Women were lesbians.
Sappho and Erinna
Dedicated to the goddess of female homosexuality.... Ki Pu612
Sappho and Erinna in a Mytilene garden on the island of Lesbos
Illustrated by Simeon Salomon
1864
Simon Solomon 1840-1905
The first picture shows Sappho embracing her fellow poet Erinna in a garden in Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho was born in Lesbos in 612 BC. After exile in Sicily, she returned to the island and became the center of a community of young women dedicated to Aphrodite and the Muses. Although Solomon believed that Erinna was part of this community, she did not live in Lesbos, but was born on the Dorian island of Telos, a little later than Sappho, at the end of the 4th century BC. Sappho wrote nine books of poetry, of which only a few fragments survive. The main theme of her work is the joy and frustration of love. The most surviving poems are works written to ask the goddess Aphrodite to help her in her relationship with a woman.
In Decimeon Salomon's 1864 painting of the Sappho incident, she is crowned with laurel and has dark, somewhat androgynous features. She represents a 'masculine' foil to Erinna's glamorous femininity, accentuated by soft flesh tones, partially exposed breasts and shoulders. Their love for each other is emphasized by the pair of doves perched above them. Sappho is recognizable through her traditional qualities: poetic lines and musical instruments set side by side. It is clear that Plato had deer sacred to Apollo.
Solomon was a close associate of the Pre-Raphaites and his works closely resemble those of Rossetti (1828-82) and Burne-Jones (1833-98). The influence of Rossetti and more particularly the poet Swinburne (1837-1909) – inspired by Sappho's poetry – led him to explore the taboo subject of homosexuality. However, he could not hide his own sexual preferences and was arrested on February 11, 1873 for homosexual offenses. He was then fired by artists who encouraged his daring subject matter.
The work was painted by Solomon and purchased by James Leithart, all dating from the early 1860s. He probably bought from the artist or through Rossetti's agency.
...........
Simeon in a garden at Mytilene in 864 shows Sappho and Erinna embracing by Simeon Solomon Ancient Greek writers
Simeon Solomon's Pre-Raphaite Revelation Sappho and Erinna in a Mytilene Garden 1864 takes on a different myth. Ancient Greek writers embraced in a garden in Solomon's watercolors. On the island of Lesbos, surrounded by symbols of their poetic prowess: pen, ink, paper, and a lyre leaning to the right. But until we see, what catches our eye is the lovebird plumage behind the two women: the harassing call of an ugly blackbird near them interrupts the dream and reminds us how intolerable same-sex affection is.
#blurt #blurtstory #geekpranee #world #loved #srilanka #island #lesbos