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"Towards a new edition of Sappho: ordering the fragments of Book 1"
Book 1 of the ancient edition of Sappho consisted of all her poems in the sapphic metre. We have quite a lot of evidence for this book (at least, compared to our evidence for all her other books), and this paper looks
at one important aspect of it in particular: the order of the poems which it contained. It considers the question under two related headings. First, how much do we actually know about the ordering? For instance, how sure can we be that the famous ‘Ode to Aphrodite’
poem came first in the edition? (Surer than is currently realised, it turns out.) Apart from that first poem, was alphabetical order the rule, or were there further exceptions – and if so, on what basis, and to what effect? Second, how should modern editors
approach the issue of how to order the fragments? A modern vulgate order has become established over the past century, and all other things being equal, it is better not to disturb such an ordering without good reason – but are all other things equal, and
might there now be a good reason? Or to put it another way, what could a better ordering of the fragments achieve? And if we do reorder, what do we do with the fragments which cannot be firmly placed in any particular location within the book? By considering
these points, both theoretical and practical, we can (it is hoped) become more attuned to the editorial shaping of the most-read book of the most-read female writer in antiquity, and thus, perhaps, become better readers of the Sappho known to so many generations
across so many centuries throughout the ancient world.
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