Tell me, gentle youth, I pray thee

Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men -- his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.

According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl -- who may have been his jailor's daughter -- who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure.

This ode was written by the Greek lyric poet Anacreon; well known for satires and short poems on love and wine. Distinctive for their urbanity and effortlessness they posses a quality of subtle airiness, his form became readily identifiable that eventually his style has been given over to the classification of poetry called anacreonic.

Since antiquity February 14th has been a special day related to the Feast of Lupercalia and it's mythological figures. One such is the son of Aphrodite or Venus, Eros or Cupid to the Romans. Born on the island of Paphis Cupid is occasionally called the Paphian. Only a few fragments of Anacreon poems survive today. The Irish poet of the romantic movement, Thomas Moore translated the Odes of Anacreon catapulting him to fame in 1800. This is the eleventh verse, which waxes joyfully over the many metaphorical powers of the Paphian cherub, possibly the best-known retelling of these ancient Greek verses.

Sources:

Blair, Bob:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/7086/030214.htm

Bram, Robert Philips, Norma H. Dicky, "Moore, Thomas" Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia , 1988.

The History Channel:
http://www.historychannel.com/

Public domain text taken from The Poets' Corner:
http://www.geocities.com/~bblair/moore_anacreon.htm#11

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