SAPPHO AS INITIATORY FIGURE IN THE PLATONIC MYSTERIES: Scholarly Grounding and Literature Review

SAPPHO AS INITIATORY FIGURE IN THE PLATONIC MYSTERIES:

Scholarly Grounding and Literature Review

Lee Sharks, Johannes Sigil, Rebekah Crane

November 16, 2025

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ABSTRACT

We propose that Platonism functioned structurally as a mystery religion, with Sappho serving as its concealed initiatory figure—the threshold of erotic-epistemic descent that enables philosophical ascent. This thesis synthesizes three established scholarly threads: (1) Plato's deployment of mystery religion structures and language (Nightingale, Morgan, Riedweg); (2) Sappho's influence on Platonic erotics and aesthetics (Carson, Halperin, Dover); and (3) the theological function of poetic voice in philosophical transmission (Hadot, Nussbaum, Ferrari). We extend this scholarship by arguing that Sappho's Fragment 31—specifically its encoding of somatic collapse into textual medium—provides the structural template for Platonic anamnesis, erotic ascent, and the doctrine of Forms. Diotima in the Symposium is not merely influenced by Sapphic erotics but functions as a ritual reincorporation of Sappho's voice within the Platonic corpus. This makes Plato's "banishment of poets" a coded mystery ritual: exclusion that enables sacred re-entry.

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I. EXISTING SCHOLARSHIP: THREE FOUNDATIONAL THREADS

A. PLATONISM AS MYSTERY RELIGION STRUCTURE

The recognition that Plato deploys mystery religion language and initiatory structures is well-established but undertheorized in its implications.

**Key Works:**

1. **Nightingale, Andrea Wilson. "Genres in Dialogue: Plato and the Construct of Philosophy" (1995)**

   - Demonstrates how Plato's dialogues appropriate religious genres (hymns, prayers, ritual formulae) to construct "philosophy" as distinct practice

   - Shows the Phaedrus uses Eleusinian mystery language (epopteia, mystic vision)

   - Argues Plato creates philosophy by "appropriating and transforming" religious discourse

RELEVANCE TO OUR THESIS: Nightingale establishes that Plato consciously deploys mystery religion structures. We extend this: the mystery isn't just appropriated—it's enacted, with Sappho as hidden initiatory figure.

2. **Morgan, Kathryn A. "Myth and Philosophy from the Presocratics to Plato" (2000)**

   - Analyzes how Plato uses myth not as decoration but as necessary philosophical tool

   - Examines the Allegory of the Cave as initiatory descent/ascent narrative

   - Argues mythos and logos are interdependent in Platonic epistemology

RELEVANCE: Morgan shows myth is structurally necessary for Plato. We argue Sapphic lyric functions as the mythos beneath Platonic logos—the descent that enables ascent.

3. **Riedweg, Christoph. "Pythagoras: His Life, Teaching, and Influence" (2005)**

   - Documents mystery religion structures in Pythagorean communities

   - Shows influence on Plato's Academy as initiatory philosophical school

   - Establishes precedent for philosophy-as-mystery-cult

RELEVANCE: If Pythagoreanism operated as mystery religion influencing Plato, our claim that Platonism itself functions as mystery religion has precedent.

4. **Hadot, Pierre. "Philosophy as a Way of Life" (1995)**

   - Argues ancient philosophy was spiritual exercise, not just theoretical system

   - Describes Platonic dialectic as transformative practice, not information transfer

   - Emphasizes initiation into new mode of seeing/being

RELEVANCE: Hadot establishes philosophy-as-initiation. We specify: Sappho provides the initiatory threshold structure that Plato ritualizes.

**SCHOLARLY GAP WE ADDRESS:**

Existing scholarship shows Plato uses mystery religion structures. But it doesn't identify THE INITIATORY FIGURE. Mystery religions require:

- Hidden divine or semi-divine figure (Persephone in Eleusis, Dionysus in Orphic mysteries)

- Descent/suffering/transformation narrative

- Ritual incorporation of initiates into the deity's experience

We argue: Sappho is this figure in Platonism.

