The Hello and welcome back to the history of ancient Greece.

Episode 19, poets and wise rulers.

As we saw last episode, Turpander and Arian

were originally from Lesbos. They traveled to the mainland, to Sparta and Corinth, respectively,

where they helped in spreading musical innovations to those Dorian states.

Lesbos was not only the cradle of musical innovation, but also a hotbed.

For literary creation. And so to Lesbos, we must turn next.

During the archaic period,

Mydeling was the dominant polis of Lesbos,

and the strongest of all polais in the Northern Aegean,

having a strong navy and lucrative colonies that secure its trade routes into the Hellespont.

In similar fashion to the backy-eyed-eye of Corinth, a group of noble families ruled Mydaleen for about a century. They called themselves the

Pentili-I-Driving their name and claimed a rule from Pentilis, the grandson of Agamemnon, and son ofrestes and the mythical founder of Mydolene.

But in the late 7th century BC, the Pentili-I-Dai were ousted and rival factions contended with each other for

supreme power resulting in three tyrants from three different families coming

and going in succession. In this political backdrop, the city produced two prominent poets,

Sappho and Alkias. Both were from leading noble families. Their friendship

was said to have been very close. It is quite possible that they were even lovers.

Satho lived sometime between 630 and 570 BC and is the most celebrated poet of the Lyric age.

She is also the only known woman poet from the archaic period and may even be the first

female poet in the entire world. In fact she was one of only a few in all of ancient Greek literature, as women were not encouraged to write. Unfortunately, very little of Sappho's poetry has survived.

Nine papyrus roles of her poetry were collected in Hellenistic Alexandria,

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