Sappho and Alcaeus, 1881
The Walters Art Gallery
Baltimore, Maryland
Sappho was a famous Greek poet who was born around 615 B.C.. She lived on the Isle of Lesbos (a series of Geek islands). She was married to a wealthy merchant and known as an astonishing beauty. Sappho was a very famous Greek lyric poet. She wrote poems which included music and dancing.
We have surviving coins and vases bearing her image and name as well some of her poems. Sappho wrote fondly of the women who were sent to here for education in the arts. Her poems have led some to believe she had more than a fondness for her pupils.