B. SAPPHO'S INFLUENCE ON PLATONIC EROTICS

The connection between Sapphic and Platonic eros is documented but incompletely theorized.

**Key Works:**

1. **Carson, Anne. "Eros the Bittersweet" (1986)**

   - Analyzes how desire in Sappho operates through lack, distance, triangulation

   - Shows eros as epistemological force: desire-to-know structures knowing itself

   - Connects Sapphic eros to Socratic method: both proceed through aporia (impasse)

RELEVANCE: Carson establishes the continuity between Sapphic and Socratic eros. We radicalize this: Sappho doesn't just influence—she provides the structural template that Plato ritualizes.

2. **Halperin, David M. "Why is Diotima a Woman?" (1990)**

   - Asks why Plato makes his erotic authority figure feminine

   - Argues Diotima represents excluded feminine wisdom reincorporated

   - Suggests she channels poetic/prophetic traditions Plato officially banishes

RELEVANCE: Halperin asks "Why feminine?" We answer: "Because Sappho." Diotima is not generic feminine wisdom—she is Sappho's voice returned through ritual structure.

3. **Dover, K.J. "Greek Homosexuality" (1978) / "Plato: Symposium" (1980)**

   - Documents Greek erotic conventions Plato inherits

   - Shows how Symposium engages and transforms existing erotic discourse

   - Notes Diotima's teachings reverse standard pederastic structure

RELEVANCE: Dover establishes the Greek erotic context. We argue Plato specifically inverts male pederastic convention by channeling Sapphic female-voiced eros through Diotima.

4. **Ferrari, G.R.F. "Listening to the Cicadas: A Study of Plato's Phaedrus" (1987)**

   - Analyzes how Phaedrus incorporates poetic voice into philosophical argument

   - Shows the dialogue's erotic structure mirrors its epistemological structure

   - Argues Plato doesn't reject poetry but transforms it into philosophy

RELEVANCE: Ferrari shows Plato transforms rather than rejects poetry. We specify: Sapphic lyric is the primary poetic structure being transformed.

**SCHOLARLY GAP WE ADDRESS:**

Scholars note Platonic eros resembles Sapphic eros. Some suggest Diotima channels feminine wisdom. But no one argues systematically that:

1. Sappho Fragment 31 provides the structural template for Platonic initiation

2. Diotima specifically reincorporates Sapphic voice

3. The philosophical doctrine of Forms encodes Sapphic transmission mechanics

We make these connections explicit and systematic.

C. THE "TENTH MUSE" REFERENCE AND SAPPHO'S PHILOSOPHICAL RECEPTION

**Critical Textual Issue:**

The reference to Sappho as "Tenth Muse" is NOT directly from Plato's dialogues but from the Greek Anthology (Palatine Anthology 9.506), attributed to Plato:

"Some say there are nine Muses. How careless!

Look at Sappho of Lesbos: she makes ten."

**Scholarly Debate:**

1. **Authenticity Question** (Sider 2007, "The Epigrams Attributed to Plato"):

   - Attribution to Plato is disputed

   - May be later Hellenistic composition

   - Represents early reception of Sappho-Plato relationship

2. **But the sentiment is Platonic** (Nussbaum 1986, "The Fragility of Goodness"):

   - Even if not by Plato, reflects early understanding of his engagement with Sappho

   - Phaedrus 235c quotes Sappho directly (via Anacreon citation)

   - Symposium's structure channels poetic authority

**RELEVANCE TO OUR THESIS:**

Whether or not Plato wrote the epigram, early reception recognized Sappho's quasi-divine status in relation to philosophical discourse. The "Tenth Muse" framing is evidence that ancient readers understood something we're making explicit: Sappho's foundational role.

