I have not had one word from her
Frankly I wish I were dead
When she left, she wept
a great deal; she said to me, "This parting must be
endured, Sappho. I go unwillingly."
I said, "Go, and be happy
but remember (you know
well) whom you leave shackled by love
"If you forget me, think
of our gifts to Aphrodite
and all the loveliness that we shared
"all the violet tiaras,
braided rosebuds, dill and
crocus twined around your young neck
"myrrh poured on your head
and on soft mats girls with
all that they most wished for beside them
"while no voices chanted
choruses without ours,
no woodlot bloomed in spring without song..."
In the 6th century B.C. women exclusively inhabited the isle of Lesbos in Greece. This sacred colony was rule by a group of women dedicated to the worship of the female principle. According to the Women's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets by Barbara G. Walker, Lesbos was devoted to the goddesses Aphrodite and Artemis, and the practice of caris, "grace", meaning music, art, dancing, poetry, philosophy, and romantic "lesbian" love. It was a highly respected cultural center of its day.
Their most famous colonist was the poet Sappho. Sappho's work was burned by early European Christians when the idyllic world the women had created and lived in so beautifully was destroyed. The early European Christians were incredibly threatened by the lifestyle on Lesbos and regarded the women as "a crime without a name". They carried out heinous acts like burning the women alive without a trial just to support their ideology and fears.
Openly showing interest in the "charis" is also threatening to those who live by the patriarchal religious dogma. Participating in those activities is considered by them frivolous and a waste of time. Anyone who gravitates toward these disciplines is subconsciously chastised for pursuing activities of the heart. This has made it challenging in our society today to stay true to ourselves.
Perhaps with the loss of Lesbos we have lost track of the two Goddess archetypes Aphrodite and Artemis. Maybe through revisiting their energies we can gain some insight into what is missing and what we might be able to do if we brought those archetypes back into our conscious awareness.
Aphrodite was much more than the "Greek goddess of love". Like Kali she was a Virgin-Mother-Crone trinity. She governed the world by the natural law of the maternal clan. (Bachofen, 57, 192. Encyc. Brit., "Byblos"3. Graves, G.M., 1,69.)
Artemis, Amazonian moon-goddess was worshiped at Ephesus under the Latin name of Diana or "Goddess-Anna". She was called the Mother of creatures. She also possess a huntress aspect, killing what she protected. (Neumann, B.M., 276.)
Because she was always a patroness of nature, fertility, and birth, the male gods turned against these attributes in opposing the cult of the Goddess.
Symbolically integrating the qualities of Aphrodite and Artemis brings us to modern-day lesbianism. Ruling one's life by the natural law of women's maternal clan and being the protector as well as the huntress in all its forms are a lesbian's identity and challenge today as it has been for centuries. Just as losing Lesbos has influenced our psyches, we are isolated and feel cut off from both our own world as well as the heterosexual world we live in.
The qualities inherit in women that are exemplified by the Goddesses Aphrodite and Artemis are still a threat to the Patriarchal society at large. Their response is to minimize, chastise and squelch anything and anybody who reminds them in any way of those powerful energies.
Educating ourselves about these qualities is the first step to bringing back what has been lost. It is important for us to consciously not allow ourselves to devalue them or let others devalue them. In spite of how enormous a task it feels, we have the strength and conviction as women to persevere.
What would it be like to live in a world of accepting, loving, strong women? Perhaps by practicing and living with a keener awareness of those who lived on Lesbos, we will swing back into a more balanced position where we can hold our own and not give in or give up.
