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SAPPHO ONE OF THE GREATEST POETS OF ANTIQUITY

FULL NAME: Sappho

BORN: C. 620 B.C., LESBOS, GREECE

DIED: 550 B.C., LESBOS, GREECE

NATIONALITY: ANCIENT GREEK

A poetess, believed to be Sappho, from an ancient Roman fresco

“Beauty endures only for as long as it can be seen; goodness, beautiful today, will remain so tomorrow.”

SAPPHO

THE POETESS

Sappho, or Psappha, is often simply referred to as “the Poetess”—so great was her talent. Her fame is considerable, especially as very little is known about the woman herself.

Sappho spent most of her life on the Greek island of Lesbos and is believed to have been born to an aristocratic family. She is said to have married and had a daughter, but any details of this are scarce. Sappho wrote many songs and poems and is considered to be one of the greatest of the ancient poets.

BEAUTY ENDURES

Little remains of Sappho’s work, but scholars continue to be fascinated by her. Newly discovered poems have been published as recently as 2014. Her poetry and songs were written in a unique style, now called “Sapphic” meter. The language was simple and direct, but full of melody.

Often Sappho wrote about beauty and love—sometimes addressing her poems to men but more often to women. In fact, her name (as an adjective, “Sapphic”) is used to describe romantic love between women, as is the island where she was born (“lesbian” comes from “Lesbos”). She wrote odes to the goddesses and retellings of Greek myths. She also wrote about her community and, it is believed, herself. This was different from the male poets of the time, who tended to focus on politics.

In spite of the fact that Sappho lived over 2,000 years ago, and that much of her work has been lost, her words are still read and studied today. Sappho remains known as one of the greatest ancient poets, and her memory lives on through her work.