Sappho
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Sappho (c. 630 – c. 570 B.C.E.) is known today as the earliest queer poet in history. Her life story is greatly lacking in reliable details because a Christian mob partially destroyed the Library of Alexandria in 391 B.C.E. Her works and accounts of her life were among the countless documents and records that were destroyed. From then on, her story has been akin to a broken mirror, fragments missing and unlikely to be whole again. Despite this, her work centering around intimacy and sapphic affections have proved universal in their appeal. Plato, famous for not even enjoying poetry, sings Sappho praise, with “Some say the Muses are nine: how careless! Look, there's Sappho too, from Lesbos, the tenth”.
In the modern era, we view Sappho as an indispensable part of queer history. The term sapphic comes directly from Sappho’s name. Spending most of her time on the island of Lesbos, this is also where the term lesbian originates. She has remained an important queer figure to this day, despite the mists of the unknown that shroud her life. |