This website provides detailed information on the archaic Greek lyric poet Sappho, her poetry and the historical and literary background.It is designed to provide background detail to help to explain the context of a choral work entitled 'Lesbos' by the Danish composer H. W. Gade, but contains much of interest to the student of classical poetry. A wide range of topics is covered, including: the history of Lesbos; Greek religion and individual gods; Sappho's biography; the transmission of the texts and reception of her poems, including modern translations and musical compositions based on her work in a range of languages; metre, dialect and rhythm; the history and pronunciation of ancient Greek; ancient Greek music; and a timeline of Greek history and culture. Information is also given here about Gade's choral work, which may be of interest to those studying the reception of classical texts.
