Lieder der Bilitis

In 1894, Pierre Louÿs published a collection of poems he claimed to have discovered in a tomb in Cyprus, translated from a previously unknown ancient Greek poetess named Bilitis. There was just one problem: Bilitis never existed. The poems were Louÿs's own, crafted in imitation of Sappho and the Greek anthology tradition, but their power is undeniable. The three sections trace a woman's life from the erotic awakening of childhood in pastoral Pamphylia, through the devastating central love affair in Mytilene, to the melancholy wisdom of old age in Cyprus. Written in a female voice of startling intimacy and candor, these poems caused a scandal upon publication for their frank depiction of women's desire, jealousy, and mortality. The hoax was eventually exposed, but by then the poems had taken on a life of their own. What remains is a beautiful周期 of verse that explores sensuality with classical restraint while quietly asking: does it matter if the voice is real, when the emotion is?