Sappho (630 B.C.E)

Sappho is an ancient Greek poet who is was born on the island of Lesbos, off the Asia Minor. She referred to same-sex relationships in her work and her poems inspired the development of the modern term lesbian. We know little of that time period concerning of the attitudes towards Sappho and how she was viewed in a very male dominated society. Sappho's poems were meant to be acted out in plays, not meant to be read in a book. Her poems are intense and very emotional, often referring to strong feelings of love, hate and desire. 

Work Cited

Puchner, Martin. "Sappho" The Norton Anthology: World Literature. Shorter Third ed. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. 467-474. Print.