The Muses

The Tenth Muse, Sappho of Lesbos

Who Was the "Tenth Muse?"

In later history there was a tenth Muse: the poet Sappho of Lesbos. She was given the title of the "Tenth Muse" by Plato. The phrase "the tenth muse" has now become a common tribute paid to outstanding female poets. Unfortunately, little is known of Sappho's life and her poetry has largely been lost to the destructive powers of time. Only one complete poem remains, titled, "Ode to Aphrodite."

Sappho was born on the island of Lesbos in the northeastern Aegean Sea sometime between 630 and 612 BC.

Not much is known about Sappho's early life and any information on her family is sketchy. Strabo, a Greek geographer, philosopher, and historian, mentioned Sappho as a contemporary of Alcaeus of Mytilene, who was born c. 620 BC, and Pittacus (c. 645 - 560 BC). She was listed by the Alexandrians as one of nine lyric poets. Sappho's poetry was renown and greatly admired during much of antiquity.

Although most of her work has been lost, her monumental and enduring reputation survived from fragments.

Sappho's Style

Beauty to Sappho was love, which she expressed eloquently through her poetry. She was very familiar with the poetry of Homer. In two fragments she used Homer's epics from the Iliad as models to retell about Helen of Troy in her own lyrical style. The two great poets used their poetry to memorialize current events for posterity, Homer through the beauty of militarism and Sappho through the beauty of love.

Sappho sang her poems while playing her cithara, a harp-like stringed instrument. For hundreds of years she was seen as one of the greatest lyric poets and the works of other famous poets was compared to
Sappho's style.

Example of Good Grammar, Vocabulary, or Meter

Horace (65 BC - 8 BC), the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus,wrote of Sappho's lyrics as being "worthy of sacred admiration".

Other ancient writers often used Sappho's work as examples of good grammar, vocabulary, or meter. Much of her style was passed down through the centuries due to her work being held up by ancient instructors as teaching tools. Her style, the Sapphic stanza, named after Sappho, was used by many other poets, including her contemporary, Alcaeus of Mytilene - it is still well known and influences modern poets.

Hephaestion (c. 356 BC – 324 BC), Macedonian nobleman and a general in the army of Alexander the Great, used one of Sappho's poems as an example of meter.

Erinna (c. 350 BC or 600 BC)

Erinna was possibly the second most famous female Greek poet, Sappho being the first. Some historians and scholars have said Erinna was a contemporary of Sappho and they were friends. It is not clear about her place and date of birth. There are discrepancies by historians and scholars.

Eusebius (260/265 – 339/340), a Roman historian, claimed she was living around 353 BC. The island of Tenos (also called Tinos or Telos) claims that Erinna was born there around 350 BC. Yet, it was noted by Charles Anthon, an American classical scholar, in 1853, that "Erinna friend & contemporary of Sappho (about 612 BC) died at 19, left behind her poems which were thought worthy to rank with those of Homer. Her poems were of the epic class; the chief of them was entitled The Distaff."

Obviously, Erinna could not have been a "friend" of Sappho if Telos and Eusebius were right on the claim of 353 BC as her birth date. If Telos is right then it could be that Erinna was thought of as an "equal" of Sappho and not a "friend". It is most likely correct that Erinna was born on Tenos and she did mention the island in one of her epigrams.

The Distaff

Papyrus fragments of Erinna's poetry were found in 1928. They contain 54 lines of poetry, including the remainder of The Distaff which had been missing up till then. The Distaff, translated by Daniel Haberman (1933–1991), an American poet and translator, is a poem of mournful lament expressing Erinna's sorrow and memories of her dear friend Baucis. It contains 300 lines written in dactylic hexameter in Aeolian and Doric Greek.

The Distaff gives us a peek into the early life of Erinna. The poem was written using a weaving theme. Weaving is an allegoric method in poetry, using metaphors. In the first eight lines of The Distaff, Erinna recalls memories of when she and Baucis were children and played the game of Tortoise. A very detailed and well-written piece on Erinna's poem and the game of Tortoise can be found at the link provided at the end of this

"Deep into the wave you raced,
Leaping from white horses,
Whirling the night on running feet.
But loudly I shouted, "Dearest,
You're mine!" Then you, the Tortoise,
Skipping, ran to the rutted garth
Of the great court. These things I
Lament and sorrow, sad Baucis."
— Erinna
(below is Sappho and Erinna in a garden by Simeon Solomon & Sappho and her lyre by Jules Elie Delaunay)