SAPPHO
Sappho, living near the time of Alcaeus, and composing verses in similar metrical and musical forms, far surpassed him. In both ancient and modern times she has been regarded as the greatest love poet of Greece. As Homer is called "The Poet," so is she "The Poetess," and Plato has an epigram—
"Some thoughtlessly proclaim the Muses nine;
A tenth is Lesbian Sappho, maid divine."
Little is known of her life, and the stories told of her are so inconsistent that we must rely for our knowledge of her upon her verses. She lived in Mytilene near the beginning of the sixth century before Christ, and was the leader of a coterie of women devoted to the pursuit of music and poesy. Tradition tells of her rejection of Alcaeus' love, and of her own unrequited passion for Phaon, for whose sake she leaped from the Leucadian cliff into the sea. False as these stories probably are, it is at least certain that her verses are written chiefly on one theme—that of love.
HYMN TO VENUS
Immortal Venus, throned above
In radiant beauty, child of Jove,
Ο skilled in every art of love
And artful snare;
Dread power, to whom I bend the knee, 5
