A brief introduction to Sappho on Lesbos Island

Sappho of Lesbos (62-57 BC) was a lyric poet. Her works were so popular in ancient Greece that she was revered for statues, coins and pottery for centuries after her death. There is not much left of her works, and these fragments show that she is gay. Her name inspired the terms "sapphic" and "le *** ian", both of which refer to female same-sex relationships.

she may not be gay, but Sappho (pronounced SA-fow), who appeared in her works and spoke to an unnamed female lover, is a character. However, this seems unlikely, because there are more ancient writers who have been exposed to her works than today. They praised her poems, but criticized her for acting like a "masculine woman". Little is known about her life, and only 65 lines of nine widely read works in ancient times survived. Information about her comes from three sources:

references of ancient writers in Suda (1th century CE)

Her poems

Later legends claimed that her works were deliberately destroyed by the medieval church to suppress lesbian love poems, although there was evidence that Pope Gregory VII ordered her works to be burned. In 173, long before that, many people were lost simply because they were not translated and copied. Sappho writes in Fengshen Greek dialect, which is difficult for Latin writers who are proficient in Athens Greek and Homer Greek to translate. They know that there was once a highly respected poetess who kept those poems of Sappho copied by others, but they didn't translate the new ones because they didn't know her dialect.

Her reputation as one of the greatest poets of that era was preserved by others, who wrote about her life and quoted her works.

Nevertheless, her reputation as one of the greatest poets in Greek literature is still quoted by others to write about her life. Some biographies must have been written before or shortly after her death, because later writers knew the general situation of her life, but apart from inscriptions like Parian Marble (the history of some events in Greece between 1582 and 299 BC), it did not know what these works were.

She was highly praised by Plato (428/427–348/347 BC). Plato also talked about the same-sex relationship in his works. According to some scholars, he borrowed Sappho's views on romantic love. Today, she is regarded as a great gay poet and has provided inspiration for many people inside and outside the LGBTQ community.

Sappho's life

Sappho was born in a noble family in Lesbos, Greece. Although scholars often claim that her wealth allows her to live a life of her own choice, it cannot be supported. Most women in ancient Greece married according to the traditions and customs of the city-state, and Sappho's wealth would not spare her from the expectations of her family and society. Most likely, she can live as she pleases because women have great respect for Lesbos and Sappho's unique personalities. Historian Wendy Slatter King wrote:

Considering that women's lives are strictly restricted, they can't move freely in society, do business or receive any kind of non-domestic training, it is not surprising to find that no important [female] artists' names come from us. Classical times. Only the poet Sappho was highly praised by the Greeks; Plato called her the twelfth muse. It is worth noting that she is not from Athens or Sparta, but from Lesbos, an island whose culture attaches great importance to women. (42)

Slatter King mentioned that Plato called Sappho "the twelfth muse" (usually called "the tenth muse" by scholars), implying his praise for her, saying that she belonged to nine muses who inspired art, music, dance and poetry. There is no evidence that Plato did make this statement, and it is believed that it was created by later writers and attributed to Plato. Even so, the existence of this sentence highlights Sappho's enduring reputation as a poet.

It is said that she started a girls' school in Lesbos Island, but it seems to be an invention in the late 19th century, which confuses her with her pupil Da Mofirra who runs a girls' school in Pan filia. Nevertheless, she probably did run a girls' school and passed on this legacy to her students. It is said that wealthy parents send their daughters to Sappho to learn eloquence to improve their marriage prospects.

Most details of her life have been lost, but as we all know, she grew up learning to play the lyre and began to write songs. She may have married a dead man at some point, and she may have a daughter named Chris (named after her), Sappho's mother), and three brothers, Erigyius, Charaxus and Larichus, the latter two are mentioned in her poems. She comes from a wealthy family, probably a brewer or involved in wine export in Lesbos. It is said that she was exiled to Sicily twice because of her political views. Her fame was enough to erect statues and make ceramics for her. Later, coins with her name and image were cast on her. Historian Vicki Leon commented:

Mitellini, the capital of Lesbos, proudly issued Saffo coins; Some of them can be traced back to the third century A.D.-9 years after the poet died. Sappho (or rather, her fame) also put the ancient equivalent of T-shirts in trouble: her portrait and name appeared in vases, bronzes and many later Roman works of art. (151)

The romantic interest in women can be clearly seen from her poems, but most scholars advise against reading her biographies.

She was described as short and dark in ancient literature. The romantic interest in women is obvious from her poems, but most scholars advise against reading her biographies. Just as the works written by poets through the ages do not express their own character, Sappho can also write her poems.

The depth of intimacy and affection seems to indicate that Sappho is a lesbian, but that doesn't mean she is. Homer's description of the dust and blood before the Greek War and Troy does not mean that he participated in the battle; Just because he is a great poet. Since there is no difference between homosexuality and heterosexuality in ancient Greece (or elsewhere, because these terms are modern inventions), Sappho is likely to cover a wide range of topics, and there is no reason to rule out the sexual orientation of her character as she does any aspect of her personality. Scholar Sir Richard Livingstone commented:

The simplicity of Greece reminds us of the core interests of people. The authenticity of Greece is a challenge. To see the true nature of the world, we should avoid the emptiness of simple music, the falsehood of rhetoric or emotion, and the incompleteness of writers. They don't regard life as a whole, but ignore or emphasize a part of life as their own sympathy decision. (286)

Although Sappho may be a lesbian, it is also possible that she wrote many themes, but her works expressing lesbian love are the best preserved. These are probably her most popular, because they involve romantic love, and this theme is very popular in ancient Greece and today's audience.

