The Poems of Sappho

The Poems of Sappho, translated by John Myers O’Hara, preserves the legacy of a poet whose voice has endured for more than 2,500 years. Revered in her time as the “Tenth Muse,” Sappho lived on the island of Lesbos in the 6th century BCE, where she composed verses that continue to shape our understanding of love and lyric poetry. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Sappho wrote intimately and personally, capturing the emotions of longing, beauty, and attachment with remarkable clarity. Central to her work are poems of love between women—themes that give us not only rare insight into personal relationships in antiquity but also a lasting testament to the universality of sapphic desire. Although much of her poetry has been lost, what survives—complete songs and fragile fragments alike—retains extraordinary power. From brief lines that hint at private passions to fuller pieces that sing of devotion, her work bridges two and a half millennia to speak directly to readers today. O’Hara’s translation, first published in the early 20th century, recasts Sappho’s verses in flowing English, capturing both their elegance and their intimacy. This edition invites modern audiences to encounter a figure at once mythical and profoundly human: a woman whose words of passion, tenderness, and memory have survived the fall of empires and the passage of centuries. The Poems of Sappho stands as both a cornerstone of classical literature and a lasting symbol of women’s voices and women’s love in history.