Throughout history, numerous women writers and artists have made an indelible impact on cultural and artistic heritage, despite facing restrictions and social norms that favored men. They often encountered significant obstacles that impeded their opportunities and potential. However, thanks to their persistence, talent, and passion for creation, they achieved their artistic and intellectual ambitions. One of the most notable figures from the ancient period is Sappho, a poetess from the island of Lesbos, born around 630 BC. With her extraordinary talent and poetic innovation, Sappho secured a permanent place in the history of literature. The Muses inspired numerous artists and philosophers. They had sanctuaries in Trezen, founded by Hephaestus’ son Ardal, the mythical inventor of the flute (Larousse, 1974:129). In addition to the nine famous Muses (Clio, Euterpe, Thalia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato, Polyhymnia, Urania, and Calliope), Plato also recognized a tenth, whom he referred to as “Lovely Sappho,” due to the beauty of her poetry (Gosset-Murrayjohn, 2006).
Sappho (Greek Σαπφώ, Sapphṓ; Latin Sappho) is considered the mother of lyric poetry in Western literature, and her influence remains evident even after several thousand years. Although her biography remains shrouded in mystery, it is believed that she was a priestess, a teacher of music and poetry, and a choir leader. Her songs were performed both independently and with the accompaniment of the lyre, which was the primary instrument for her compositions (Matojani, 2014:9; Pešić, 2020:60). She is also remembered for being the head of the first women’s club in the world, known as a thiasos (a type of female sisterhood bound by special relationships and rules). According to Milivoj Sironić and Damir Salopek, Sappho’s position as a teacher was based on her personal reputation, poetic and musical talent, and higher education. The mutual affection that connected Sappho with women in a circle closed to men but rich in spiritual freedom and a sense of beauty revealed a form of eros without restraint or barriers (Sironić, Salopek, 1977:67). Although many of her works have been lost over the centuries, the remaining fragments continue to captivate poetry lovers with their vivid imagery and evocative language, ensuring Sappho’s enduring status as an icon of Greek and world poetry.
The purpose of this essay is to highlight the importance of Sappho, present her rich literary heritage through the interpretations of the artists she inspired, and attempt to answer the following questions: How was her poetry transmitted and shared among people, and what insights does it provide into the cultural life of ancient Greek civilization? What role did poetry play in the education and social circles of that era? How did political and social circumstances influence her creativity? What kind of impact did Sappho have as an inspiration to writers and feminists?
The Rights and Position of Women in Ancient Greece
Regarding the position and rights of women in ancient Greece, it is important to note that each polis had its own approach to the rights, obligations, and freedoms of its inhabitants. In recent decades, numerous academic works have focused on understanding the position of women in the ancient world. These works span various fields, including archaeology, anthropology, philosophy, history, law, cultural studies, art, religion, and mythology. Notable examples include Women in Ancient Greece (1995) by Sue Blundell and Women’s Life in Greece and Rome: A Source Book in Translation (1992), edited by Mary Lefkowitz and Maureen Fant. This sourcebook offers a collection of texts that analyze the daily life of women in the ancient world, including their depiction in mythology. Another significant work is Women and Religion in the First Centuries of Christianity (2022), edited by John and Deborah Sawyer, which examines the role of women and concepts of femininity in ancient religions and explores the diversity of beliefs and contributions related to women.
