
Kenneth Susynski
127 x 116.8 cm
The Ode to Aphrodite is a lyric poem by the Greek poet Sappho, who wrote in the late 7th century BCE, in which the speaker calls on the help of Aphrodite in the pursuit of a beloved. The ode is written in the form of a prayer to Aphrodite, the goddess of love, from a female speaker who longs for the attention of an unnamed woman.
Sparrows appear in the poem in one of the lines that most intrigued me with its visual power. This piece focuses on the gift of ambrosia (the nectar of the gods) to the yearning Sappho in the bottom center, for the theme of calling on any power to grant the love of another is timeless and just as poignant today as it ever has been. Orchids are used to enforce the thread of love as a demarcation in the path.