Introduction

Within a framework that shows how Sappho’s reception in antiquity has important implications for Sappho scholarship, our understanding of Roman poetry, and of classical reception studies in general, the introduction outlines the extant output of Sappho, including the newest Sappho text (2016), as well as the chapters of the present volume. The introduction departs from three Sappho scholars, Welcker (1784–1868), Wilamowitz-Moellendorff (1848–1931), and Robinson (1880–1958), and reflects on the scholarly implications of how their times were ideologically different from ours. By revisiting important evidence for Sappho’s ancient reception, such as the Parian Marble, coins, figurative representations of Sappho, and considering recent papyrus finds from the Roman era, the introduction zooms in on Roman literature, which is the main focus of the present volume. Then there follows a brief presentation of Sappho’s extant output and an ample thematic presentation of the chapters in the volume. Finally, the introduction discusses Shane Butler’s new concept of Deep Classics in the context of Sappho’s Roman reception, and points towards another metaphor, this time from art, as a means to pursue future reception studies, using the restored Sappho fragment that was retrieved in 2004, known as ‘Posthumous honour for Sappho’, to illustrate the point.