Girl, interrupted, and some possibilities for linking the hymeneal songs of Sappho with the etymologies of two Greek words, humḗn (ὑμήν) and húmnos (ὕμνος)

Abstract

Ιn Fragment 114 of Sappho, we read the words of a girl who is lamenting her loss of girlhood: ‘where oh where, my girlhood, my girlhood, have you gone off to, leaving me behind?’ (παρθενία, παρθενία, ποῖ με λίποιc’ ἀποίχῃ). Diana Gibson (1996), in a thesis slated for re-publication online in Classical Inquiries, has convincingly shown that such examples of wistful singing by girls can be linked with another kind of song, conventionally called ‘hymeneal’, which would be sung in the context of ancient Greek weddings. Her thesis, as I argue in this essay here, lays the groundwork for understanding the etymologies of two Greek words that seem related in form but that also seem at first, on the surface, to be unrelated in meaning. In the course of my argumentation, I hope to show the relevance of the expression “Girl, interrupted,” which I have placed at the head of the title for my essay. As I noted in a previous essay, the title for which shows the same heading, “Girl, interrupted” (Nagy 2015.12.03), this expression evokes the title of a book by Susanna Kaysen (1993). I have found that title to be most relevant to the poetics of Sappho—and it is also most relevant, as I will argue here, to ancient Greek wedding songs in general. The relevance can be traced back ultimately to the title of a painting by Johannes Vermeer, “Girl interrupted at her music,” which is I think an ideal illustration for my essay here—especially if we view that painting, as does Joseph Leo Koerner (2019.02.07), through the lens of Marcel Proust.