Sappho Leontias (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Σαπφώ Λεοντιάς) (

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, 1830 or Moutoullas, 1832 – Constantinople, 1900) was a Cypriot writer, feminist, and educator.

Early life and education

Sappho was born as Sappho Clerides (Σαπφώ Κληρίδη) in 1830 Constantinople or according to other accounts in 1832 in Moutoullas village, in

Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...

district. Leontias was her literary nickname. Her father was Leontios Clerides (Λεόντιος Κληρίδης) from Marathasa, he was a well known teacher and Hellenist. Leontios was possibly the headmaster of the Greek School of Nicosia (Ελληνικής Σχολής Λευκωσίας) between 1840 and 1845. Sappho was educated by him and later founded with him a number of schools in Cyprus and in

Leros Leros (), also called Lero (from the Italian language), is a Greek island and municipality in the Dodecanese in the southern Aegean Sea. It lies from Athens's port of Piraeus, from which it can be reached by a nine-hour ferry ride or by a 45-min ...

. Her mother was Sophia Clerides (Σοφία Κληρίδη) and her sister Emilia Leontias-Kteni (Αιμίλια Λεοντιάς-Κτενή).

Career

She taught in

schools for 7 years and then at

Morphou Morphou (; ) is a town in the northwestern part of Cyprus, under the '' de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. Having been a predominantly Greek Cypriot community before the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, the town is now inhabited by Turkish Cy ...

. In 1854 she went to

Samos Samos (, also ; , ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese archipelago, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the Mycale Strait. It is also a separate reg ...

where she founded a girls school and taught for 3 years. For the next 3 years she taught at Aronis girls school (παρθεναγωγείο Αρώνη) in

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

and then she went back to Samos where she was the headmistress of a school for 4 years. Then she went back to Smyrna and taught for many years at the girl school of Agia Fotini, where one of her pupils was the also Cypriot and later educator and feminist Polyxeni Loizias. Finally, she settled in Constantinople where she taught at the Palladion girls school (παρθεναγωγείο Παλλάδιον). Where among her students was Alexandra Papadopoulou. Ιn Constantinople she published ''

Eurydice Eurydice (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρυδίκη 'wide justice', classical pronunciation: ) was a character in Greek mythology and the wife of Orpheus, whom Orpheus tried to bring back from the dead with his enchanting music. Etymology Several ...

'' (1870-1873), together with her sister Emilia Leontias, the first Greek literally journal that was directed by a woman. In the journal she published a large number of her own work. In her literary work she published mostly romantic poetry with subjects inspired from nature, the motherland and religion. She also wrote short stories, articles, studies and various school textbooks. She translated

Jean Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ; ; 22 December 1639 – 21 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille, as well as an important literary figure in the Western tr ...

's from the French and

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

as well as

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; ; /524 – /455 BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek tragedy, tragedian often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek tragedy is large ...

's ''

The Persians ''The Persians'' (, ''Persai'', Latinised as ''Persae'') is an ancient Greek tragedy written during the Classical period of Ancient Greece by the Greek tragedian Aeschylus. It is the second and only surviving part of a now otherwise lost trilog ...

'' into modern Greek. In 1887, she published a book on

home economics Home economics, also called domestic science or family and consumer sciences (often shortened to FCS or FACS), is a subject concerning human development, personal and family finances, consumer issues, housing and interior design, nutrition and f ...

, ''Oikiaki oikonomia pros hrisin ton Parthenagogeion''. She published only a small part of her work in a book in Constantinople in 1899, entitled ''Ὁ'' ''Ἀνήρ καί'' ''ἡ Γυνή.'' She advocated for educational opportunities for Greek women She became active advocating women's rights, particularly the right to education.

Personal life

She was married to Narlis, a member of the so called Greek Ottoman assembly. They had a daughter called Korinna who married the doctor D. Logiades (Δ. Λογιάδης).

Publications

Publications about Leontias

* Αλιμπέρτη, Σ. (1900). ''Σαπφώ Λεοντιάς η του Γένους διδάσκαλος'', ''Πλειάς'' 2, αρ. 8-9:130-131, αρ. 10:153-155, αρ. 11-12, σ. 183-184. * Δεβιάζης, Σπ. (1912). Διαπρεπείς Ελληνίδες κατά το 19ο αιώνα: Σαπφώ Λεοντιάς, ''Ελληνική Επιθεώρησις'', 5, αρ. 55-60, σσ. 172- 173, 199-200. * ''Μεγάλη Παιδαγωγική Εγκυκλοπαίδεια,'' λήμμα «Σαπφώ Λεοντιάς» (συντάκτης λήμματος Αντ. Ισηγόνης). * Παρασκευά, Παρ. (2001). ''Σαπφώ Λεοντιάς (1830-1900): Παιδαγωγικές απόψεις, εκπαιδευτική δράση, κοινωνική παρουσία''. Μεταπτυχ. διπλωμ. εργασία, Α.Π.Θ. * Κωνσταντοπούλου, Α. (2006). '' Η Σαπφώ Λεοντίας και η γυναικεία εκπαίδευση στη Σμύρνη το 19ο αιώνα''. Διπλωμ. εργασία, Πανεπιστήμιο του Αιγαίου. * Δαλακούρα, Κ. (2013)
Μεταξύ Ανατολής και Δύσης: Η Εκπαιδευτική Θεωρία της Σαπφούς Λεοντιάδος (1830-1900)
''Θέματα της Ιστορίας της Εκπαίδευσης. Περιοδική Έκδοση των Ελληνικής Εταιρείας των Ιστορικών της Εκπαίδευσης (ΕΛ.Ε.Ι.Ε.)'', 11, 89-127.

Notes

1832 births 1900 deaths Greek educational theorists Greek feminists Educators from the Ottoman Empire Greeks from the Ottoman Empire Constantinopolitan Greeks Writers from the Ottoman Empire Women school principals and headteachers 19th-century women educators Writers from Istanbul {{Greece-bio-stub