Sappho

Sappho (c. 630–570 BC) was an ancient Greek lyric poet from the island of Lesbos. Active in the late 7th and early 6th centuries BC, she composed passionate poetry that earned her great fame in antiquity—Plato called her “the Tenth Muse.” She had a daughter named Cleïs and, according to legend, ended her life by leaping from a cliff on the island of Leucas because of her unrequited love for a ferryman named Phaon. Only fragments of her nine books of poetry survive today, but she remains one of the most celebrated poets of the ancient world.