The Invisible Mentor

Wisdom Wednesdays: Sappho, One of the Greatest Female Poets Who Ever Lived

September 14th, 2011 |

Author: Avil Beckford

A Lament for Adonis by Sappho

Cytherea, thy dainty Adonis is dying!

Ah, what shall we do?

O Nymphs, let it echo, the voice of your crying,

The greenwood through!

O Forest-maidens, smite on the breast,

Rend ye the delicate-woven vest!

Let the wail ring wild and high:

‘Ah for Adonis!’ cry.

O Sappho, how canst thou chant the bliss

Of Kypris — after such day as this?

‘Oh Adonis, thou leavest me — woe for my lot!

And Eros, my servant, availeth me not!’

So wails Cytherea, grief-distraught.

‘Who shall console me for thee? There is none —

Not Ares my god-lover, passionate one

Who sware in his jealousy forth to hale

Hephaestus my spouse from his palace, if he

Dared but to lift his eyes unto me.

Not he can console me, Adonis, for thee!’

Wail for Adonis, wail!

Name: Sappho

Birth Date: 625 BCE – 570 BCE

Job Functions: Greek Lyric Poet

Fields: Poetry

Known For: Deeply personal lyrical poetry.

We rely on biographers, historians, autobiographies, personal diaries and notebooks, to learn about the great ones who lived before us. Not much is known about Sappho, a Greek lyric poet who lived in the seventh and sixth century BC. Most of what is known about her was extracted from her poetry, as well as from Suidas, a Greek lexicon compiled around the end of the tenth century. Giovanni Boccaccio included Sappho in his catalogue of famous women. It is worthy to note that there are conflicting accounts as to whether or not her poetry is autobiographical.

Greek poets often wrote epic poems, which told the stories of Greek gods and goddesses, but during Sappho’s time, the poetry were choral songs, which were sung and danced by a choir, as well as solo songs by the poet accompanied by a lyre. Lyrical poets often infused their personality, inner feelings and motivations into their poetry.

Sappho was born around 625 BCE at Eresus or Mytilene on the Greek island of Lesbos in the Aegean Sea. She married a wealthy man named Cercylas, and they had a daughter called Cleis, who was named after Sappho’s mother. It is believed that Sappho came from a noble family who was politically active because in one of her poems she talks about briefly being exiled to Sicily shortly after 600 BC.

Sappho wrote choral poetry, monadic songs and wedding songs for and about young women, and composed choruses for them. Besides writing lyrical poetry and songs, Sappho organized and ran an informal school, called a thiasos, for girls who were ready to leave their wealthy families and transition into married life. At the institution, these young women were instructed in the proper social graces, composition, singing, and reciting poetry. Sappho’s thiasos was ranked among the best and was the most prestigious in the part of Greece where she lived.

The Alexandrians thought so highly of Sappho’s work, that they collected them into nine volumes of verse – mostly based on their meter – which survived most of the Hellenistic and Roman periods, but only a few survive today. “She composed in dactylic pentameter, hexameter, mixed meter, and a type of meter that is named for her: the Sapphic stanza. The fragments of her poems reveal language that is witty, passionate, and melodious.” Some of her work was rediscovered during the late Renaissance period and translated to French and English. The Greek philosopher Plato called Sappho the Tenth Muse – he viewed her as one of the 10 greatest poets.

Why does Sappho’s work matter? Sappho was one of the first female published writers, her poetry has depth of feelings, grace and style, and she has been a model for women writers for centuries: Nossis, Christine de Pizan, Madeleine de Scudery, Katherine Phillips and many more. Though not much is known about Sappho, she created an extensive body of work in her life, and her work influenced European literature, especially lyric poetry. Sappho also influenced male poets such as Algernon Charles Swinburne and Charles Baudelaire.

It’s always important to invest the time and do the work because you never know what influence your work will have on others. How can you use this information? What do you have to add to the conversation? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

Works Cited/Referenced

Feminism in Literature

Encyclopedia or World Biography

Reference Guide to World Literature

Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender

Arts and Humanity Through the Eras: Ancient Greece and Rome