Erinna
Encyclopedia
Erinna was a Greek
poet, a contemporary and friend of Sappho
, a native of Rhodes
or the adjacent island of Telos
or even possibly Tenos
, who flourished about 600 BC (according to Eusebius, she was well known in 352 BC). Her best-known poem was the Distaff (Greek
), written in a mixture of Aeolic
and Doric Greek
and consisting of 300 dactylic hexameter
lines, of which only four were extant until 1928. Three epigrams ascribed to her in the Palatine anthology
probably belong to a later date, though some debate on the first epigram exists.
In 1928, a papyrus (PSI 1090) was found that contained 54 fragmentary lines by the poet, in six pieces now located in the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana
. The poem is a lament
(Greek ) on the death of her friend Baucis
(Greek ), a disciple of Sappho, shortly before her wedding.
Camillo Neri, in an Italian
work assessing the surviving fragments and testimonies to her, reconstructs the poet's original name as "Herinna" . She is also sometimes named "Erina".
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
poet, a contemporary and friend of Sappho
Sappho
Sappho was an Ancient Greek poet, born on the island of Lesbos. Later Greeks included her in the list of nine lyric poets. Her birth was sometime between 630 and 612 BC, and it is said that she died around 570 BC, but little is known for certain about her life...
, a native of Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
or the adjacent island of Telos
Tilos
Tílos is a small Greek island and municipality located in the Aegean Sea. It is part of the Dodecanese group of islands, and lies midway between Kos and Rhodes. It has a population of 533 inhabitants . Along with the uninhabited offshore islets of Antitilos and Gaidaros, it forms the Municipality...
or even possibly Tenos
Tinos
Tinos is a Greek island situated in the Aegean Sea. It is located in the Cyclades archipelago. In antiquity, Tinos was also known as Ophiussa and Hydroessa . The closest islands are Andros, Delos, and Mykonos...
, who flourished about 600 BC (according to Eusebius, she was well known in 352 BC). Her best-known poem was the Distaff (Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
), written in a mixture of Aeolic
Aeolic Greek
Aeolic Greek is a linguistic term used to describe a set of dialects of Ancient Greek spoken mainly in Boeotia , Thessaly, and in the Aegean island of Lesbos and the Greek colonies of Asia Minor ....
and Doric Greek
Doric Greek
Doric or Dorian was a dialect of ancient Greek. Its variants were spoken in the southern and eastern Peloponnese, Crete, Rhodes, some islands in the southern Aegean Sea, some cities on the coasts of Asia Minor, Southern Italy, Sicily, Epirus and Macedon. Together with Northwest Greek, it forms the...
and consisting of 300 dactylic hexameter
Dactylic hexameter
Dactylic hexameter is a form of meter in poetry or a rhythmic scheme. It is traditionally associated with the quantitative meter of classical epic poetry in both Greek and Latin, and was consequently considered to be the Grand Style of classical poetry...
lines, of which only four were extant until 1928. Three epigrams ascribed to her in the Palatine anthology
Greek Anthology
The Greek Anthology is a collection of poems, mostly epigrams, that span the classical and Byzantine periods of Greek literature...
probably belong to a later date, though some debate on the first epigram exists.
In 1928, a papyrus (PSI 1090) was found that contained 54 fragmentary lines by the poet, in six pieces now located in the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana
Laurentian Library
The Laurentian Library is a historical library in Florence, Italy, containing a repository of more than 11,000 manuscripts and 4,500 early printed books...
. The poem is a lament
Lament
A lament or lamentation is a song, poem, or piece of music expressing grief, regret, or mourning.-History:Many of the oldest and most lasting poems in human history have been laments. Laments are present in both the Iliad and the Odyssey, and laments continued to be sung in elegiacs accompanied by...
(Greek ) on the death of her friend Baucis
Baucis
Baucis means several things:* A character in the Greek legend of Baucis and Philemon* Asteroid 172 Baucis* A Greek poet whose work is now lost, contemporaneous with Sappho and Erinna, apostrophized in Erinna's Distaff....
(Greek ), a disciple of Sappho, shortly before her wedding.
Camillo Neri, in an Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
work assessing the surviving fragments and testimonies to her, reconstructs the poet's original name as "Herinna" . She is also sometimes named "Erina".