Sappho and the gods on Core Curriculum

Sappho and Alcaeus, by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912)

The Core Curriculum returns! After a first series on the Iliad, in several episodes of which I took part, and a second on Plato’s Republic, which, to my regret, I sat out, the show’s third series will take a close look at the fragmentary body of work of Sappho.

Sappho was a native of the island of Lesbos and lived the late 7th and early 6th centuries BC. Though widely respected in the ancient world for the quality of her lyrics, most of her poetry has come down to us in fragments or quotations in other writers. Only one of her poems survives in full. She is also the only known named female poet of the Greco-Roman world.

In this first episode, host Nathan Gilmour, fellow guest Michial Farmer, and I look at a selection of Sappho’s poems about the gods. We read through the poems individually, including that single, priceless complete lyric—and discuss their often highly allusive contents, the god or gods invoked by each, and what these poems can tell us about how the Greeks—and, more specifically, Sappho—conceived of the relationship between gods and mortals.

I really enjoyed this discussion and have to say I emerged from this episode—and the series as a whole—with a deepened appreciation for Sappho’s verse.

You can listen to Core Curriculum on iTunes, Stitcher, and other fine podcasting services, or via the embedded player in this post. You can find this episode’s excellent shownotes, including a full listing of this episode’s poems, the translations we used for reading, comparison, and discussion, and links to some of things we incidentally talk about, at the Christian Humanist Radio Network homepage here.

Thanks for listening! I hope y’all enjoy.