Sappho in cyberspace: Power struggles and reorienting feminisms

Abstract

In this chapter, Hodge explores the twenty-first century legacy of the ancient Greek poet, Sappho, transitioning from fragmentary papyri to dynamic, multi-faceted online platforms such as YouTube, Tumblr and WordPress sites. Sappho’s status as a feminist icon has continued to evolve, as this chapter illustrates via close readings of several creative and communal adaptations. Though much about this ancient poet’s life and beliefs is unknown, Hodge identifies some consistent approaches to Sappho, linked by power-oriented images as well as proto-feminist thinking. Hodge explores not only the ways in which Sappho continues to serve as a “rallying point” for feminist voices and inspiration for creative adaptors but also how Sappho’s poetics and themes have been preserved in cyberspaces.