SAPPHO OF LESBOS AND HER ASSOCIATES: RITUAL, MUSIC, AND PERFORMANCE

Abstract

We find references to the theme of Sappho of Lesbos and her companions in material culture between the period of Peisistratidae tyranny and the Democracy of Klistenes. Such scenes describe the ritual activities of Sappho's hetaireia in an Athenian context. So we ask ourselves: Why were such images euphoricized by artisan-painters? Why the need for young Athenians to acquire a Sappho-style female education? In Lesbos, young women attended the hetaireia, that is, a socio-political group aimed at educating them for marriage and society. As part of education, various ritual activities involving singing, dancing and music were practiced. We observed that the elites of Lesbos and Athens sought to develop habrosyne (happy and opulent life) and lydopateia (sympathetic to Lydia or oriental customs) as idealized aristocratic social principles. The poet from Lesbos would represent an "ideal model" of conduct and her activities at festivals, in the company of young brides, would produce feminine knowledge demonstrated through dance, poetry and music, important for the establishment of alliances through marriage.