WRITER

Sappho

630 BC - 570 BC

Photo of Sappho

Icon of person Sappho

Sappho (; Greek: Σαπφώ Sapphṓ [sap.pʰɔ̌ː]; Aeolic Greek Ψάπφω Psápphō; c. 630 – c. 570 BC) was an Archaic Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her lyric poetry, written to be sung while accompanied by music. In ancient times, Sappho was widely regarded as one of the greatest lyric poets and was given names such as the "Tenth Muse" and "The Poetess". Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Sappho has received more than 5,039,831 page views. Her biography is available in 108 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 106 in 2019). Sappho is the 52nd most popular writer (down from 48th in 2019), the 20th most popular biography from Greece (up from 21st in 2019) and the 6th most popular Greek Writer.

Sappho was an ancient Greek poet, renowned for her lyric poetry that expressed deep emotions, particularly love and desire, often directed toward women. Her work, though mostly surviving in fragments, has made her an enduring symbol of female creativity and LGBTQ+ identity throughout history.

Memorability Metrics

  • 5.0M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 83.29

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 108

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 11.36

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.49

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Sappho ranks 52 out of 7,302. Before her are Aristophanes, Jane Austen, Aeschylus, Simone de Beauvoir, Octave Mirbeau, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. After her are Thomas Mann, Mark Twain, Gabriel García Márquez, George Orwell, Astrid Lindgren, and Oscar Wilde.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 630 BC, Sappho ranks 2. Before her is Nebuchadnezzar II. After her are Jehoahaz of Judah, Stesichorus, and Amytis of Media. Among people deceased in 570 BC, Sappho ranks 1. After her is Pittacus of Mytilene.

Others Born in 630 BC

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Others Deceased in 570 BC

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In Greece

Among people born in Greece, Sappho ranks 20 out of 1,024. Before her are Kösem Sultan (1590), Saint Stephen (1), Euripides (-480), Aristophanes (-448), Plutarch (46), and Aeschylus (-525). After her are Philip II of Macedon (-382), Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1921), Protagoras (-486), Thucydides (-460), Bayezid II (1447), and Spartacus (-109).

Others born in Greece

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Among WRITERS In Greece

Among writers born in Greece, Sappho ranks 6. Before her are Homer (-800), Sophocles (-497), Euripides (-480), Aristophanes (-448), and Aeschylus (-525). After her are Menander (-342), Pindar (-517), Nikos Kazantzakis (1883), Alcaeus of Mytilene (-620), Archilochus (-680), and Nâzım Hikmet (1902).

Greek born Writers

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