The Island of Lesbos
According to Homer’s Iliad (2003), Lesbos was part of the kingdom of Priam, located in Anatolia. The island is best known as the home of the ancient Greek poetess Sappho, whose name became synonymous with lesbianism and influenced the modern perception of the term. It is also known as the “Island of Poets.” The etymology of the island’s name comes from the ancient Greek (Λέσβος, Lésbos, meaning “wooded” or “woody”), possibly borrowed from the Hittite language, given that the original Hittite name of the island was Lazpa. The older name of the island in Aeolian Greek was (Ίσσα, Íssa) (Mason, 2000). The inhabitants of Lesbos were historically noted for their distinctive sexuality. During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the island was associated with strong erotic connotations. The island gained a reputation for its liberal lifestyle, scandals, and sexual passion, partly due to the erotic nature of Sappho’s poetry and that of her contemporaries (Obradović, 2017). The term “lesbian” is one of the oldest to describe women who experience sexual attraction to other women. In lesbian feminist theory, this term signifies not only sexual orientation but also a complex social and political identity that challenges the strict norms of patriarchy, heterosexism, and phallocentrism (Hasanagić, 2014:27).
As Adrienne Rich notes, records of female same-sex relationships date back to antiquity. The historical dimension of women’s experiences, particularly their choices of female partners for love and sexual relationships, supports the thesis of the lesbian continuum (Rich, 1980). According to the European Union’s Glossary of Gender Terminology (2007), lesbianism is “a sexual orientation in which women are sexually and emotionally attracted to other women and represents a relationship in which a woman has emotional, sexual, and partner relationships with another woman/other women” (Borić, 2007:38). The concept of the lesbian continuum and lesbian existence is crucial for lesbian activism, which aims to challenge (hetero)patriarchal oppression and fight against lesbian invisibility (Borić, 2007:38).
The history of Sappho and lesbians in antiquity is thoroughly documented in the works of Nicole Albert, particularly in Lesbian Decadence: Representations in Art and Literature of Fin-de-Siècle France (2016). According to Albert, Sappho’s poetic involvement during that period reflects how the historical figure of a woman became central to a political struggle over her own sexuality and influenced contemporary notions of lesbian identity in Western discourse. Albert details historical depictions of lesbian relationships in art and literature, contrasting them with moralistic condemnations and former psychiatric classifications such as “inversion” and “perversion” (Albert, 2016).
Two Periods of Sappho’s Glory
Historical sources indicate two periods of significant impact for the Greek poet Sappho. Her first period of fame began during her lifetime when she composed and recited verses accompanied by the lyre. She is credited with innovating the pick, a new style of lyre, and the Mixolydian mode of music. The ancient Greeks and later the Romans admired her verses, and the Library of Alexandria compiled her works into nine books according to their metrical form. Her popularity endured for a millennium, with her poetry performed throughout the Mediterranean. However, over time, possibly due to intellectual or artistic decline or active censorship of her sensual lyrics, Sappho’s poems gradually fell into collective oblivion (Donne, 1992; Dollittle, 1982).
The second wave of her fame began with the European Renaissance and continues to this day. During this period, her verses were translated, and efforts were made to remember, read, and interpret the preserved fragments of her poetry. Some translators sought to fill in the gaps left by time precisely, while others freely renewed the texts, adapting them to different literary styles according to their own preferences (Rac, 1981:38; Lesky, 2001:144-146)
Sappho’s suicide and the stigmatization of “different women”
Unfortunately, the renowned poet was forced to leave her home due to societal pressure. People gossiped extensively about her private life and accused her of immoral behavior. She ultimately ended her life by jumping from the cliffs of Leukadia (Rac, 1981: 38; Lesky, 2001: 144–146). Denys Page, in his book Sappho and Alcaeus: An Introduction to the Studies of Ancient Lesbian Poetry (1955), notes that the lifestyle described in her poems led to various myths and stereotypes about her life. Allegedly, the poet decided to take her own life because the handsome Phaon rejected her love (Page, 1955).
The tragic story of Sappho is not merely a historical and mythological anecdote but a serious testament to the ongoing degradation of women throughout history. Women have often been the targets of accusations, leading to dangerous consequences such as discrimination, marginalization, and various forms of violence. The stigmatization of women due to their behavior or expression of free will is not a new phenomenon. History is replete with examples of women persecuted and punished for deviating from strictly defined norms. Sappho’s suicide invites us to reflect on our treatment of women who challenge societal expectations. It is crucial to work towards breaking stereotypes and prejudices and to create safe spaces where women are not labeled for their individuality and free expression. Only through education, awareness, and structural changes can we achieve fairer treatment for all.
