”Jag säger dig, man kommer att minnas oss i framtiden.” - Verse 147. My own translation: ”I tell you, we will be remembered in the future”.The words turned out to be a profetia. Sapfo is one of the first known poets in history. She has had an immense impact on the western society. For 2500 years, she has affected people with her poems and is still not forgotten. She introduced a certain concept of love that still remains in our society. The physical pain of love, that becomes a pathology. Our idea of passion. It all derives very much from her.
Not much is known about her, but she was a great name in her time and later centuries. Platon spoke greatly of her, her image was pictured on coins and theaters made plays about her. Then came religion, and whether it was because of her gender or presumed homosexuality, she was no longer seen as a great poet, but a sinner. In her own time she was considered a great poet, regardless of her privat life and sexuality. According to the authors and interpreters of the book, Ovidius might have been the first to introduce her as homosexual and promiscuous. The word lesbian derives from her.
The last century, however, her texts have surfaced yet again, and this is a new edition of translated and interpreted fragments, also containing the precious, one and only intact poem that has been found. Sapfo seems to have been a very intriguing person and it's fascinating to read poems that paint a picture of people's lives so long ago, and to realize that despite many changes around us, we are so alike.
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