Sappho

Question 1

What is a kletic poem?

Answer 1

A poem where the speaker calls out to a deity/god for assistance, blessing, to come to them - essentially a prayer.

Question 2

What are some examples of kletic poems in Sappho’s work?

Answer 2

Aphrodite, goddess of the embroidered throne - (asking for aid in time of emotional distress - “release me from this great distress”)
Come, Queen Hera - (Hera, Dionysus, and Zeus were the primary gods worshipped on Lesbos - probably performed at Zeus’ sanctuary on Lesbos)
Come to me, leave Crete behind! - (invoking Aphrodite to come to Lesbos)
Hesperus! - (Hesperus is the evening star, son of dawn Goddess Eos - a deity)
Raise the Roof - (Hymenaeus is the god of marriage)

Question 3

Which poems suggest Sappho had heterosexual relationships?

Answer 3

Sweet Mother! - (“I am smitten by a boy)
I have a beautiful daughter - (a man is kind of needed to get pregnant)

Question 4

Which poems include the themes of marriage and weddings?

Answer 4

May the maidens sing - (celebrating a wedding, again, addressed to a man w/ sexual undertones)
The Doorkeeper - (referencing the doorkeeper who stops guests disrupting newlyweds consummating their marriage)
Raise the roof (anticipation of consummating a marriage)
Lucky Bridegroom (man’s joy of marrying a beautiful woman)

Question 5

In which poem does Sappho liken war and link the Trojan war to love?

Answer 5

The most beautiful sight in the world - (Love for Helen caused the Trojan war, Sappho’s love for Anactoria is like a man’s love for war)

Question 6

Which poems suggest that some of Sappho’s work was intended to be performed to an exclusively female audience?

Answer 6

I call upon you Abanthis - (Directly addresses a woman [Abanthis], and asks her to sing of another woman [Gongyla] in a sexual manner - suggests Sappho is Abanthis’ mentor)
Now, for my companions - (Directly implies she sings/performs her poetry to a group of companions/women - perhaps those she mentors)
Who gave their works - (could be referencing works done by those she mentors?)

Question 7

Which poems suggest that Sappho had homosexual relationships?

Answer 7

Atthis, the thought of me - (talks of a woman leaving Sappho for another woman [Andromeda])
The most beautiful sight in the whole world - (expresses desire for Anactoria)
He is as blessed as a god - (expresses jealousy of seeing a woman she desires with a man)
I used to love you, Atthis - (Directly states her past love for a woman)
Honestly, I want to die - (describes the end of a lesbian relationship - “she was leaving me”)
Gongyla - (Descibes the end of a lesbian relationship - Gonglya has also been written as a lover of Atthis, who Sappho also had lesbian relations with)

Question 8

Which poem is the only fully completed piece of Sappho’s work discovered?

Answer 8

Aphrodite, goddess of the embroidered throne

Question 9

Which poems show a physical manifestation of desire?

Answer 9

He is as blessed as a god - (Sappho describes the sensations of sex for when she sees this woman she desires - “a tremor seizes me all over)
Love which loosens the limbs - (alludes to sex)

Question 10

Which poems show the stereotypical expectations/experiences of Archaic Greek women?

Answer 10

My mother said that - (describes fashion/beauty trends - women must keep up with fashion/beauty trends to appear attractive/worthy/wealthy: purple-dyed clothing, imported from the Lydian Empire’s capital Sardis - demonstrates wealth)
Sweet mother! - (“I cannot weave” - good Greek women were often depicted weaving - e.g Penelope from Homer’s Odyssey)

Question 11

Which poems portray the negative aspects of love and/or desire?

Answer 11

He is as blessed as a god - (jealousy, stops Sappho from being able to function)
Honestly I want to die - (the end of a relationship, perhaps due to a marriage - strong feeling of dread, sadness, loss of a will to live)
Aphrodite, Goddess of the embroidered throne - (“Who is hurting you now?” - desire/love can be hurtful if unreciprocated)
Cypris - (Charaxus [Sappho’s brother] has acted foolishly because of his desire/love for Doricha [a boastful Egyptian prostitute])
Gongyla - (Ending of a relationship that Sappho desperately wants to forget to get over)

Question 12

Which poems reference Sappho’s family?

Answer 12

Sweet Mother!
My mother said
I have a beautiful daughter
Cypris - (mocks her brother [Charaxus] for being infatuated with a prostitute)

Question 13

Why did Sappho allegedly kill herself?

Answer 13

Sappho apparently threw herself off a cliff because of her unrequited love for a ferryman named Phaon

Question 14

What kind of poetry did Sappho write?

Answer 14

Lyric poetry

Question 15

What kind of family did Sappho come from, and in which poems can this be evident?

Answer 15

A wealthy aristocratic family.

“My mother said” implies her mother had access to expensively dyed clothes/accessories and exotic imported goods.
“What farm girl” shows a classist view from Sappho, being insulted/disappointed that her lover prefers a ‘farm girl’ of a lower, working class.
Embroidered sandals - (Unclear who “she” is, but shows Sappho was in proximity with some woman of higher class and wealth - “Lydian workmanship” suggests imported goods, expense)

Question 16

What issues are there with Sappho’s poetry being fragmented?

Answer 16

The full meanings of some poems may not be uncovered or understood.

A lot of fragments may be completely lost or destroyed.

Some of her poems can only be found through references in other ancient sources - others have been found in rubbish dumps.

Only one Sappho poem has been found fully completed.

Question 17

Which poems hold a theme of nature?

Answer 17

Come to me, leave Crete behind! - (apple trees, valley, horse-rearing, spring, roses, leaves, flowers)
Around the beautiful moon - (stars, moon/moonlight)
Love shook my soul - (“like a wind buffeting oak trees on a mountain”)
Just like the sweet apple
Just like the hyacinth

Question 18

Where are some Homeric influences seen in Sappho’s poetry?

Answer 18

Just like the hyacinth - (Homer often described Odysseus’ hair as “like a hyacinth” - an image of beauty)
The most beautiful sight in the whole world - (Talks of the Trojan war and Helen - influence from Homer’s Iliad, or just the legend)

Question 19

Which two poems use nature similes for how women are seen and treated in archaic Greek society?

Answer 19

Just like the hyacinth - (The hyacinth is trodden by shepherds - women are put down and oppressed in society, trampled by men. Men are an intimidating force, yet women must marry them.)
Just like the sweet apple - (the “sweet red apple” represents a virgin woman and her sexuality - it is most prized and wanted by the “pickers”/men, yet they can’t reach it. Sappho suggests female sexuality is out of the reach of men, perhaps only for other women)

Question 20

Which poem shows the negative aspect of being a lesbian in archaic Greek society, and a bittersweet view of distance in love?

Answer 20

Often she turned her thoughts here - (A woman from Sappho’s circle now lives in Sardis, assumedly due to being married off, yet thinks of her lover on Lesbos. Despite her rare beauty in Sardis [indicating her worth to her husband], and all the beauty that surrounds her, her thoughts are consumed by Atthis - her desire, love, and longing are strong)

Question 21

Which poem shows how the archaic Greeks valued poetry and song?

Answer 21

When you die - (The poem shows the briefness of life, and that refraining from partaking in poetry and song will mean there will be nothing for people to remember you by. Further, it was believed that people who didn’t indulge in the gifts of the muses were punished in the underworld.)

Question 22

Which poem represents human curiosity and limits?

Answer 22

I do not think I can touch the sky with my hands - (Represents some desire to go further, to overreach, or reach the gods - yet human mortals cannot. Untouchability of the immortals, vastness of nature, human desire being great but limited)