Looking south at sunset from
Taormina over the beach at
Naxos,
Sicily,
where Greek colonists in simple ships first landed at least a year
before the landing 90 kilometers (60 standard miles) due south of this view at
Syracuse (735 BC). The most eastern slope of the active volcano Mt
Etna is visible below clouds at picture right. There is very deep snow
higher on Etna that cannot be seen in this photo.
Sappho and SicilyVery roughly 160 years later than the founding of
Syracuse,
Sicily, a marble inscription records that
Sappho traveled to
Syracuse,
Sicily from her home island of Lesvos. This would have been owing to her
exile by a strongman ('tyrant') named
Pittacos who seized power on Lesvos, and that was likely because
Pittacos felt still threatened by powerful friends of
Sappho or possibly even by distant members of her extended family. As might arise in any small to moderate-sized community, there is evidence in the limited remains of her songs that friction existed among important people and families on the island apart from any involving
Pittacos and his foes. Much information has been lost, but it is just possible that
Sappho was barely involved in the conflict with
Pittacos. We do not know.
However, there was another greatly talented poet from Lesvos who
was an outspoken and violent opponent of
Pittacos. He was named
Alcaeus and, since the population was not great, he was very likely at least an artistic acquaintance of Sappho.
Alcaeus had once been an ally of
Pittacos in a short war with early Athens and in previous stuggles against two other tyrants (Melanchros, then Myrsilos), but after
Pittacos gained power,
Alcaeus also went into
exile for a period, though to the best of our knowledge it was not as far as
Sicily. In time after he had solidified his position,
Pittacos may have had a change of heart about the
banishing of Sappho. In any case,
Pittacos went on to gain a widespread reputation as a careful ruler.
Sappho may have been allowed to return to her island. On the other hand, the much later Roman orator
Cicero records that
Syracuse had erected a notable statue of in honor of its one-time resident,
Sappho, and that this statue was so beautiful that a corrupt Roman governor of Sicily named Verres (a contemporary of
Cicero) had it clumsily stolen. So perhaps
Sappho lived out her old age in
Syracuse, Sicily. There is insufficient evidence to tell. Yet, though the historical details that have survived are very limited, it is evident that
Sappho lived at
Syracuse in
Sicily during part of her deportation. I suggest that she might have been accompanied by some members of her household, or possibly a family member or two, though this is unknown. As mentioned above,
Syracuse,
Sicily, is some 60 miles due south of this view.
By airplane,
Syracuse is about 700 miles (over 1100 kilometers) on a direct flight line west-southwest from Lesvos. However,
Sappho did not travel on a rapid war trireme (which was developed over a century later and whose oarsman could perhaps manage for a quarter of an hour at a time to labor up to sixteen mph (25 kph) for getaways and ramming). Most early ships depended on mild winds and sailed at what we might think of as a good walking speed. Further, navigation 2600 years ago required ships to stay fairly close to shore and not lose sight of land if at all possible. It was best to sail from one haven to another during the day or clear starry nights. In practice this meant not attempting longish runs in the open sea except under the best conditions and at the same time avoiding known coastal rocks and shallows. So, to travel each way between Lesvos and
Syracuse meant covering
at least twice the length of an imaginary airplane journey: a distance of certainly no less than 1,400 miles or 2,250 kilometers. This would have been a serious trip with many stops, a hazardous one for
Sappho if she was traveling alone, and possible only at certain seasons of the year. Land travel, if doable, between these locations would have been much riskier.