Sappho Supplement

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Sappho Supplement
Gustave Moreau Sappho 1871-72
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Background

• Lesbos
• Aeolic dialect
• politics
• Lydia
• Lydian kings
• Croesus

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Lesbos

• Aeolia, Aeolic dialect
• Eresos, Mytilene
• Penthilidai, Pittakos
• 7th-6th centuries bce
• 610 - 580 bce (Sappho)

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Greek Dialects

• ancient Greek tribes
• Aeolians (Aeolic)
• Ionians (Ionic)
• Dorians (Doric)
• migrations by 8th century bce

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Aeolians

• Thessaly
• Boeotia
• to northeastern Anatolia and islands
• including Lesbos

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Thessaly
Lesbos
Boeotia
Aeolic
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Ionians

• Attica
• Euboea
• to eastern Anatolia and islands
• including Chios

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Euboea
Ionic
Chios
Attica
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Dorians

• Sparta
• Northwest Greece
• Corcyra
• to southeast Anatolia and islands

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Corcyra
NW
Doric
Sparta
southeast Anatolia
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Lesbos

• Eresos
• attested as Sapphos birthplace
• Mytilene
• attested as Sapphos birthplace
• principal city of Lesbos

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Aeolis Aeolia Aeolic
Mytilene
Eresos
Ionia Ionic
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Eresos
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Mytilene
Acropolis
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Mytilene Politics

• Penthilidae
• tyrants
• Melanchros
• Myrsilos
• Pittakos
• Alcaeus

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Penthilidai

• sons of Penthilus
• son of Orestes by concubine Erigone
• daughter of Aegisthos
• hereditary rulers of Mytilene

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tyrants

• succession of tyrants on Lesbos
• Melanchros
• Myrsilos
• Pittakos

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Aristotle
For example when the Penthilidai at Mytilene
went about striking people with their staves
Megacles with his friends set on them and made
away with them, and afterwards Smerdis when he
had been beaten and dragged out from his wife's
presence killed Penthilus.
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Melanchros

• overthrown 612-609 bce
• by coalition of nobles
• led by Pittakos
• supported by brothers of Alcaeus

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Myrsilos

• ruled 605-590 bce
• Alcaeus and brothers joined with Pittakos against
  him
• Pittakos deserted to Myrsilos

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Sappho

• exile to Sicily
• during rule of Myrsilos
• ca. 610-580 bce

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Alcaeus fr. 332
Now is the time for every man to drink and get
drunk with all his might- Myrsilos is dead!
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Pittakos

• ruled 590-580 bce
• as aisymnêtês ( equalizer)
• chosen by people
• brought peace prosperity

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Pittakos

• one of seven sages
• stories about him and maxims
• reported by various authors

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Pittakos
When the inhabitants of Mitylene offered to
Pittacus the half of the land for which he had
fought in single combat, he would not accept it,
but arranged to assign to every man by lot an
equal part, uttering the maxim, The equal share
is more than the greater. For in measuring the
greater in terms of fair dealing, not of profit,
he judged wisely since he reasoned that equality
would be followed by fame and security, but
greediness by opprobrium and fear, which would
speedily have taken away from him the peoples
gift.
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Pittakos
The poet Alcaeus, who had been a most confirmed
enemy of Pittacus and had reviled him most
bitterly in his poems, once fell into his hands,
but Pittacus let him go free, uttering the maxim
Forgiveness is preferable to punishment.
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Pittakos

• doubled penalties for crimes committed while
  drunk
• Painted wood laws inscribed on tablets is
  the best protector of the city.

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Alcaeus fr. 5
Taking its share in the symposium the lyre makes
merry, banqueting with scoundrels . . . Let that
man Pittakos, now married into the Atreid
clan, devour the city as before with
Myrsilos, until Ares wants to turn us toward
arms, and let us forget this anger. Let us take
rest from heart-gnawing misery and the battle of
civil strife, which one of the Olympian
gods stirred in us, bringing the people to
ruin, and giving to Pittakos lovely glory.
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Pittakos
Alcaeus on Pittakos fr. 129 Pot-belly fr.
348 that base-born Pittakos...
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Lydia

• Lydian kings
• expansion of empire
• intersection with Lesbos
• Croesus
• coinage
• Solon
• Pittakos

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Gyges 685-657 bce
Lesbos
Sardis
Lydia
Chios
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Lesbos
Alyattes 610-560 bce
Sardis
Lydia
Chios
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Croesus 560-547 bce
Lesbos
Sardis
Lydia
Chios
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rich as Croesus

• weight
• purity
• value
• square marks
• royal seal
• head of lion
• head of bull

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Nikolaus KnüpferSolon before Croesus1650-52
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Gerard van HonthorstSolon before Croesus1624
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Frans Francken IICroesus shows his treasures to
Solon1674
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Claude VignonCroesus Receiving Tribute from a
Lydian Peasant1629
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Croesus Pittakos
When Croesus offered Pittakos as much money from
his treasury as he might desire to take, Pittakos
refused, saying that he already had twice as much
as he wished. And when Croesus expressed his
surprise at the man's freedom from avarice and
inquired of him the meaning of his reply,
Pittacus said, My brother died childless and I
inherited his estate, which was the equal of my
own, and I have experienced no pleasure in having
received the extra amount.
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Croesus consults Delphi
The Lydians were instructed by Croesus to inquire
of the oracles whether he was to send an army
against the Persians. When the Lydians came to
the places where they were sent, they inquired of
the oracles, in these words Croesus, king of
Lydia and other nations...endows you with such
gifts as your wisdom deserves. And now he asks
you whether he is to send an army against the
Persians. Such was their inquiry and the
judgment given to Croesus by each of the two
oracles was the same namely, that if he should
send an army against the Persians he would
destroy a great empire.
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Cyrus the Great

• founder of the Persian Empire
• ruled 550-530 bce
• conquered Lydia in 547 bce

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(No Transcript)
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Croesus on the pyreAttic red figurecalyx
krater490 bce
phiale
Euthymos
patterned clothing decorated throne