Sappho’s Literary Legacy
Paraphrasing the anthology of the Alexandrian canon of lyric poetry in the Greek Anthology (1916), William Paton lists poems by “nine divinely inspired” (θεογλώσσους) female poets: Praxilla, Moero, Anita, Sappho, Erinna, Telesilla, Corinna, Nossida, and Myrtis, according to Antipater’s order. Sappho is particularly notable in the literary tradition of antiquity due to the preserved fragments of her writings, which were often quoted in later works and included in the canon of lyric poets (Campbell, 1983; Snyder, 1989). Along with Alcaeus and Anacreon, Sappho was a prominent representative of monodic lyrics. Greek lyric poetry includes three main types: melic, elegy, and iambic. According to Šimun Šonja (2015: 8), melic is considered “the fundamental type of lyrical poetry because it encompasses all lyrical forms performed with musical accompaniment. It is divided into monodic (for a solo voice) and choral (for multiple voices) melic” (Šonja, 2015: 9).
Only two of Sappho’s songs have survived, although she composed as many as nine collections, which were destroyed due to their perceived impropriety, along with several epigrams and fragments. Sappho wrote love songs, hymns, and epithalamia. Albin Lesky (2001: 147) suggests that she intended the epithalamia for choral performance and often composed wedding songs in dactylic meter, employing epic language resources. Edmonds’ 1922 edition of Lyra Graeca lists a total of 120 known songs or fragments by Sappho (Pešić, 2020). It is assumed that Sappho had her own collection of works, but it is not confirmed that they were published widely, as sometimes claimed. There is a possibility that the opening poem was preserved in an ancient collection, but this assumption remains unconfirmed.
One of her most famous fragments is Fragment 31: “My heart leaps in my chest every time I look at you for a moment: I am speechless, my tongue stumbles. A pleasant flame creeps under my skin, I can’t see anything in front of my eyes, my ears ring, cold sweat pours down me. I’m shivering, I’m wet as green grass” (Edmonds, 1922: 180). As Aleksandar Pešić notes in his doctoral dissertation Beautiful and Good in Plato’s Philosophy (2020), this fragment reflects erotic love and represents, in his opinion, the most authentic record of lesbian desire ever documented. This fragment has also been the subject of numerous debates and was often included in the cycle of wedding songs to avoid reflecting on Sappho’s sexual preferences towards women. As Pešić observes, the elements in this fragment affirm the existence of lesbian love in ancient Greece and provide insight into Sappho’s intimate life.
Another verse, “Stars around the moon bright. They hide their sparkling appearance. Whenever he shines the Earth [all]…with silver…” (Edmonds, 1922: 188), shows the poetess’s admiration for female beauty. Just as the silver moon eclipses all other stars with its brilliance, Sappho portrays the girl’s beauty as surpassing all others. The moon, illuminated by a silver glow, symbolizes overwhelming beauty that overshadows all other celestial bodies. It shines and radiates its beauty, and Sappho’s depiction embodies both inner and outer beauty. For Sappho, beauty includes a perfectly shaped body, a pleasant voice (frg. 30), a seductive laugh (frg. 31), beautiful eyes (frg. 44), a slender figure (frg. 82), and delicate feet (frg. S/A 16), highlighting physical attractiveness. Simultaneously, Sappho also considers certain objects beautiful, such as a dress (frg. 22), a golden wreath (frg. 33), a red robe (frg. 44), bright jewelry (frg. 44), a golden cup (frg. 44), ivory (frg. 44), and golden sandals (frg. 123) (Pešić, 2020: 66).
