The Songs Of Bilitis by Pierre Louys

The Songs of Bilitis
Translated from the Greek

Pierre Louÿs

First published in Paris in 1894, The Songs of Bilitis was presented as a translation of ancient Greek poems written by Bilitis, a supposed contemporary of Sappho. The book caused a sensation at the time, not only because the discovery of a new cache of ancient poetry would have been extraordinary, but also because of its candid and lyrical celebration of lesbian love. In truth, Bilitis never existed. The poems were an imaginative creation by Pierre Louÿs, who even included a fabricated bibliography and scholarly notes to lend credibility to the work. Louÿs, well-versed in classical literature, wove authentic references to figures like Sappho among his inventions, adding to the illusion.

The work itself is structured as a sequence of prose poems, presented in three sections corresponding to different periods of Bilitis’ imagined life: her idyllic youth in a pastoral village, her awakening to sensuality in the city of Mytilene under Sappho’s influence, and her later years as a courtesan in Cyprus. The poems are delicate, introspective, and often quietly erotic, evoking a world of natural beauty, emotional longing, and fleeting pleasures. Louÿs’ style captures a dreamlike, wistful tone that feels both timeless and intimately personal.

Despite its fictional origins — and its male authorship — The Songs of Bilitis gained lasting cultural importance, particularly within lesbian communities. One of the earliest lesbian organizations in the United States, the Daughters of Bilitis, took its name from this work, perhaps in part because the reference would pass unnoticed by outsiders. Throughout the early and mid-20th century, English translations of Bilitis were often considered daring enough to merit limited, privately printed editions.

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