Tyrants and Poets

Before Socrates, before Plato, you had archaic Greece, a time of tyrants such as Draco, Periander, and Pittacus. But it was also a time of Philosophers and Poets. At 600 BC, Sappho, the renowned Poetess of Lesvos, was at her peak. Greece was in transition from an oral tradition to the written word. Poets had the power to make or break reputations and challenge politicians. They also entertained at weddings, temples, and brothels; and supplied elegies at funerals. Cleis, a young Athenian girl, reluctantly participated in the rites of passage and was forced into an arranged marriage. But Cleis is made of different stuff! She escapes on a boat that happens to be owned by Charoxos, the brother of Sappho. The Poetess maintains a sanctuary in honor of Aphrodite and her acolytes, her "sparrows", have a safe space to learn about themselves and all the aspects of Love. Sappho also teaches men how to make love "more like a woman". Lesvos is close to Anatolia (modern Turkey) with ties to King Croesus of Lydia; and Amazons from the Black Sea region. Politics, myths, gods and goddesses, romance and grief, intertwine in this tale which is based upon careful historical research.