The dominant themes in her works are love and nature, often infused with humor and irony. She wrote with great enthusiasm about both joyful, sweet moments of love and the suffering caused by unhappy love. Due to her creative prowess, she earned the titles “tenth Muse” and “female Homer,” which were bestowed upon her in antiquity (Rac, 1981: 38; Lesky, 2001: 147).
Review of the literature on Sappho’s poetry
Her poetry has long been the subject of intense analysis and speculation, from antiquity to the present day. Various theories about her role, poetic voice, and sexual orientation have been presented by classical experts, poets, and feminist theorists, but Sappho remains a figure of great mystery. Much still needs to be discovered and communicated, especially since many of her works embody post-classical concepts.
The earliest literary document that may reflect the reception of Sappho’s poems is the collection Testimonia (2002) by the Greek poet Anacreon. This collection includes reports, facts, and assumptions from antiquity about Sappho. Among the preserved verses of Sappho, there is only one complete poem (the “Ode to Aphrodite”), approximately twelve significant fragments containing more than half of the original number of verses, a hundred short quotations from the works of other ancient authors, and about fifty pieces of papyrus (Anacreon, 2002). Satirical poems criticize women who left Sappho against her wishes or those who later turned their backs on her, such as Andromeda and Gorga. Contemporary literature on Sappho includes four dominant interpretations: Sappho as choir organizer, teacher, priestess, and banquet participant (Lardinois, 2022).
The English writer Algernon Charles Swinburne published his collection Poems and Ballads in 1866. Swinburne’s poetry was considered highly controversial due to its subversive and erotic references to Greek figures, including Sappho. In his popular poem “Saffics,” he refers to Sappho and her lover Anaktoria as lesbians and imagines their kiss. While Swinburne’s poems are expressions of his own creativity, they sought to emulate Sappho’s style. Although the term “lesbian” to refer to same-sex female relationships was first documented in 1870, four years after Swinburne’s collection was published, he is considered one of the first to popularize the term for female same-sex love (Swinburne, 2008).
One of the most significant books on Sappho’s literary legacy is Sappho: Memoir, Text, Selected Renderings, and a Literal Translation (1920), edited and translated from Greek into English by Henry Thornton Wharton, with paraphrased versions by Anne Burner. The author notes that the Greek poetess, admired for her unparalleled poetic expression by over eighty generations, was never fully accessible to English readers. As stated in the book’s introduction, the aim was to familiarize English readers—whether or not they understood Greek—with every word Sappho wrote, by translating all one hundred and seventy fragments (Wharton, 1920: 5).
In her book To Beauty: Erotological Reading of Sapphic Poetry (2016), Jelena Pilipović, a professor at the Department of General Literature and Literary Theory at the Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade, explores the harmony in Sappho’s poetic expressions, which are imbued with fiery descriptions. She emphasizes that the same flame embraces Sappho’s eyes, spirit, and words, thus eroticizing and radiating refined aesthetics. Pilipović’s approach to Sappho’s poetry is guided by the Empedoclean principle of understanding the same with the same (Pilipović, 2016).
Feminist Criticism of Sappho’s Poetry
Sappho’s literary heritage provides a valuable framework for exploring important questions. How widespread were relationships between women in her time, and were they considered sexual or merely strong friendships? How did the social norms of the period affect the perception of such relationships?
Deborah and John Sawyer, in Women and Religion: Women in the First Centuries of Christianity (2022), argue that Sappho’s work represents a unique female voice that speaks to unrealized rights, longing for freedom, and the fight against oppression, implicitly addressing the concerns and interests of women. Particularly valuable are the descriptions of physical, psychological, and emotional development from girlhood to womanhood. An important aspect of this development, according to the Sawyers, is the emphasis on individual relationships between young women preparing for marriage and older women who mentored them, imparting skills such as singing, dancing, and performing religious ceremonies (Sawyer and Sawyer, 2022: 69). The older partner would initiate the younger one in sexual activities that could later be adapted for married life. Such same-sex relationships between mentor and student provided a safe space for acquiring and practicing these experiences (Fantham, 1984: 12-17).
