SAPPHO

(jf. e. 620 B. C.), Gk. lyric poete , A native of Lesbos, she established at Mytilene a lyric school for maidens, among whom was H a Of Telos. Round her character many legends have been woven, and it is impo ible to give any proved historical details, except that she was intimate with Aleaeus, 8. was absolute mistre of her art, and the greatest lyricist of ancient Greece. The bulk of her works has perished, but the extant fragments (especially the incomparable Ode to Aphrodite) show a marvelous combination of sound and sense, a perfect knowledge of technique, and an extraordinary power of pa ionate description. town, capital of Yezo, Japan; flour and