Sappho, the First Lesbian Poet

I met Sappho, as fate would have it, while putting together an order of statuary from Massarelli’s. Her picture in the catalog showed a beautiful woman sculpted into a bust that was both captivating and mysterious. When the order arrived I was not disappointed. I love statuary, especially of people. It’s the faces that I like and Sappho’s face possessed a gentle charm. I rarely took things home from the garden center but I couldn’t resist Sappho and ordered her and a pedestal for her in the Hickory finish to match my dining room. She and the pedestal are still with me today.

I am an inquisitive person. I enjoy history and wondered how Sappho was famous enough to have a bust sculpted of her. Was she a fictional character or a real person? I knew by her design that she was either from Ancient Rome or Greece, perhaps a mythological goddess. Upon researching Sappho, I found out that she was indeed from Ancient Greece. In fact she was a real person who lived during the 6^th century B.C on the Island of Lesbos just off the Greek coast.

During those days women were rarely educated and not given the same opportunities or status as men. Sappho was a teacher and a poet and that was highly unusual in itself. She was probably the first woman poet in history. She was also a lesbian so that made her the first lesbian poet. In fact, the word “lesbian” was derived from the Island of Lesbos possibly because of Sappho, but probably not. Lesbos was known in 600 BC as a safe haven for lesbians, even before Sappho became famous.

Plato was probably the most instrumental with giving Sappho her fame. After reading her poetry he was quoted as saying, “Some say the muses are nine – how careless – behold, Sappho of Lesbos is the tenth”. Her poetry was from the heart and was filled with emotion, something the male poets of the day did not express. She wrote much relating to the goddesses, especially Aphrodite, the goddess of love.

Unfortunately much of her original work was destroyed throughout the ages. Twice in history Popes ordered her books burned. Tatian, a Christian writer from the 2^nd century, called Sappho a “love-crazy female fornicator who even sings about her own licentiousness”. The works that were not destroyed were often purposely interpreted wrongly and changed from words expressed from a woman to that of a man. Little truth was known about Sappho’s work until the 1800’s when they uncovered fragments of her songs in Egypt, of all places, wrapped around mummies!

She certainly was worthy of praise and not deserving of the destruction of her work. Her lifestyle was not shocking during her time. It wasn’t considered a “sin” until centuries later. I’m not a lesbian but I find Sappho’s story fascinating! If you get a chance, Google her name and you’ll come up with her poetry. The words are very beautiful.

As for the “Bust of Sappho”, I found out through my research that, sadly, it’s not her real face -- just an interpretation. There are no images of Sappho made during her time, only images done much later in history. I still love my “Bust of Sappho”. Again, it’s in the face!

You can have your own "Bust of Sappho" - exactly like mine. The bust is easily shipped via UPS. She is a high-quality item made of cast stone concrete so she's a heavy piece. She's a Massarelli's statue so expect superb quality! Click HERE if you'd like to see it!

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