Mythic Wisdom: A Greek Author’s Perspective

Connecting the past with the present has always been a powerful experience for me, maybe because I live in a land rich in history. In this blog I am going to explore a variety of topics, which I find deeply meaningful: women’s roles, gender and sexuality issues, activism, goddesses and gods, etc. By examining myths, symbols, and archetypal figures, I feel that we gain a fresh perspective on our lives and society. Ancient history, art, and literature can become amazing sources of inspiration. By learning from the wisdom of the past, we can transform ourselves and the world we live in.

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Remembering Sappho, the “Tenth Muse”

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Why is March my favorite month? You guessed it—it’s Women’s History Month! I think this is a great opportunity to commemorate one of the most important poets of all ages: Sappho of Lesbos. A few years ago, I spent some time in Eressos, considered to be the poet’s hometown. It’s a place by the sea, with its own special beauty and energy. Women of diverse sexual orientations come from all over the world to this town to honor Sappho and to enjoy the company of other women. It was a great pleasure for me to attend the International Women’s Festival organized by women who live there. The following article is based on a talk I delivered as part of the festival. There was magic in the air as we sat under a huge tree in the evening to discuss the love-filled poetry of our amazing ancestress…

Those who say that the Muses are nine are mistaken.

There is also Sappho from Lesbos, the tenth Muse.

This epigram, listed in Anthologia Palatina, is attributed to the philosopher Plato although it’s dubious that it was actually written by him. One way or another, it reveals the veneration ancient Greeks had for Sappho. She is one of the most famous women of antiquity, yet the information that we have about her life is remarkably little and not always reliable.

She lived in the late 7th and early 6th century. Tradition says that she came from Eressos or from Mytilene—it is likely that she has lived in both of these towns. Her family, which belonged to the aristocracy of the island, provided her with a good education. When she was young, she met the other great lyric poet of Lesbos, Alcaeus; ancient rumors said that he fell in love with her and asked her in marriage, and that he also praised her in his verses. (Athenaeus 598 b)

Sappho lived at a time of political unrest. The old aristocracy had started to lose their wealth and power as the new class of merchants and seafarers was dynamically emerging and demanding more rights. Small farmers and the landless peasantry wanted their share of wealth. Revolutionary movements broke out and the monarchy was abolished. Political power was seized by so-called “tyrants,” leaders who represented the interests of the rich that didn’t belong to the nobility. They gained the support of the poor by promoting reforms beneficial to the people.

The poet stood by the people of her social class, which is why she was exiled in Sicily sometime between 604 and 594 BCE. It is speculated that during her long trip she must have met the man who may have become her husband, Cercylas from Andros; the only reference to this marriage is the 10th c. Suda Lexicon. Some of the poet's verses talk about a girl who may have been her daughter, Cleïs—this was also the name of Sappho’s mother. However, this marriage and the birth of a child have been called into question by contemporary scholars. Sadly, the poet's life is largely lost in the mists of time.

In Sicily Sappho was so highly regarded that the inhabitants of Syracuse, a Greek colony with a highly developed culture, placed a lovely statue of hers at their city hall as Cicero mentions. When the statue was stolen, at a later time, there was great sadness in the city. Yet Sappho does not seem to have stayed long there.

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When Sappho returned from exile, she started playing a leading role in the cultural life of the island. It was customary at the time for the daughters of rich families to form a group around a mature woman distinguished for her education and prestige. They had a goddess as their patron—or maybe I should say matron! These women’s circles were connected to religious rituals and festivals where they sang and danced, demonstrating the skills and knowledge they had acquired.

Up to the 20th century very few of Sappho’s verses were known. However, in 1900 an amazing discovery took place: papyri with her poems came to light from graves in the city of Oxyrrynchus in Egypt. They had been used as wrapping and stuffing material for mummies and sarcophagi. 

Today we have approximately 1000 of her verses, most of them badly fragmented. If you take a look at different translations, you can see many discrepancies as there are diverse interpretations of what the original poems must have been like. Yet Sapphic poetry has not lost its charm.

Sappho had composed epigrams, elegies, iambs and monodies. She wrote in the Aeolic dialect spoken on her island and she also composed music. Aristoxenus, a student of Aristotle, has written the following: “Sappho was the first to invent the music which is mixed with Lydian elements; tragic poets learned it from her. When they adopted it, they combined it with Doric music since the latter shows magnificence and a high position, while the former shows passion.”

According to the Suda Lexicon, the great poet also invented the plectrum for the playing of the lyre; it is also believed that she first used a lyre with 21 strings. She created a new kind of stanza with four verses, which was named Sapphic after her name. It was imitated by Roman poets like Horace and Catullus.

The following is the only poem of Sappho’s which has survived intact, the famous “Ode to Aphrodite,” translated by myself:

Immortal Aphrodite in your flowered robe,

crafty daughter of Zeus, I beg you,

Lady, don’t torment my soul

with distress and sorrow.

 

Come here as in past times,

hearing from afar my cry,

you paid heed and left your father’s palace,

yoking your gold chariot

 

you arrived; lovely swift

sparrows brought you on dark earth

flapping hard their wings

from sky through ether.

 

Instantly they came; and you, a smile

in your immortal face, oh blessed goddess,

you asked what I have suffered

once more, why I called

 

you and what my frenzied heart

most wants to happen. “Who again do you

long for? Who Persuasion should bring to your love?

Who wrongs you, Sappho?                                                          

                                                           

Because if she avoids you, soon she’ll pursue you,

if she doesn’t accept your gifts, she’ll offer hers,

if she doesn’t love you, soon she will

though she may not want to.

 

Come to me once more and free

me from painful thoughts,

what my soul desires fulfill

and become yourself my ally.

 

Sappho’s poems have been set to music and sung by many different artists. One of my favorite songs, “Asteron Panton” (Of All Stars) is sung and composed by two Greek women, Nena Venetsanou and Angeliki Ionatou. You can enjoy it here:

Further reading:

McIntosh Snyder, J., The Woman and the Lyre, Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale, IL 1989.

Σαπφούς Άπαντα, μετ. Π. Λεκατσάς, Πάπυρος, Μαρούσι.

Τάκαρη, Κ., Σαπφώ, η Δέκατη Μούσα,  Καλέντης, Aθήνα 1995.

 

 

 

 

 

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Harita Meenee is a Greek independent scholar of classical studies and women’s history. Her graduate studies were in the field of archetypal and women’s psychology. She works as a writer, translator and editor while also being a human rights activist. Harita has presented cultural TV programs and has lectured at universities in Greece and the US. She is the author of five books, as well as of numerous articles and essays published in Hellenic and international anthologies and magazines.

Comments

  • Bruno
    Bruno Saturday, 28 February 2015

    Thank you Charita, may Sapfo always be remembered :)

  • Harita Meenee
    Harita Meenee Sunday, 08 March 2015

    Thank you, Bruno, for reading my article! Yes, may we always remember the great poet from Lesbos. :)

  • Bruno
    Bruno Sunday, 08 March 2015

    ...and shared :)

  • Harita Meenee
    Harita Meenee Sunday, 08 March 2015

    Thank you so much! :)

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