2. Only one complete poem by Sappho has survived the two-and-a-half thousand years to the modern day
A poet from the island of Lesbos, Sappho was widely celebrated as one of the greatest lyric poets – a poet whose works were designed to be sung whilst accompanied by a lyre – from the ancient world. Although little is known about Sappho’s life, it is thought she stemmed from a wealthy family before being exiled to Sicily around 600 BCE at the age of approximately thirty. Continuing to work for the next thirty years, throughout her lifetime it is thought Sappho, who allegedly was a prolific artist and workaholic, composed more than ten thousand lines of poetry which were dispersed and admired throughout antiquity.
Despite this inordinate output, the vast preponderance of Sappho’s collected works have not survived to the modern day. Only one complete poem – Ode to Aphrodite – as well as fragments of verse from other pieces, have endured, with the ultimate fate of the great writer remaining unknown. Remembered today as the origin of the words sapphic and lesbian, with the latter due to her becoming synonymous with love between women, the loss of Sappho’s immense and acclaimed repertoire has deprived our understanding of classical literature and appreciation of ancient poetry beyond measure.