Sappho had at least two brothers, Larichus and Charaxus, and may have had a third. A fragment from Sappho that is dedicated to Charaxus has survived. One of her poems mentions a daughter named Cleis or Claïs. According to legend, Sappho was married to Cercylas, a wealthy man from the island of Andros.
What was Sappho’s family like?
Why is Sappho important?
Sappho was a Greek lyric poet who flourished in the 6th century BCE on Lesbos and has been greatly admired since antiquity for the beauty of her writing style. Her phrasing is concise, direct, and picturesque, and her themes are personal—primarily concerned with the female religious and educational community that met under her leadership.