1. The "Circle" of Sappho as an Institution

With the model of the Hellenistic cult groups in mind, many modern scholars have decided that Sappho possessed a thiasos on Lesbos in the traditional sense of the term. Indications of this are very tenuous and the word is never used in connection with Sappho, so it seems more prudent to speak with Merkelbach of the Kreis or Lesbian "circle" of Sappho or, in an even more neutral mode, of her group.^[1] Nevertheless, it is possible to see through these indications together with some fragments of the poet herself what an association of women at the end of the seventh century could be; the evidence also points to other groups of the same type, of interest as points of comparison with the Spartan educational system for women. The most significant fragment speaks of a moisopolon oikia , a house of women dedicated to the Muses. The term mousopolos could have the institutional meaning here that it certainly has in a Boiotian inscription dating perhaps from the second century B.C.E ., in which the actors in a theatrical troupe are described.^[2]

[1] See Merkelbach, "Sappho und ihr Kreis" 4 with n. 1, who summarizes the theses of his predecessors, as also West, "Burning Sappho" 324 ff.; Lasserre, Sappho 114 ff.; and De Martino, "Appunti" 271. I would like to thank A. Lardinois and B. Zweig for their useful remarks.

[2] Sappho fr. 150 Voight (V.); IG 7.2484. See Poland, Geschichte des griechischen Vereinswesens 206 f., and Lanata, "Sul linguaggio amoroso" 67; in Sappho's fragment, oikiai , metrically awkward, is a gloss that has slipped into the line in the place of a probable domoi . For other indications that could refer to the existence of the thiasos of Sappho, see Treu, "Neues über Sappho" 10 ff., and "Sappho," PW, suppl. 11:1228, 1325 f.

Sappho's "house" or group, like most of the female choruses of the archaic period, was composed of young gifts and, beside the epithalamia themselves, were probably composed for wedding ceremonies; her poems mostly speak of parthenoi, korai , or paides .^[3] Indirect testimony defines the bonds linking the girls with the poet with the terms hetairai (philai ) and mathetriai .^[4] The first term contains the semantic feature "companionship" and is used not only by the indirect tradition but also by Sappho herself when she speaks of her own companions.^[5] Athenaeus cites the fragment in which the term appears and explains that the meaning as used by Sappho is different from the more common one of "hetaira"; in Sappho's meaning, it is employed when women or girls talk of their most intimate friends (sunetheis kai philas ). Semantic ambiguities of this type have probably led to the tradition that makes of Sappho a porne gune , a woman of doubtful morals.^[6] The second term and its implications will be examined further, emphasizing the pedagogical element in these bonds of friendship and companionship.

There is a probable hint of the institutional base of these relationships in a verse of the famous "Ode to Aphrodite." The use in the same context of the term adikein , "to commit an injustice," and philotes , "friendship based on mutual confidence," indicates that the rupture by one of the members of Sappho's circle of the bonds of loving friendship was felt as a juridical violation of the rules. The wrong committed on the person of Sappho at the emotional level was made worse by the injustice committed with regard to the institutional foundation of their relationship. To betray Sappho was not only to betray the intimate and reciprocal relationship of philia the poetess was setting up with the girls of her group, but it meant also to break the bonds sanctioned by a contract.^[7]

[3] Parthenos: frs. 17.14, 27.10, 30.2, 153 V., etc.; kore : frs. 108, 140 V.; pais : frs. 49.2 (Atthis), 58.11 V., etc. See now the detailed study of Lardinois, "Subject and Circumstance" 65 ff. The term gune is used only in frs. 44, 15, 31 (description of the wedding of Hektor and Andromache), and 96.6 f. V. (poem addressed to a young Lydian girl who is no longer in Sappho's circle).

[4] Suda under Sappho (S 107 Adler) = test. 253 V. (see Ael. VH 12.19 = test. 256 V.).

