Sappho of Lesbos
The Tenth Muse
Ancient Greek lyric poet (c.610-c.570 BCE) from the island of Lesbos.
Plato called her the Tenth Muse, and only fragments of her intimate, tender verse survive — yet even those scraps move readers 2,600 years later. She wrote of love with unprecedented directness, inventing the Sapphic stanza still named for her. Ancient critics ranked her among the greatest poets ever born.
Famous for
- Invented the Sapphic stanza (still used today)
- 'Ode to Aphrodite' (only complete surviving poem)
- Plato called her the Tenth Muse
- Wrote of love and desire with revolutionary directness
In Rubicon
Sappho of Lesbos is one of the historical characters you can play as in Rubicon, a trivia game where you answer in your own words and an AI judge reads what you meant. Sappho of Lesbos is filed under Language & Communication, and is strongest at Language & Communication and Arts & Culture.