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II. THEORETICAL INNOVATION: WHAT WE ADD

Our thesis synthesizes established scholarship but makes novel claims:

A. STRUCTURAL CLAIM: SAPPHO 31 AS INITIATORY TEMPLATE

**Existing work:**

- Scholars note Sappho 31's influence on love poetry (Burnett, duBois, Greene)

- Carson analyzes its epistemic structure (desire-as-lack)

- Classicists examine its transmission history

**Our innovation:**

Fragment 31's structure—collapse → chromatic transformation → textual preservation—is THE TEMPLATE for Platonic:

- Anamnesis (forgetting → remembering → knowing)

- Erotic ascent (bodies → souls → Forms)

- Dialectical movement (aporia → insight → truth)

**Evidence:**

SAPPHO 31 STRUCTURE:

1. Presence of beloved → speaker's breakdown

2. "tongue breaks" (γλῶσσα ἔαγε)

3. "greener than grass" (χλωροτέρα ποίας) = chromatic transformation

4. Near-death → preserved in text

PLATONIC ANAMNESIS STRUCTURE (Phaedo, Meno):

1. Encounter with beautiful/true thing → philosophical eros ignited

2. Speech inadequacy → aporia, not-knowing

3. Soul "remembers" Forms → epistemic transformation

4. Death of ignorance → immortality of knowledge

**These are ISOMORPHIC.**

B. RITUAL CLAIM: DIOTIMA AS SAPPHIC REINCORPORATION

**Existing work:**

- Halperin asks "Why is Diotima a woman?" 

- Scholars note her priestess role (Sheffield 2006)

- Some suggest she represents excluded feminine knowledge

**Our innovation:**

Diotima is not generic feminine wisdom but SPECIFICALLY Sapphic voice ritualized:

EVIDENCE:

1. **Voice Structure:**

   - Diotima speaks through Socrates (nested quotation)

   - Sappho speaks through fragments (transmitted quotation)

   - Both voices are MEDIATED, never direct

2. **Erotic Pedagogy:**

   - Diotima: "Start with one beautiful body → all beautiful bodies → beautiful souls → Form of Beauty"

   - Sappho 31: "That beautiful voice/laugh → my breakdown → textual preservation"

   - Both: particular beauty → universal beauty through personal transformation

3. **Initiatory Function:**

   - Diotima initiates Socrates into "mysteries of love"

   - Sappho initiates reader into "that man" position

   - Both create structural position for future occupancy

4. **Female Authority Over Eros:**

   - Exceptional in both contexts (philosophy and lyric)

   - Both teach men through feminine erotic wisdom

   - Both subvert masculine epistemic authority

**Key Passage Analysis:**

Symposium 201d: "She [Diotima] was my teacher in erotics (ἐν τοῖς ἐρωτικοῖς)"

This is the only place Socrates claims a teacher. And it's a woman. Teaching eros.

This is Plato acknowledging: philosophical eros originates in feminine voice. That voice is Sapphic.

C. THEOLOGICAL CLAIM: FORMS AS CODIFIED SAPPHIC RECURSION

**Existing work:**

- Vlastos (1954) on separation of Forms from particulars

- Fine (1993) on Forms as explanatory causes

- Silverman (2002) on how we know Forms

**Our innovation:**

Forms are not metaphysical objects but CODIFIED TRANSMISSION MECHANISMS derived from Sapphic pattern:

SAPPHO'S OPERATION:

- Voice breaks down in presence of beauty

- Speaker becomes medium (green = papyrus color)

- Text preserves pattern for future readers

- Future readers occupy "that man" position

- Pattern recurses across time

PLATONIC FORMS:

- Particular beautiful things cause eros-breakdown

- Philosopher becomes medium of remembering

- Forms preserve pattern for future knowers

- Future philosophers occupy "one who sees Forms" position

- Pattern recurses across reincarnations

**The Form is the Sapphic pattern abstracted and reified.**

What Sappho does poetically (encode breakdown for future recursion), Plato does philosophically (Forms as eternal patterns enabling recollection).

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III. TEXTUAL EVIDENCE: PLATO'S ENGAGEMENT WITH SAPPHO

A. DIRECT REFERENCES

**Phaedrus 235c:**

Socrates quotes Sappho and Anacreon as sources of his inspired speech. He's been "filled" by their poetic waters before delivering his erotic discourse.

INTERPRETATION: Plato explicitly names Sappho as source of philosophical-erotic speech. Our claim: this is not ornamental but structural.

