A Brief Reflection: Solon on Sappho

It is said that, upon hearing one of Sappho's works over wine, that Solon asked to be taught the poem, claiming, "I want to learn it, and then die." Part of me imagines that this is where the modern phrase, "I can die happy" originates from, based on the context of Solon's philosophy. Solon famously claimed that one could not count a man's life happy until he died. Considering that he was so deeply enthralled with one of Sappho's poems that he wanted to "die" (literally? I don't know, though taking it literally certainly makes for a stronger claim on Solon's part) after learning it, this gives the reader a unique insight into the depth and quality of feeling evoked by Sappho's work (in this case, a feeling of deep happiness).

If Solon is to be considered a contemporary of Sappho, then we as readers can reasonably trust that he understood and appreciated her work, and that he received it in the way it was intended to be received (a luxury we cannot so readily afford to ourselves). As such, his reaction reflects how other Greeks of her time would have reacted to her work; if they all felt so strongly as Solon, perhaps the strong emotional reaction her work received from audiences shows why she was one of the few renowned female poets of her time. Having read only one of her poems, I could feel the yearning evident within the language of the piece, the emotional intensity of Sappho's desire for her prayer to be answered and for the love she has for another person to be reciprocated.