Her principal work consisted of nine books, which the grammarians of Alexandria arranged according to meter. The Tenth Muse In antiquity, Sappho was regularly counted among the greatest of poets and was often referred to as “the Poetess,” just as Homer was called “the Poet.” Plato hailed her as “the tenth Muse,” and she was honored on coins and with civic statuary. Some legends of Sappho's life indicate that she lived to old age, but others relate that she fell hopelessly in love with Phaon, a young sailor, and, disappointed by their failed love affair, leaped to her death from a high cliff-a story that has been largely discredited by modern scholars. Ancient commentary attests that this thiasos ranked as one of the best, and Sappho enjoyed great renown as its dedicated teacher and spiritual leader. The school was devoted to the cult of Aphrodite and Eros, where beauty and grace were held as the highest values. There she organized and ran a thiasos, or academy for unmarried young women. According to traditional accounts, she lived briefly in Sicily around 600 bce, having been forced into exile by political strife on Lesbos.Īfter returning to her homeland, Sappho married a wealthy man named Cercylas, had a daughter named Cleis, and spent the rest of her life in Mytilene. Evidence also suggests that Sappho had three brothers and that her family belonged to the upper class. Her father's name is given as Scamandronymus and her mother's as Cleis. Based on earlier lexicons, scholarly commentaries, and excerpts from the works of historians, grammarians, and biographers, the Suidas records that Sappho was a native of Lesbos, an island northeast of Athens in the Aegean Sea, and that she was probably born in either the city of Eresus or Mytilene. The only standard-but unreliable-source of information about Sappho is the Suidas, a Greek lexicon compiled at around the end of the tenth century. Native of Lesbos Very few details of Sappho's life survive, and many classicists note that these accounts haveīeen thoroughly interwoven with legend, myth, and supposition. Works in Biographical and Historical Context It is clear from the existing verses, however, that she deserved her reputation, and her work warrants continued study and appreciation. Sappho has been the subject of controversy, and most of her work has been lost over the centuries or deliberately destroyed. Regarded by ancient commentators as the equal of Homer, the ancient Greek poet Sappho expressed human emotions with honesty, courage, and skill. Sappho: A Garland the Poems and Fragments of Sappho (1993) Overview BORN: Between 630 and 612 bce, Lesbos, Greece
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