Oft genannt, doch kaum bekannt: von Sapphos schattenhafter Anwesenheit in der römischen Kaiserzeit und im lateinischen Mittelalter

The essay presents a thematic review of the evocations of Sappho from the Roman Empire to the Renaissance, accounting for dependencies and variations. A preliminary survey of the historiographic testimonies continues with a discussion (also addressing contradictions) of the stock elements of the poet’s biography: Sappho as equivalent to men; as the love-drunken poetess; her affairs with young women and the boatman Phaon; her ill repute; the supposed existence of two homonymous figures. Next come Sappho’s appearances in praiseworthy contexts (catalogues of eminent poets, famous women) and her invocation as a positive touchstone for other laudable women often compared to her. Sappho is considered then as the originator of Sapphic meter. The conclusion addresses related misunderstandings, such as the supposed existence of a certain Adonius, the alleged creator of Adonic metrical forms