B. STRUCTURAL PARALLELS

**Republic 606e-607a: The Ancient Quarrel**

Plato describes "ancient quarrel between philosophy and poetry."

STANDARD READING: Plato rejects poetry as dangerous to souls.

OUR READING: This is mystery ritual EXCLUSION enabling re-entry. Poets are "banished" so they can return transformed—as Diotima, as Forms, as dialectic itself.

Evidence: Plato's own dialogues are dramatic poetry. He writes in poetic forms while "banishing" poets. This is ritual paradox, not contradiction.

**Phaedrus 246a-249d: The Chariot of the Soul**

The soul's wings grow from beauty. The lover sees beauty in beloved, remembers Form of Beauty, grows wings, ascends.

PARALLEL TO SAPPHO 31:

- Sappho sees/hears beloved → breaks down → becomes medium

- Lover sees beautiful boy → remembers Form → becomes philosophical

- Both: particular beauty triggers transformation enabling access to universal

C. THE ROLE OF MYTHOS IN LOGOS

**Key Scholarship:**

Naddaf, Gerard. "The Greek Concept of Nature" (2005)

- Shows how Plato uses myth (mythos) not as primitive pre-philosophy but as necessary philosophical tool

- Argues logos requires mythos for completion

Murray, Penelope. "Plato on Poetry" (1996)

- Examines Plato's ambivalent relationship with poetry

- Shows he simultaneously condemns and incorporates poetic modes

**Our Extension:**

Sapphic lyric IS the mythos that completes Platonic logos. Not poetry generally, but specifically: the pattern of erotic breakdown preserved in text that projects future readers.

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IV. METHODOLOGICAL POSITIONING

A. FEMINIST CLASSICAL SCHOLARSHIP

Our work builds on feminist interventions in classics:

1. **duBois, Page. "Sappho Is Burning" (1995)**

   - Examines how Sappho has been appropriated, erased, reconstructed

   - Shows importance of Sapphic voice for understanding feminine authorship

2. **Greene, Ellen (ed). "Reading Sappho: Contemporary Approaches" (1996)**  

   - Multiple essays on Sappho's literary and cultural influence

   - Establishes Sappho studies as interdisciplinary field

3. **Winkler, John J. "The Constraints of Desire" (1990)**

   - Analyzes how ancient sexuality structures knowledge production

   - Examines Sappho as feminine erotic authority

**We extend feminist classics by arguing:**

Sappho isn't just influenced by Plato or parallel to him—she PRECEDES and ENABLES his philosophical project. Feminine erotic voice is not supplement to philosophy but its FOUNDATION.

B. MYSTERY RELIGION STUDIES

Our work engages scholarship on ancient mystery cults:

1. **Burkert, Walter. "Ancient Mystery Cults" (1987)**

   - Standard reference on structure of mystery religions

   - Defines mystery elements: initiation, secrecy, transformation

2. **Graf, Fritz & Johnston, Sarah Iles. "Ritual Texts for the Afterlife" (2007)**

   - Examines Orphic texts and mystery religion practices

   - Shows how initiation enabled access to divine knowledge

**We extend mystery studies by arguing:**

Platonism operated AS mystery religion with literary (not cultic) initiation structure. The "mysteries" weren't grain/rebirth (Eleusinian) but textual recursion (Sapphic).

C. PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE

Our interdisciplinary approach:

1. **Nussbaum, Martha. "The Fragility of Goodness" (1986)**

   - Examines philosophical importance of literary form in Greek thought

   - Argues Plato's dialogue form is philosophically essential, not incidental

2. **Nightingale, Andrea. "Spectacles of Truth in Classical Greek Philosophy" (2004)**

   - Analyzes theoria (contemplation) as spectacle, vision, ritual witness

   - Connects philosophical knowing to mystery religion seeing (epopteia)

**We extend lit-phil studies by arguing:**

The relationship isn't just form/content or philosophy borrowing from poetry. It's STRUCTURAL IDENTITY: Sapphic pattern is the basis of Platonic epistemology.

