Poet · 630 BC – 570 BC

Sappho

Little-Known Facts

Her work was so admired that ancient editors collected it into nine books, almost all now lost.
The words 'sapphic' and 'lesbian' both derive from Sappho and her home island.

How much of Sappho's poetry survives?

Only a small fraction — one nearly complete poem and many fragments — survives, often preserved because other ancient writers quoted her.