[5] Sappho fr. 160.1 V. = Ath. 13.571c-d. See frs. 142, 126 V. with Lanata, "Sul linguaggio amoroso" 66 f. The use of the term hetaira has led some interpreters to compare Sappho's group with the political hetaireia Alcaeus was animating at the same time at Mytilene (Trümpf, "Über das Trinken" 141 ff.; Burnett, Three Archaic Poets 209), and this hypothesis has been now put forward by Parker, "Sappho Schoolmistress" 341 f.; but Sappho's dancing companions are not represented as revelers at the banquet!

[6] Sappho test. 261, 262 V.; on this tradition, see below, § 3.

[7] Sappho fr. 1.18 V. See Rivier, "Observations sur Sappho" 84 ff.; Carson [Giacomelli], "The Justice of Aphrodite" 226 ff.; and Burnett, Three Archaic Poets 254 ff. The bonds of friendship within the Sapphic circle were combined with homoerotic relationships: see below, § 3, and now Calame, I Greci 17 f., 72 f.

These indications, to which is added the choreographic and musical activity evidenced in most of Sappho's fragments, show structures in the Lesbos circle analogous to those characteristic of the female lyric chorus: young girls, bound to the one who leads them by ties expressed in the term hetaira , perform together dances and songs. This situation is described in the epigram of the Palatine Anthology in which young Lesbians, under the leadership of Sappho, form a chorus in honor of Hera.^[8] Philostratos also sees a choral image of this type when a picture of young girls (korai ) singing round the statue of Aphrodite recalls for him the figure of Sappho.^[9] These girls, Philostratos explains, are led (agei ) by a khoregos designated as didaskalos , still young, who beats the rhythm while the adolescents (paides ) sing the praises of the goddess; by marking the beat, the khoregos indicates to the young girls the right moment for beginning the song. It is unnecessary to point out the presence of the typically choral semantic features of "leading" and "beginning" in this scene described by Philostratos.

Sappho was not the only woman in Lesbos at the end of the seventh century to have a circle of young gifts about her. She had two rivals in the persons of Andromeda and Gorgo.^[10] A fragment of commentary on papyrus tells us that the same relations existed between Gorgo and her companions as between Sappho and her pupils.^[11] These relations are referred to by the term sunzux , which means, literally, the one who finds himself or herself under the same yoke. The use of this term by the tragedians to refer to the spouse in a matrimonial context has been cited as proof of marriagelike bonds between the members of the group and its leader.^[12] The plurality of these bonds within a circle and the frequent use of the term suzugos as a synonym for hetairos , the companion, suggest that this denomination is the expression of the relationship of "companionship" that, independent of any matrimonial meaning, unites the members with the khoregos in Gorgo's circle as in the

[8] AP 9.189. The word choros appears only once, it is true, in the fragments we have of Sappho: fr. 70.10 V. It is clear that the classical distinction between monodic poetry and choral poetry, which places Sappho's compositions under the category of monodies, does not correspond to reality: on this subject see Calame, L es chœurs 1:126 f. with n. 171, and, for Sappho specifically, Lardinois, "Subject and Gircumstance" 73 ff., and "Who Sang"; see also Greene, "Apostrophe and Women's Erotics."

[9] Philostr. Imag . 2.1.1 ff. = Sappho test. 217 V.

[10] Max. Tyr. 18.9 = Sappho test. 219 V.; see frs. 57, 131, 144 V. Page, Sappho and Alcaeus 133 ff., recognizes the existence of rivals and friends of Sappho, but denies their relations were other than personal, thus denying any official or professional reasons for these bonds; on another rival circle, see perhaps fr. 71 V.

[11] Sappho fr. 213 V.

[12] Gentili, Poesia e pubblico 106 f.; to the parallels cited by Gentili can be added the existence of a Hera Syzygia: see Stob. 2.7.3 . On this subject see Page, Sappho and Alcaeus 144 n. 1, and West, "Burning Sappho" 320.

lyric chorus.^[13] I shall address later the sexual form which these relationships could take.

