6th Century BCE – SAPPHO, Greek lyric poet, born; Of course, this is another one of those dates that is arbitrary. Called “the Tenth Muse” by no less than Plato, Sappho was the greatest of all the early Greek lyric poets.
Facts about her life are understandably scant, but not scant enough to let stand the nonsense about her having thrown herself into the sea from the Leucadian promontory in consequence of her advances having been rejected by the beautiful youth, Phaon.
The aristocratic Sappho was completely self-contained in her love for other women. Phaon may have been beautiful, but he was a commoner and a male. For these reasons, Sappho wouldn’t have touched him even if he had a ten-foot pole. That someone in ancient times decided that what Sappho really needed was a good man, and tacked this phony ending on her story, is only too typical of the male reaction to the fact of Lesbians over the centuries.