2 comments

arete [OP]February 14, 2025

Subsequently, the nature of the women’s relationship has been the subject of much debate. While we may never know whether their relationship was sexual, the existence of a loving bond between them is irrefutable.

At the risk of sounding glib, I feel there's no heterosexual explanation for their having a succession of dogs named Sappho.

VestalVirginFebruary 14, 2025(Edited February 14, 2025)

I own a mousepad with Sapphos picture on it, and I am quite probably sadly hetero. I just bought it on a museum visit.

The dogs, I think, one could explain away as them just being admirers of Sappho's art.

It's the sheer number of such "maybe" indicators that makes it rather unlikely that they weren't lesbians.

(Their habit of wearing riding habits, for one - seems to have been the then equivalent of wearing trousers. They probably couldn't have gotten away with actually wearing trousers at the time.)