Sappho was a famous Greek poet who formed a circle of women on the isle of Lesbos (from which comes the term 'lesbian') who worshiped Aphrodite. Sappho wrote lyric poetry, often about love for other women, and was considered the 'tenth muse'.
A beautiful fragment of her poetry (Sayre, 53):
"He is more than a hero
He is a god in my eyes
the man who is allowed
to sit beside you--he
who listens intimately
to the sweet murmur of
your voice, the enticing
laughter that makes my own
heart beat fast. If I meet
you suddenly, I can't
speak--my tongue is broken;
a thin flame runs under
my skin; seeing nothing
hearing only my ears
drumming, I drip with sweat;
trembling shakes my body
and I turn paler than
dry grass. At such times
death isn't far from me."
Such passionate love.
Sayre, Henry M. Discovering the Humanities. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc., 2010. Print.
Also check out the Wikipedia, her poetry, and About.com. They made a movie retelling, too, which I have yet to watch.
No comments:
Post a Comment