Hannah Grover asserts that Aphrodite plays a key role in Sappho’s poetry, where she is depicted through romantic and feminine symbolism. Aphrodite’s presence strongly emphasizes the exclusivity of female experience and emotions (Grover, 2023). Sappho was associated with the cult of Aphrodite, possibly even as a priestess, while the older and younger women surrounding her on Lesbos participated in rituals dedicated to the goddess. Many of Sappho’s poems are filled with tender and loving descriptions of relationships, evoking natural imagery and illustrating intense emotional states. For example, “Come here, come to me from Crete, to this holy temple where you have a beautiful apple grove and the top of the altar from which incense is smoked. Where the sound of a cold stream caresses among the apple branches, a rose hides the whole place in shadow, and an enchanted dream descends from trembling petals. Where the meadow, on which the horses graze, flourishes in spring blossoms, and the wind gently blows… Where you, Aphrodite of Cyprus, taking (wreaths), harmoniously pour the nectar mixed with joy into the golden goblets” (Fragmentary Poem 32).
Ellen Greene points out that the reinterpretation of Sappho’s poetry is a compelling project for feminists because Sappho is the first writer to address the “forbidden lesbian subject,” focusing on female experience and love (Greene, 1996). Conversely, Julia de Milliano argues that studying Sappho’s literary works within their social and cultural context is necessary. This approach helps us understand how her poetry was received in her time and how it upheld values in social relationships. Instead of focusing primarily on her sexuality based on entrenched biases, it is crucial to explore the language and style used in her poems to understand Sappho in her own context (Milliano, 2021: 1).
Sappho’s Influence on the Artistic Expression of Famous Women Writers
Despite the fragmentary nature of her surviving works, Sappho remains a lasting symbol of lesbian love framed in the art of written expression, particularly evident in the works of poets and visual artists during the second wave of feminism. The resonance of her poetry is demonstrated in various ways during this period—from the periodical Echo of Sappho, dedicated to her memory, to the column “Dear Sappho” in The Lesbian Tide, and through numerous literary and artistic works inspired by her poetry. Her impact continues to be evident in works by authors after the 1970s, such as the song “Hubble Photographs: After Sappho” (2005) by the renowned feminist poet Adrienne Rich (Delgado, 2019).
By the late twentieth century, Sappho had become a symbol of the growing movement for LGBTQ rights. Queer women found representation in her poetry, idolizing Sappho and her contemporaries. Radclyffe Hall, an English writer known for her novel The Well of Loneliness (1928), dealt with themes of lesbian love and identity. Her controversial work, despite facing resistance and censorship, reflects the impact of Sappho’s courage in articulating same-sex love and fighting for acceptance in conservative environments. Sidney Abbott and Barbara Love, in Sappho Was a Right-On Woman (1972), demonstrate how Sappho is an integral part of lesbian history, from ancient Greece to the contemporary rights movement in the United States. The first part of their book analyzes the feelings of guilt, shame, and duplicity in societies that condemn lesbians, while the second part depicts societal changes, the women’s movement, and the lesbians themselves, allowing them to stop making excuses and begin acting as complete individuals. Confronting modern society is challenging, but it is far better than the self-humiliation to which lesbians were systematically subjected, the authors conclude (Abbott and Love, 1972).
This approach provides a deeper understanding of Sappho’s role in the history of poetry and her contribution to the development of women’s poetry and lyricism throughout history. Her legacy remains a valuable resource for studying the ancient world and exploring how women experienced and shaped their artistic and cultural identities in the past. Her writing technique and style serve as a model for all artists, especially women seeking a path in free literary expression. Sappho was a virtuoso in conveying deep and authentic emotions through poetry, inspiring women to write about their own feelings, emotions, inclinations, and urges without hesitation or self-censorship.