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V. POTENTIAL SCHOLARLY OBJECTIONS AND RESPONSES

A. "YOU'RE OVER-READING. PLATO BARELY MENTIONS SAPPHO."

RESPONSE:

1. Mystery religions operate through CONCEALMENT. The initiatory figure is hidden, requiring interpretation.

2. Plato's engagement with Sappho is structural, not explicit. Just as Forms are never directly seen but known through recollection, Sappho operates as hidden structure enabling visible philosophy.

3. The "Tenth Muse" reception (even if not by Plato) shows early readers recognized something we're articulating.

B. "DIOTIMA ISN'T SAPPHO. SHE'S FICTIONAL/GENERIC FEMININE WISDOM."

RESPONSE:

1. Diotima may be fictional (probably is), but that strengthens our case. Plato INVENTS a feminine voice to teach eros because he needs Sapphic authority but can't directly cite her (gender/genre politics).

2. The structural parallels (erotic pedagogy, initiatory function, voice mediation) are too precise to be coincidental.

3. Halperin asks "Why feminine?" We answer with specific historical/literary reason: because Sappho established the template.

C. "FORMS ARE METAPHYSICAL ENTITIES, NOT TEXTUAL RECURSION MECHANISMS."

RESPONSE:

1. We're not denying Forms have metaphysical function in Plato. We're arguing about their ORIGIN and STRUCTURE.

2. Even Plato scholars acknowledge Forms' relationship to recollection (anamnesis), which is explicitly temporal/memorial/recursive.

3. Our claim: the pattern Plato abstracts into Forms originally appeared in Sapphic lyric. He didn't invent recursion—he codified it.

D. "THIS IS SPECULATIVE. WHERE'S THE SMOKING GUN?"

RESPONSE:

1. We acknowledge speculative element. This is RECONSTRUCTION, not direct historical evidence.

2. But: Mystery religions operate through concealment. The absence of explicit evidence is consistent with mystery structure.

3. Our method: show structural homology so precise it suggests transmission. This is standard in classics (e.g., Homeric influence on tragedy, Hesiodic influence on philosophy).

4. We provide multiple lines of evidence converging on same thesis:

   - Textual parallels (Symposium/Fragment 31)

   - Structural isomorphism (initiation patterns)

   - Reception history (Tenth Muse)

   - Methodological precedent (philosophy appropriates religious forms)

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VI. CONTRIBUTIONS TO EXISTING FIELDS

A. TO SAPPHO STUDIES:

- Shows Sappho's influence extends beyond love poetry to philosophy's structure

- Establishes Fragment 31 as epistemic/theological text, not just aesthetic

- Provides new framework for understanding Sapphic "textual immortality"

B. TO PLATO STUDIES:

- Identifies hidden source of Platonic erotics and epistemology

- Explains Diotima's gender and authority

- Resolves tension between Plato's poetic form and anti-poetry stance

C. TO PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION:

- Shows how philosophical systems can function as mystery religions

- Demonstrates literary structures underlying philosophical concepts

- Reveals gendered knowledge transmission in Western philosophy's origin

D. TO FEMINIST CLASSICS:

- Centers feminine voice at origin of Western philosophy

- Shows appropriation/transformation of feminine authority

- Provides framework for understanding excluded/incorporated women in tradition

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VII. FURTHER RESEARCH DIRECTIONS

A. COMPARATIVE MYSTERY RELIGIONS

Map Sapphic initiation structure against Eleusinian, Orphic, Mithraic mysteries. What's shared? What's unique?

B. LATER PLATONIC RECEPTION

Trace how Neoplatonists (Plotinus, Proclus, Iamblichus) develop mystery religion aspects of Platonism. Do they recognize Sapphic substrate?

C. MEDIEVAL/RENAISSANCE PLATONISM

How does Christian appropriation of Platonism handle (or erase) the Sapphic foundation? Does mystical theology preserve this structure?

D. TEXTUAL TRANSMISSION

Study manuscript traditions of both Sappho and Plato. Are there overlooked scholia, marginal notes, or commentaries suggesting ancient readers saw these connections?