A late testimonium by Philostratos, probably not very dependable, reports that a certain Damophyle of Pamphilia had composed for young girls (parthenous ) love poems (erotika ) and also hymns to Artemis Pergaia.^[14] Even if Damophyle is difficult to situate historically, it is interesting to note that, again according to Philostratos, this unknown poet passed as a pupil of Sappho, on whose musical activity she modeled herself; consequently the mention is an indirect witness of Sappho's activity, and it is significant that the author used the word "disciple" (homiletria ) for the girls who sang the compositions of the supposed Damophyle. The term is similar to mathetria used in the Suda to denote the companions and pupils of Sappho.^[15] My list would not be complete without Telesilla, the Argive poet of the beginning of the fifth century One of her poems is addressed to young girls (korai ) and tells the story of Artemis fleeing from Alpheios.^[16] The adolescent connotations of this myth could point to the fragment as an extract from a partheneion, but no source explicitly says that Telesilla was the leader of a group of gifts.

[13] The commentary attributed to Gorgo two suzuges , namely Gongyla and Pleistodike (probably the girl called by Sappho Arkheanassa; see Treu, Sappho, griechisch und deutsch 165); Gongyla is herself named in the Suda under Sappho(S 107 Adler) = Sappho test. 253 V. as one of the pupils of Sappho; see Sappho fr. 95.4 and possibly fr. 22.10 V. As for Arkheanassa, she reappears in a fragment of Sappho unfortunately very mutilated: fr. 103 Ca, 4 V. It is thus possible that, like Atthis, Pleistodike and Gongyla had left Sappho's confraternity for the rival circle of Gorgo. On the use of suzugos , see Eur. IT 250 (Orestes suzugos of Pylades), Tro . 1001 (Pollux suzugos of Castor); see also HF 673 ff. (suzugia of the Muses and the Graces,) Ar. Plut . 945.

[14] Philostr. VA 1.30 = Sappho test. 223 V. See Treu, Sappho, griechisch und deutsch 237; see also, for Corinna, fr. 655. Page (P.) 10 ff. 8.

[15] It seems to have been a late tradition that made the poet Erinna a companion (hetaira ) of Sappho. See Suda under Erinna (E 521 Adler) = Sappho test. 257 V. (see also Eust. Il . 326.46 ff.); Donado, "Cronologia de Erinna" 349 ff., and Rauk, "Erinna's Distaff " 101 ff. See also AP 9.190 = Sappho test. 56 Gall., with AP 9.26 = Sappho test. 52 Gall., which names nine poetesses, the earthly incarnation of the Muses. Among them are also Telesilla and another supposed companion of Sappho, Nossis (AP 7.718) = Sappho test. 51 Gall.; she was actually an Alexandrian poet: see Skinner, "Sapphic Nossis" 5 ff. A women's thiasos serving Artemis at Gyzicus is mentioned in the Suda under Dolon (D 1345 Adler) = Ael. fr. 46 Hercher. On the mention of a relationship of "companionship" in an epigram about Erinna, see AP 7.710.7 f. = Erinna fr. 5.7 f. D. (sunetairis ). The companion of Erinna to whom this funeral epigram is dedicated was a newly married young woman; she had probably left Erinna's circle to be married before death struck: see again AP 7.712 = Erinna fr. 4 D. and fr. 1B.47 ff. D.; see Snyder, The Woman and the Lyre 86 ff.

[16] Telesilla fr. 717 Page (P.); see also fr. 720 E In "Auf den Spuren" 1 ff., Herzog thinks that the poet headed a thiasos dedicated to Apollo, but see Snyder, The Woman and the Lyre 59 ff., and Cavallini, "Erinna."

So several women poets, particularly in eastern Greece, gathered around them groups of girls who were both their pupils and their companions; under their direction these adolescents were musically active, often in a cult context, thus making their association into something very similar, if not identical, to the lyric chorus.