03/10/2025

Eros ontwortelt mijn hart (Poems and Fragments)- Sappho van Lesbos

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Sappho was a poet from ancient Greece who lived around 600 B.C. on the island of Lesbos. Her poetry was originally accompanied by music played on the lyre. Not only is the word lesbian derived from Sappho, but violets have also become a symbol of love between women thanks to her poems about this flower. Because of the “yonic” quality of flowers, I chose a close-up rendering of one for the cover ;-)
The dried violets from my own garden, couldn’t be left out of course!

✷ Genre: poetry
✷ Themes: Greek mythology, yearning, love
✷ Recommended? Yes, even though much of Sappho’s work has been lost (read: destroyed by Christians), the “crumbs” preserved in this collection still offer plenty to savor.