Sappho

(c. 610 BC - c. 570 BC)

Little is known for certain about the poet who in antiquity was known as “the tenth Muse.” Sappho lived on Lesbos, had at least one brother and possibly a daughter, and was likely the leader of a group of young women. Among the many legends about her is the story that she threw herself from a cliff because of her unrequited love for a man named Phaon. Only one of her extant poems is complete.