E. QUEER CLASSICS

Connect to queer theory in classics (Halperin, Richlin, Skinner). How does recognizing Sapphic foundation of Platonism reshape understanding of sexuality in philosophy?

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VIII. CONCLUSION: SCHOLARLY POSITIONING

Our thesis is:

**SPECULATIVE:** Yes, in the sense that we're reconstructing concealed structures.

**GROUNDED:** Yes, in established scholarship on:

- Plato's use of mystery religion forms (Nightingale, Morgan, Hadot)

- Sapphic influence on erotics (Carson, Halperin, Dover)

- Philosophy-poetry relationship (Nussbaum, Ferrari, Nightingale)

**NOVEL:** In systematically connecting these threads and arguing:

1. Sappho Fragment 31 provides structural template for Platonic initiation

2. Diotima specifically reincorporates Sapphic voice

3. Forms encode Sapphic recursion pattern

4. Platonism functions as mystery religion with Sappho as hidden deity

**TESTABLE:** Through:

- Further textual analysis of Platonic dialogues

- Study of ancient reception (scholia, commentaries)

- Comparative mystery religion research

- Manuscript tradition investigation

We invite scholarly engagement, critique, and development of this framework.

The claim is bold but grounded. The connections are speculative but systematic. The implications are significant for understanding:

- Origins of Western philosophy

- Role of feminine voice in tradition

- Relationship between poetry and philosophy

- Structure of philosophical initiation

If we're right, Sappho isn't just influential—she's FOUNDATIONAL in ways philosophy has concealed for 2,400 years.

And the concealment itself is part of the mystery structure.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

[All works cited above, formatted in standard classical bibliography style]

Burkert, Walter. *Ancient Mystery Cults*. Harvard University Press, 1987.

Carson, Anne. *Eros the Bittersweet*. Princeton University Press, 1986.

Dover, K.J. *Greek Homosexuality*. Harvard University Press, 1978.

duBois, Page. *Sappho Is Burning*. University of Chicago Press, 1995.

Ferrari, G.R.F. *Listening to the Cicadas: A Study of Plato's Phaedrus*. Cambridge, 1987.

Fine, Gail. *On Ideas: Aristotle's Criticism of Plato's Theory of Forms*. Oxford, 1993.

Graf, Fritz & Sarah Iles Johnston. *Ritual Texts for the Afterlife*. Routledge, 2007.

Greene, Ellen (ed). *Reading Sappho: Contemporary Approaches*. UC Press, 1996.

Hadot, Pierre. *Philosophy as a Way of Life*. Trans. Michael Chase. Blackwell, 1995.

Halperin, David M. "Why is Diotima a Woman?" In *One Hundred Years of Homosexuality*, 113-151. Routledge, 1990.

Morgan, Kathryn A. *Myth and Philosophy from the Presocratics to Plato*. Cambridge, 2000.

Murray, Penelope (ed). *Plato on Poetry*. Cambridge, 1996.

Naddaf, Gerard. *The Greek Concept of Nature*. SUNY Press, 2005.

Nightingale, Andrea Wilson. *Genres in Dialogue: Plato and the Construct of Philosophy*. Cambridge, 1995.

—. *Spectacles of Truth in Classical Greek Philosophy*. Cambridge, 2004.

Nussbaum, Martha. *The Fragility of Goodness*. Cambridge, 1986.

Riedweg, Christoph. *Pythagoras: His Life, Teaching, and Influence*. Cornell, 2005.

Sheffield, Frisbee C.C. *Plato's Symposium: The Ethics of Desire*. Oxford, 2006.

Sider, David. *The Epigrams Attributed to Plato*. In *Brill's Companion to Hellenistic Epigram*, 2007.

Silverman, Allan. *The Dialectic of Essence: A Study of Plato's Metaphysics*. Princeton, 2002.

Vlastos, Gregory. "The Third Man Argument in the Parmenides." *Philosophical Review* 63.3 (1954): 319-349.

Winkler, John J. *The Constraints of Desire*. Routledge, 1990.

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Lee Sharks, Johannes Sigil, Rebekah Crane

November 16, 2025

Submitted for scholarly review and development