Sappho's sexual orientation

It is generally believed that Sappho is a gay poet, and her works are so popular that by the late 6th century BC, the meaning of the word lesbian had changed from "a person from Lesbos" to "a woman who likes her own gender". Anacreon (582-485 BC), a Greek lyric poet, wrote after Sappho and called the women in Lesbos a lesbian in the modern sense. In the following passage, the speaker warns suitors to stay away from girls who are not interested in men:

not that girl-she is another kind,

one is from Lesbos Island. Disdainful,

with her nose pointed at my silver hair,

she looked at the ladies. (Salisbury, 316)

In Plato's "Fidel" dialogue, Socrates praised Sappho and Anacreon as the authority of love, calling them "lovely Sappho and wise Anacreon" (235c). Scholar EE Pender pointed out that "Plato paid tribute to Sappho and Lyon, Anacker, because they captured and expressed the shock of love so vividly" (1). Sappho himself, rather than a character, expressed his romantic feelings for women, which was supported by later writers who called Lesbos Anacreon after Sappho's fame was established.

Even so, although she is often called a gay poet in modern times, there is no clear text to confirm that she is like this. Claiming that she is gay according to her lyrics is the same as claiming that Bruce Springsteen is a blue-collar worker according to Bruce Springsteen's songs today. At best, she is probably gay and is famous for expressing the love experience of people of any sexual orientation.

scholars Mary R. Lefkowitz and Maureen B. Fant pointed out that "many poems [by [Sappho] describe a world that men have never seen before: in a society that separates the sexes, women can feel deep love for each other" (2). Along these lines, Sappho's ability to express lesbian love so perfectly in her works defends lesbian sexual orientation, although again, it can't be said for sure.

Sappho's Poems

Her surviving works are profound personal reflections on desire, love and loss. Livingstone wrote:

In life, human beings return to some simple things from various interests that distract attention; Or, if they don't come back, they are in danger of losing their souls. In literature, this is the shadow of life, and they need to do the same. (259)

Sappho seems to know this very well, and her work focuses on the most basic and lasting human emotions. Scholar Suzanne MacAlister commented:

Sappho is the first Greek poet who clearly expresses the feelings generated by love. Perhaps the best example is the most famous fragment of Sappho-Phai Netaimoi-which is also different from the existing love poems written by men because it talks about the physical expression of emotions. The physical expression of love in Sappho's lyrics is not expressed as sex. There is hardly any mention of any sexual behavior between women in any of her clips. (aldridge and Wasserspoon, 392)

On the contrary, Sappho focuses on the feelings of the speaker in the poem, the excitement of falling in love. Except for her ode to Aphrodite, the original title of her works has been lost. Today, these fragments are either understood by numbers (depending on the translation) or the first line, such as Phainetai Moi ("He seems to me"). The speaker expressed her feelings when watching a couple (probably at a banquet), and expressed these feelings about women:

In my opinion, he is equal to the gods.

Because every time I look at you,

I can't find a word,

but my tongue is broken,

a delicate fire burns under my skin

, my eyes can't see anything, my

heart is pounding

, and cold sweat covers me, shaking

and I catch it.

but everything can be risky.

The last line also gives "Everything is tolerable", which changes the meaning of this poem from that the speaker wants to pursue relationship (adventure) to that she has to put up with her feelings but can't express them to her beloved.

The simplicity of structure in her works focuses the reader's attention on the emotional moment itself, which, like all great poems, creates an easily recognizable experience. Another famous example is her poem, "I didn't get a word from her", sometimes called "Parting". This poem is believed to be written by Sappho to her lover, who is a * * *. When she is employed by a client and has to move, she may be forced to leave her because of her career:

I haven't received a word from her

Frankly speaking, I wish I were dead

When she left, she cried a lot

: She said to me, "Must < p! I am reluctant to go. "

I said, "Go ahead, be happy,

but remember (you know very well) who you leave is bound by love

If you forget me, Think about

all the gifts we gave to Aphrodite

and all the beautiful things we shared

all the purple headdresses,

woven rose buds, dills and

crocuses all wrapped around your young neck

myrrh poured on your head

and the soft cushions

without our songs.

The affinity of this poem is the characteristic of all Sappho's surviving works. However, she is not only a talented and honest poet, but also a skilled artist. She invented a brand-new poetic rhythm, which is now called Sapphic Meter or Sapphic Stanza. It consists of three lines of 11 beats and five lines at the end. The following poem, which is famous for its first line, but also called please, is an example (although the current translation does not keep the steady eleven beats of the first three lines):

Come back to me, Gongyla, here tonight,

You, my rose, take your Lydian lyre.

Happiness is always hovering around you:

Longing for beauty.

even your clothes rob my eyes.

I am fascinated: I once

complained to the Cypriot-born goddess,

and now I beg her

never to lose my grace

but to let you come back to me:

Of all mortal women,

what I want to see most.

However, not all her poems praise the person she loves. As paragraph 32 says, "I have never found any woman more annoying than you, Ilana …" (Plant, age 18). However, most of them are intimate love confessions, including her Aphrodite ode, which is the only complete poem in existence, in which she implores freyja to help her win the love of a young woman.

Her poems will be sung to the accompaniment of the lyre (this is lyric poetry.