We start off the walk in Sappho square surrounded by cafes and the beautiful south waterfront. You should see the statue of Sappho with her trademark harp in the center. Sappho square is a social hub. It is the most bustling part of Mytilini, especially at night with all its surrounding recreational activities. But it also is a focal point for political activism.
Sappho Square, a site of occasional activism
The square has been used increasingly, particularly from 2010-2016, as a protest space since Greece has been facing major crises, stemming from its own financial indebtedness, and the huge influx of refugees from the unrest and civil wars in the Middle East. (See BDFM, 2016).
So the space here is political in today’s society. But Sappho herself has political importance too from ancient times all the way through to present day.
Sappho (Ʃαπɸώ) (in Attic Greek or Psapfo (Ψάπɸώ) in Aiolic Greek) is an ancient Greek poetess, famous for her (homo)erotic, ecstasy based and truly emotive poetry about love, family and the Gods. More to the point she is famous for being one of the first outspoken and independent women in the western world; essentially creating the type of western love poetry we all recognise today (MacInnes et al, 2015). She has a complicated biography with a mixture of truth, contradiction and myth factoring into it (Barnstone, 2009). There is little known about her, but what is known is highly fascinating and her legacy even more so.
Sappho Mural (seen on the approach to Sappho sq. from the west; by the taxi rank)
She was born on the island of Lesvos approx. 630 B.C., most likely in Eressos, but lived most of her life in the capital Mytilini. Plato called her the ‘tenth Muse’. Her poetry was well adored during her own lifetime, with it managing to travel across the rest of Greece including Athens (also to parts of Italy) (MacInnes et al, 2015). This was quite a feat at the time, rather like a music artist “going platinum” in today’s world. Her lyrics were most likely written down by her although only later transcriptions of her work have been found (ibid.). Her poetry was most likely performed orally in some way, probably in song form. Evidence from her poetry shows she had an entourage of female followers who may possibly have been her lovers (ibid.).
Satue of Sappho in the Square
When she was a young woman, around 600 B.C., there was a lot of political disturbance in Mytilini with lots of factional fighting between aristocratic families over power. There is an understanding Sappho and her entourage played a role in these family politics, ultimately leading to Sappho’s period of exile to Sicily (ibid; Barnstone, 2009). Her poem Mika is about one of her followers switching political sides away from Sappho. From this activity we understand her family to be aristocratic with a clear stake in Mytilini (Barnstone, 2009). This drama during her life time is but one political dimension of Sappho’s existence.
Her other political dimension relates to her promotion of female homosexuality both during her lifetime, but more so through her long-lasting legacy inspiring the words “lesbian” and “sapphic” to mean homosexual women or inter-woman love (Harper, 2001). With her aristocratic position and talent she contributed to making female homosexuality overt, equating it to male homosexuality, within ancient Greek society; previously it was only conducted behind closed doors (MacInnes et al, 2015). Her legacy, long into after her death, is where most of her political plight and activist effect lie.
Until the turn of the 20th Century, Sappho’s work and poetry throughout the ages was subjected to arson and cover ups by church minded people who wanted to deny the fact she had gay romances (Barnstone, 2009). For example, in 380 A.D. clergymen in Rome and Constantinople, including the Pope, conducted public burnings of Sappho’s poems because it was too ‘whorish’. Works that were burnt included those found during the destruction of Alexandria Library by Christian Zealots (ibid.). Such destruction has meant there is no one complete collection of her poems to survive past the medieval period. Only a few snippets and one-off poems remain. In addition, up until recently and particularly during Victorian times, Sappho has only been allowed to be thought in a headmistress role to a group of ladies or as a sisterly cult leader. While there is evidence suggesting she tutored other women, her female entourage, as we have mentioned, were more likely her lovers and supporters first and foremost.
‘NO OBLIVION’ by Sappho –
“Someone, I tell you, in another time,
will remember us.”
Today Sappho’s erotic side, the beauty and honesty of her poetry, is much more celebrated. Most lesbian communities, who are still a minority within society, see her as their heroine (MacInnes et al, 2015). Now each year in Eressos, there is a LGBT pride festival dedicated to Sappho (click here for more info). Overall she is a figure whose legacy is emblematic of the historical and current struggles for lesbian women. She is a true lesbian icon, a source of inspiration for many and her poetry is still prestigious today.
If you have a spare hour, you may enjoy this BBC4 Documentary on Sappho: love and life on Lesvos.
References
Barnstone, W. (2009) The Complete Poems of Sappho. Boston: Shambhala.
BDFM (no date) Better days for Moria. Available at: http://tinyurl.com/hgjwco5 (Accessed: 1 April 2016).
Harper, D. (2001) Online etymology dictionary. Available at: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=lesbian (Accessed: 1 April 2016).
MacInnes, J. (director), Mountford, M. (performer), and Thomas, S. (producer) (2015) Sappho: Love & life on Lesbos with Margaret Mountford. BBC iPlayer. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b05tc6w7/sappho-love-life-on-lesbos-with-margaret-mountford or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAv0LLbXjSk (Accessed: 1 April 2016)
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The Three Women of Mytilini 