SAPPHO

The greatest Greek female poet, the first woman in the world to write poetry. Born in Lesbos, according to others in Eressos and had a father called Skamandros. She was called the Tenth Muse. She was exiled by Pittacus, for political reasons, to Syracuse, where she was offered honors. She turned her home into a training center for young women and older women, who, due to social and political systems, were condemned to ignorance. Because of her influence over her young friends and pupils, to whom she taught melody, dance, poetry, manners, she was valued and loved with true devotion by them, maybe even with erotic feelings, a fact which was misinterpreted and condemned by many misogynists and enemies of female spiritual development and liberation.

The poetess was even accused of being obscene and provoked the antics of the comedians of the time. Unfortunately, the zeal of the early Christian years, which turned furiously against the polytheistic culture, destroyed Sappho's writings with particular vengeance, so that today there are only ruins of them. If Sappho was accused, she was equally appreciated and admired for her moral personality. Plato called her the "Tenth Muse", Julian and Antipater "female Homer" and "honour of Lesbian women", and Strabo "wonderful monster". Later the Pythagoreans worshiped her, her homeland carved her image on coins, and Pergamum and Syracuse erected statues of the poetess in their cities.