Sappho: The Tenth Muse

In the golden age of ancient Greek literature, the name Sappho glows like a soft ember—flickering across time with tenderness, power, and mystery. Known as The Tenth Muse, a title once bestowed by Plato himself, Sappho was a poet of passion and precision, of longing and lyricism. She lived over 2,600 years ago on the island of Lesbos, yet her words continue to stir modern hearts with their emotional intensity and beauty.

The Woman Behind the Lyre

Born around 630 BCE, Sappho lived in a society where few women left behind lasting records of their thoughts or experiences. Despite this, she composed thousands of lines of poetry that offered rare insight into the emotional lives of women—especially in their relationships with one another. Her poems were meant to be sung, often accompanied by a lyre, which gave rise to the term "lyric poetry."

Sappho wasn’t a myth. She was real, revered, and read widely in antiquity. In fact, she was so highly regarded that her image once appeared on coins. Unlike the epic poetry of her male contemporaries such as Homer, Sappho’s work didn’t focus on gods or heroes. It focused on the heart—on love, desire, jealousy, friendship, and the subtle beauty of the everyday.

A Poetic Voice of Desire

One of the most remarkable aspects of Sappho’s poetry is its unabashed expression of love and desire for other women. Her work often explores intimate emotional bonds between women, and while it’s tempting to read her poems solely through a modern lens, what remains clear is that her exploration of female emotion was radical for her time. It’s from her island home, Lesbos, that we get the word “lesbian.” The adjective “sapphic” also derives from her name, underscoring her symbolic importance in LGBTQ+ history and discourse. However, beyond any label, her poetry resonates because it is fundamentally human—it speaks of longing, joy, heartache, and connection in ways that transcend gender and time.

“Sweet mother, I cannot weave –

Slender Aphrodite has overcome me

with longing for a girl.”

– Fragment by Sappho

In this fragment, we hear the voice of someone overtaken by feeling, by the ache of love. It’s tender and direct, capturing a moment so personal yet so universal. That’s the power of Sappho—her ability to distill complex emotion into lyrical simplicity.

Fragmented but Immortal

Tragically, much of Sappho’s work has been lost. Of the estimated nine volumes of poetry she once composed, only fragments remain—many damaged, some consisting of just a few words. The only complete poem we have is her "Ode to Aphrodite", a prayer to the goddess of love asking for relief from the pains of unrequited affection. But even in fragments, Sappho’s voice endures. Her words have been rediscovered on papyrus, quoted by ancient scholars, and reimagined by contemporary poets and translators. Each recovered line feels like a whisper from the past—an emotional thread that connects us across centuries.

Cultural and Literary Impact

Sappho’s influence on literature is profound. She helped shape the genre of lyric poetry and set a precedent for using personal emotion as poetic material. Her work influenced poets across time—from Catullus in ancient Rome to 19th-century Romantics, and even contemporary voices in feminist and queer literature today. More than a poet, Sappho has become an icon—a symbol of female authorship, artistic autonomy, and the power of emotion in literature. Her status as a queer cultural figure has brought renewed attention to her life and work in modern times, and she continues to inspire discussion, research, and creative expression.

Why Sappho Still Matters

What makes Sappho’s work so enduring isn’t just its historical significance—it’s its emotional truth. In a world filled with spectacle and noise, her quiet moments of love and longing feel revolutionary. Her poetry reminds us that vulnerability is powerful, that expressing desire isn’t weakness but courage. Sappho was called The Tenth Muse for a reason: she didn’t just add to the artistic world—she transformed it. She sang not of war, but of the wars within. She made poetry personal, and in doing so, she gave voice to feelings that are timeless.