The Works of Anacreon, Translated into English Verse….to which are added the Odes, Fragments, and Epigrams of Sappho

1735

De Beer Eb 1735 A

London: Printed for John Watts

Born on the Greek island of Lesbos, Sappho (c.630-570 BC) was a talented poet, known for her technical skill in verse. She was much loved and honoured by her contemporaries, and because she wrote about female love and desire, she was ahead of her time. Sappho portrayed women in love rather than as objects desired by men. In the last two hundred years or so, the content of Sappho’s poetry has meant that she has become an embodiment of female homosexuality – think of the words ‘sapphic’ and ‘lesbian’. She may have been gay, straight, or bisexual. Whatever her sexual orientation, Sappho should be remembered for the ‘outstanding technical and aesthetic quality of her poetry’. Despite only 650 lines surviving of the 10,000 Sappho composed, her work has influenced poets from antiquity right through to modern times.