Sappho (c.600 BC)

        Sappho was one of the greatest of the ancient Greek poets--and rarest: she was a woman.  She was born into an aristocratic family on the island of Lesbos around 600 BC.  She also married rich.  This gave her the opportunity to live life just about anyway she saw fit.  She liked poetry, and so that's what she spent her time doing--writing love poems: generally to women.  If you haven't picked up on it yet, we have gained a word in the English language from her island's name.

        Her poems were accompanied by a lyre, so her poetry was called lyrical poetry.  Her poetry was written in her own meter, which is called (none other than) Sapphic meter.  Also, she changed many things about Greek poetry.  The biggest was the change of view-point.  Until her, poetry was told from the viewpoint of gods, or through muses.  She wrote poetry from a personal view and centered her poems around feelings.  Another difference in her poetry was that it was short.  The other Greeks wrote their poems as epics.  Sappho's were quite small in comparison.

        Only a few fragments of her poems are in existence now, but what we have is considered some of the greatest love poetry ever.

All material Copyright 2002 by Paul Korte