Sappho

Sappho was an ancient Greek poet who lived on the island of Lesbos in the 7th and 6th centuries BC. She is considered one of the greatest lyric poets of all time, and her poems express intense personal emotions, especially love and desire for women. She was the leader of a community of young women who were devoted to learning poetry, music, and culture. She wrote in the Aeolic dialect and used a variety of meters, most notably the Sapphic stanza. Her poems were meant to be sung with a lyre accompaniment, but only fragments of her music have survived. Most of her poetry is also lost, and only one poem, the Ode to Aphrodite, is complete. The rest of her works are preserved in papyrus fragments, quotations by other authors, and imitations by later poets. She was highly admired in antiquity and was praised by Plato, Horace, Catullus, and others. She was also called the Tenth Muse and the Poetess by ancient critics. Her poetry influenced many writers and genres, such as lyric, elegy, epigram, ode, and novel. She is also a symbol of female homosexuality and eroticism, and the terms sapphic and lesbian derive from her name and homeland. Her life is shrouded in mystery and legend, and many details are uncertain or disputed. She may have been exiled to Sicily for political reasons, and she may have killed herself for love of a ferryman named Phaon. She was married to a man named Cercylas, according to some sources, but this may be a joke or a fabrication. She had a daughter named Cleis, who was also the name of her mother. She had several brothers, two of whom are mentioned in one of her poems. She had many friends and lovers among women, some of whom are named in her poems, such as Anactoria, Atthis, Gongyla, and Mnasidika. Her poetry reveals her passion, jealousy, longing, and grief for these women, as well as her devotion to the goddess Aphrodite. Her poems also celebrate nature, beauty, friendship, family, and festivals. She is regarded as one of the most original and influential voices in world literature.