The Tenth Muse

April is National Poetry Month and what better way to celebrate than to spotlight a poet! The poet I chose to honor is Sappho, an ancient Greek artist. Otherwise known as the “Tenth Muse” or the “Poetess,” two titles that were gifted to her for her talent and art. She is known for her lyric poems, as well as the legacy she has left on our knowledge of ancient literature and her influence on the LGBTQ+ community.  She is also known for the fragments of what remains of her works.

Sappho is thought to have been born in the early decades of 600 BCE, to a wealthy family on the Greecian island of Lesbos. It is thought that she had a few brothers, two or three depending on the source. Further, in terms of her family tree, she may have been married to a wealthy man from Andros, another Greek island. Her poetry does reference a possible daughter, Cleis. Sappho may have spent time off of her home island as well, whether that be due to fleeing or being exiled away to Sicily. While a majority of her life is a mystery, the same can be said about her death. It is assumed that she died in the late decades of 500 BCE, allegedly by jumping off a cliff to her death due to being rejected by a ferryman she fell in love with. This is not proven though, and as of more recently, it is thought that she died of natural causes at an older age. This is about as much as we know about Sappho’s existence outside of her poetry, due to minimal records. Most of the information is derived from centuries worth of scholars, where information is bound to develop into mystery and rumors.

Sappho is most well known for her lyric poetry, which is poetry that can be–and often is–sung and accompanied by an instrument, such as a lyre. She has also likely created works using other styles of poetry. She often wrote in Lesbos’ dialect, Aeolic, as well as incorporating its poetic traditions. More important than the kind of poetry she wrote, was what she wrote about. Sappho wrote with such elegance, vividness, and with a wide range of emotions and themes. She wrote about religion, politics, family, but more commonly, romance. Her poems brought about sentiments of passion, jealousy, longing, hatred, desire, thrill, and devastation. Such artistry is remarkable for literature during her time, and she even has one of the first records of the usage of the word “bittersweet.” Sappho is notable though for her poems expressing yearning and romantic affection towards other women. Her aristocratic status allowed her to have a little more freedom with her sexuality, something that wasn’t as normalized for women in Greece compared to men. Despite this, she was still looked down upon by most for her open expression of attraction.

What was collected of her surviving work was later housed in the Library of Alexandria, in early 300 BCE Egypt, specifically about nine books worth of poetry. Unfortunately, her works there eroded over time. It’s thought that those taking care of the literature in the library purposefully neglected her work and even destroyed it because of its content. Even later, during the Middle Ages, her art was majorly critiqued and destroyed. Now, in our modern era, we begin to discover the remains of her verses. We’ve only discovered what is thought to be about ten percent of her work, containing only one complete work, “The Ode to Aphrodite,” and various other fragments of verses.

Sappho’s legacy is something that remains substantial to many communities: scholars, artists, researchers, and the LGBTQ+ community. Sappho’s name, work, and story have reinvented meanings behind labels for gay women around the world. Lesbian, originating as an individual from Lesbos, now stands for a woman who loves other women, taking inspiration from Sappho’s poetry. The term ‘sapphic’ has been derived from her own name, becoming another label for queer women. Further, Sappho has simply become an icon from across time.

Happy National Poetry Month!