982, when Campbell’s Sappho & Alcaeus was first printed, its edition of the Greek lyric poets was the long-outdated one by J. M. Edmonds. Campbell’s new series remedied that, and his Sappho & Alcaeus has been a very serviceable offering for over 40 years.

With the 2004 and 2014 discoveries, Campbell’s Loeb is itself now outdated, and for many readers a more modern translation is likely preferable. It still has some points in its favour, however:

• It is one of the few English translations to include a parallel Greek text
• It includes perhaps the widest selection of ancient sources about Sappho (the ’testimonia’) of any easily-available translation
• It includes a similarly comprehensive edition and translation of Alcaeus, Sappho’s contemporary and the other great lyric poet of ancient Lesbos

For some readers, these benefits might outweigh the workmanlike prose translations and the fact that Campbell is now outdated. Most lay readers should not bother with the Loeb, however; it’s really more useful as a reference for classicists.