An absent brother and an underage one (fr. 10 V.-N.): an Odyssey in Sappho’s family

Abstract

This paper deals with the so-called “Brothers poem”, fr. 10 Voigt = Neri, which is up to now the most recent papyrological discovery attributed to Sappho. In its first part, the paper investigates the identities, the actions, and the mutual relationships of the characters featuring in this new poem. In its second one, it will be discussed how the Sapphic lines deal with themes such as power relations, oppression, social hierarchy, and behavioral expectations in relation to genre.

Keywords

• ancient greek lyric
• sappho
• brothers’ poem
• poetic tradition
• gender equality
• ancient greek language
• greek literature
• classics
• poetry
• language
• linguistics