Sappho: The Ancient Poetess,Sappho: The Ancient Poetess
Sappho became so well known and adored by her readers that the island of Lesbos minted coins in her image and rulers desperately wanted to read her works. Plato elevated her from mere mortal status to become known as the 10th muse. Solon, an Athenian ruler and poet asked to be taught one her songs stating “ Because I want to learn it and die.”
Unfortunately only fragments for her works exist today. Over 500 poems and 12,000 lines of verse were penned by Sappho in her lifetime but only about 600 remain. Given her fame, only one of her originals is available in it’s entirely. There is rumored to be as many as 9 volumes of poetry and song about women’s lives, jealousy, emotions and love by Sappho, but after natural disaster, neglect and possibly censorship much was lost. Some even believe that Christian popes and emperors burned her works due to erotic content in the later centuries. Others believe that the documents were merely lost as others were in the Dark and Middle Ages. It wasn’t until the late 19th century that manuscripts were found in the Nile Valley dating back to the 8th century AD. Many were proven to be Sappho's work. Excavations in Egypt unearthed papyruses from the 1st century BC to 10 AD. Some of them were also found to be Sapphos. Strips were used to wrap mummies, stuff animals and wrap coffins. It is still a challenge as they continue to piece together her works of art.
Many translations are available today often offering different approaches. It is incredibly difficult to translate properly because there are only fragments. The translator sometimes may go off in their own imagination or may speculate on where the piece may have been going. This often creates subjects not necessarily intended. Critical content is missing due to broken lines and flow breaks. It is also very hard to translate ancient Greek and know all the technical details of lyricism of the time. Viewpoints are numerous and her work still instills curiousity when those hear about Sappho. She has influenced many modern poets such as Calullus and Swineburn. Her life continues to inspire research and also seems to motivate fictional accounts of her existence.
Sappho was rumored to have committed suicide possibly over a failed affair with a sailor named Phaon. She was also said to have inspired a cult of women who worshipped
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