Sappho (600 B.C.)

    Sappho is commonly referred to as "The Greek Muse of Poetry". Most people don't realize that she was an actual person that lived in Ancient Greece around 600 B.C. Arosticles (more commonly known by his nickname, Plato) was the one that likened Sappho to the muses, calling her the "tenth muse" because he found her writings to be so moving and lyrical. Sappho's poetry helped bring a voice to the, otherwise oppressed, women of Greece. Her workings are the very basis of what we now call "Post-Modern Feminism." She was also the first lesbian recorded in history.


    Sappho was born between 630 and 612 B.C. (no real record of her birth-date exists anywhere) on the island of Lesbos. Her name and birthplace are the base words for Sapphic and Lesbian. Both terms have come to be used to describe female homosexuality. Sappho lived on Lesbos until she and a loyal band of female followers went into exile to the mainland of Greece and started the foundations of the Hellenic Republic.

He probably didn't know Democracy was founded by a lesbian. Oh... you didn't either?

 

    Yup, the Hellenic Republic would eventually be the birthplace of western philosophy and democracy! Thanks Sappho!

 

No sweat...

 

    During her time only men had the right to have their writings published, but due to overwhelming demand, Sappho gained the right to become the first published female poet in history as well as one of the first women to reach fame status of her own accord. In her writings, Sappho commonly equated herself with Aphrodite--the Greek Goddess of love, beauty and desire--talking to her as if to a best friend or lover. This was quite controversial.

    Also quite controversial was how she brought strength to her words by recounting, in quite frank and honest detail: her feelings about being a woman and the stigma that came with it, her love of feminine energy, the firey strength that resides in all women, and how woman is the equal and opposing force to man.

The modern day Sappho.

    Oscar Wilde--another well known gay writer--wrote about Sappho in the Victorian woman's magazine, "The Woman's World" in an article called "The Pictures of Sappho" where he noted her undying love of women and their strength. He even quoted a translated love poem of her's to a specific woman who's name is never revealed.

 Come to my window...

    Basically, women's rights and suffrage might never have happened had it not been for the influential writings of one woman from the Lesbian island. Sappho is this week's "Sapphic of the Week" and in my opinion, the best candidate for the first "Homo of the Week" lesbian article.

    Kudos, girl. You work it... Ancient Greek style. 


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Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519)

   Leonardo Da Vinci was most renowned for his fabulous paintings in the Italian Renaissance, the most famous of which are The Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, and Madonna of the Rocks. You may also recognize a very famous drawing of his, The Vitruvian Man. Leonardo dedicated his life to the art of... ART.

  Yes, Leo was a very creative man, but he was also a man of science and an inventor! Many of the conveniences we have today are around because Leo at least came up with the idea for them. True many of them have military purposes, he WAS employed by the Catholic Church after all, but without them we might well still be using bow-and-arrows or throwing rocks with trebuchets.

    Here is a link to Cracked.com showcasing all the devices he invented that have military applications. 

    Amongst the other things Leo has invented there are the Odometer, the idea of photography, the basis for medical anatomy, and he basically drew the blueprints for what would eventually become the Player Piano that you'd see in a saloon in the Olde West.

    With all this said you by now, no doubt, think of Da Vinci as a true Renaissance Rambo! He just goes in, guns blazing and paints the carnage afterward. But what most don't tell you is that back in 1476 Leo, along with 3 other young men, were tried and charged with sodomy. Leo was later acquitted by the church in order to be employed as the one of Vatican's painters and its chief "weapons of death" designer. Funny how the church can look the other way when you prove to be inherently useful.

Hmmmmmmmmm...

    Though Da Vinci was never again actually caught engaging in acts of homo-sex, there were certainly allegations and rumors about the nature of his sexual appetite and wonderings throughout Rome and Florence.

    I solute you, Leonardo Da Vinci, for living in a time when being gay was punishable by exile or even DEATH! You left your legacy in our hearts and minds. Your contributions and bravery have earned you the first of many blog entries to come on "Homo of the Week".