The Ancient Greek name Sappho refers to the poet Sappho, who lived on the island of Lesbos during the late 7th century BC. Little is known about the life of Sappho or Sapfo and most of the information come from her poems.
The immense reputation and influence of Sappho emerge through fragments of knowledge we have about her, and from some references made by other poets who lived the same time with her.
Sappho is one of the 9 lyric poets of Ancient Greece. Her poetry is all about passion and love both towards men and women.
It is not accidental that Sappho is considered the first homosexual woman we know about in history, since she has written numerous poems about her feelings and affection towards young women.
The poems of other great lyrics poets such as Alkaios and Pindar refer to relationships between Sappho and her students, or members of a certain circle, that was very close to the famous woman.
There are almost 200 fragments of poems written by Sappho, although some of them have only a few words. Historians and Philologists suggest that the poem “Hymn to Aphrodite” is probably the only one saved completely.
Due to the Greek poet, the ancient name Sappho is popular not only in Greece, but in several Western countries as well.
Read about the name Sappho or Sapfo, as it is used in Greece today.