Speak! Radiant Lyre, the Poetess of Lesbos, Sappho (& Other Women of that World)

Season 4 // Episode 276

This episode originally aired on June 15, 2021. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Get ad-free episodes and so, so much more, by subscribing to the Oracle Edition at patreon.com/mythsbaby

Sappho was a very real woman, a poet of the island of Lesbos, the "Tenth Muse", and she almost definitely loved men and women. The origin of terms Lesbian and Sapphic, a true icon.

CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing.

Sources: Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity by Sarah B. Pomeroy; If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho by Anne Carson; Sappho's Lyre: Archaic Lyric and Women Poets of Ancient Greece by Diane J. Rayor; notes compiled by Alyse Knorr of the Sweetbitter Podcast.

Attributions and licensing information for music used in the podcast can be found here: mythsbaby.com/sources-attributions.

Dina Reaume