Visiting the Greek island that gave lesbianism its name

In the 6th century BCE, a poetess named Sappho lived on a rocky Greek island far out in the Aegean Sea. She wrote about her love for women in unambiguous terms: “I’d rather see her lovely step, her sparkling glance and her face than gaze on all the troops in Lydia in their chariots and glittering armor,” one of her poems reads. 

Unfortunately, time, helped by the Catholic church, conspired to erase her work from the world. Today, only fragments remain. And yet, Sappho’s legacy is undeniable. Not only did she give her name to a type of measure in Greek poetry (a sapphic verse), but she also inspired the name of an entire branch of human love and sexuality. Lesbianism is named after Lesbos, that far-flung island where Sappho lived. 

Today, the Greek island of Lesbos is a fascinating place to visit. It has been a pilgrimage spot for queer women since the 19th century. Sappho’s birthplace, Skala Eressos, is a beachside village that hosts a yearly women’s festival and has a crop of lesbian bars disproportionate to its small population. The island’s capital, Mytilene, is centered on the buzzing Sappho Square, where a statue of the poetess stands proudly. So who was Sappho, and how can a journey to Lesbos bring you closer to this lesbian icon? 

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Who Was Sappho? 

Historians argue about many facts of Sappho’s life. It remains unclear who her father was or whether she was married or had a child. One thing everyone agrees on, however, is that she was born in Skala Eressos, a small village in the Southwest of Lesbos. Lesbos was part of Ancient Greece and is today part of modern Greece, yet it is located in the far East of the Aegean Sea, close to the Turkish coast. 

Despite coming from such a faraway place, there is a lot of evidence that Sappho was famous during her lifetime, in the cultural capital of Athens and her home island. In the same way Greeks referred to Homer simply as the Poet, Sappho is “the Poetess” in several texts. She is the only historical woman portrayed on a classic Greek vase. In the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, you can see a depiction of her in the red color of clay, on a black background. She is holding a scroll and being presented with an award for her poetry. 

When Sappho lived in the Archaic period of Ancient Greece, writing was still a newfangled technology. Poems were written to be sung, and Sappho would likely have performed her work, accompanied by a lyre or a harp. Many Greek scholars wrote about her in the following two centuries, and some quoted her work. Plato, who disdained poetry and thought literature had no place in an ideal state, called her the “Tenth Muse,” now the name of a popular lesbian bar run by expats in Sappho’s birth village of Skala Eressos. 

Sappho’s work is lyrical and emotional. She talks about her love of women and femininity in all its forms. She frequently appeals to Aphrodite, the goddess of Love, for help in her relationships. 

Scholars credit her as inventing the modern love poem; some of her words feel like they could have been written today. 

Again love, the limb-loosener, rattles me
bittersweet,
irresistible,
a crawling beast. -Sappho

Her poetry is so personal and intimate that it is relatable, 2600 years later. 

Erasing Sappho 

It is well known that homosexual relationships between men were common in Ancient Greece, although society remained structured around heterosexual marriage. Sappho’s life suggests that relationships between women may also have been normal. 

Once Christianity spread through Europe, however, stories of Sappho’s sexuality were quickly squashed. Members of the Church are thought to have burned her works. One theologian described her as “a sex-crazed” woman “who sings of her own wantonness”. 

Later scholars no longer tried to destroy the remaining fragments of Sappho’s work. Instead, they sought vehemently to prove that she couldn’t possibly have been a lesbian. 

A frankly creepy amount of scholarship has been written about Sappho’s sexuality, trying to prove either that she was a man, or that she didn’t love women, or that if she did, it was never consummated. A legend was spread to consolidate this idea: Sappho swore off women when she fell in love with a ferryman named Phaeon, before leaping from the Leucadian cliffs when he didn’t return her love. This story has been largely debunked, but dozens of paintings, poems, and novels tell this version of events, from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, written in 8 C.E., to Erica Jong’s 2004 novel Sappho’s Leap. 

Efforts to erase Sappho had their effect, and by the 12th century, a Byzantine scholar was already grumbling that “both Sappho and her works, the lyrics and the songs, have been trashed by time.” In their 1979 book, Lesbian Peoples: Material for a Dictionary, Monique Wittig and Sande Zeig sought to honor the erasure Sappho had faced. They devoted a page to her, but left it blank. 

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Visiting Lesbos 

However, on the island of Lesbos, there is no erasing its most famous inhabitant. For over a century, women who love women have visited the island to walk in her footprints. Some of the first were poets Natalie Clifford Barney and Renée Vivien, who visited Lesbos in the early 1900s. 

Today, a lively expat and traveler scene is in Skala Eressos, Sappho’s birthplace. It boasts one of the most beautiful beaches on the island, and half a dozen lesbian bars line the coast. The best time to visit is in September, when the village comes alive for the two-week International Eressos Women’s Festival. It combines music, dance, art, beach parties, and political discussions. 

Despite having a permanent population of just 1,500 people, Skala Eressos draws thousands of queer women every year, some of whom return annually or stay long-term.

In Mytilene, the town in which Sapphos lived for much of her life and the present-day capital of Lesbos, there is a buzzing square named after the poetess. Her statue looks out onto the turquoise sea, holding a harp, and is surrounded by a cluster of bars and coffee shops. 

Other than following in Sappho’s footsteps, there is a lot to see and do in Lesbos. Along the cobbled streets of Mytilene are buildings from the 10th century C.E. The archeological museum has objects dating back to Sappho’s time, while the Museum of Modern Art contains works by Matisse, Miro, and Picasso.

Lesbos boasts natural wonders, too. It has stunning beaches and turquoise water, as you would expect from any Greek island. And the Petrified Forest, an area of 37 acres where fossilized trees stand amongst volcanic rocks. It is one of the world’s largest and is designated as a UNESCO Global Geopark.

Plus, there are tons of good foods and Ouzo to drink. In fact, Lesbos is seen as the birthplace of this aniseed liquor, beloved throughout Greece. Several Ouzo distilleries offer tours and tastings, or you can sit at a restaurant terrace and order a glass to pair with delicious seafood. 

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