There are many different ways to look when studying Ancient Greece, the view of the wars, the views of the different cities, the views of the armies, the views of women or men in that time, etc. Each one has an influence on the other, so while looking at one you need to take into account how they each impacted the rest of Greece. Greek literature is an example of something that has impacted us today. The people who were responsible for literature found in Greece are tied to the way people think today. Sappho was one of the most notable poets of the sixth century, people today still look at her poems and draw inspiration.
Now a days we think of Sappho as one of greatest lyricist and poets of the ancient world, but why was she so known back then? Sappho’s had many ways to put her name out there that not everyone had, but she also was extremely talented in what she did. Sappho was very wealthy, she married a merchant and had one daughter. She had the ability to do what she wanted because of her wealth. With this wealth she studied the arts on Lesbos, she even traveled around Greece to learn more. Sappho was exiled for some time from Lesbos because of her political problems in her family.
During that time she went to Sicily where they already knew who she was because of her poems. Syracuse even put up a statue of her because they were so honored by her visit. Sappho’s poems were hard to read because of the type of writing she used, Aeolin, but there are many translations of her poems today. She wrote about love a lot and the things she had to deal with in life. People related to her poems more than normal because she wrote about her life personally. Sappho turned her poems into lyrics to be performed. She was said to be one of the first poets to write about love in the first person and about how it impacted her.
Since her poems were very complicated for people now a days to translate, a lot of them were lost and only some were re found. There are many different translations of the ones that are known today. Sappho was very wealthy and that might have something to do with why back then she was so known. She traveled to places all over Greece and people knew who she was. Was this because she had the ability to travel or were her poems that good? When she was exiled from Lesbos, and went to Sicily, Syracuse even made a statue of her in her honor of visiting because they felt so lucky.
Was she just known all over Greece because she had the ability to travel from place to place when she wanted to? She had the wealth to study the arts very in depth when not everyone could do that. There were many advantages she had that other people didn’t. Even though she was very wealthy, Sappho’s also was known because of her poems. They spoke to people in ways that other people couldn’t portray. She wrote about her own experiences and her personal life, she wrote about love and that touched many women.
Sappho’s wrote about women she was sent to teach the arts, she wrote about her love for them and when they left the island to get married, she wrote their wedding songs. Plato even elevated her because of her lyrics and poems. There are many translations of her poems today that are still used. People are influenced and inspired by her every day. Many famous poets give Sappho credit for where they are today. It is impressive that she is still talked about and used this many years later so back then she must have been just as famous. Ancient Greece has many different main topics to think about, one of them is the literature.
Sappho’s was a famous poet from Lesbos that is still talked about and read today. Her exceptional work has survived over two thousands year and still influences literature today. She was a big culture figure in Lesbos and is still looked at as one. Sappho had the ability to extend her knowledge of the arts, but used that and her strong writing ability to get known and touch many people. She wrote about things people could connected to more personally. Sappho didn’t just use what she had to get an advantage over other people, she used it to show the world her poems and lyrics because they were exceptional.
