This year, for the first time, a new cultural activity of the North Aegean Region is being launched, the Sappho Lesvos Festival in the birthplace of the “tenth muse”, her Clearlyin Lesvos.
In addition to highlighting the iconic personality and work of Sappho, it aspires to illuminate the great cultural wealth of Lesvos from antiquity to the present day.

At the same time, it is an initiative that aims to highlight all the messages regarding acceptance and inclusion, with the established belief that Art and Culture are not watertight.

Sappho Lesvos Festival, will take place June 20 to 22 2024 with high-level artistic events and talks by academics focusing on Sappho and her work as well as women’s rights.

Speakers and artists will participate in this new festival, including female teachers Sandra Boehringer, Laurie Laufer, Eugenia Giakoumopoulou, Tasoula Karageorgiou and Venice Canca but also the artists: Lakis Lazopoulos, Markella Giannatou, Stefania Gouliotis , Loukia Michalopoulou, Dimitris Christoforidis, Zisis Roubos as well as the internationally renowned visual artist Julia Krahn.

The journalist will coordinate the speeches Maria Nikoltsiou.

The program in more detail:

On Thursday, June 20, at the Eresou Cultural Center, an event will be held with the theme “Tribute to the poetess Sappho” with speakers: Sandra Boehringer, professor of Greek History at the University of Strasbourg, with the theme: “The Vertigo of Love. Sappho and the love between women in ancient Greece”, Tasoula Karageorgiou, author-translator of Sappho’s poems, with the theme: “Sappho and the modern Greek folk song” and Laurie Laufer, professor of psychoanalytic studies, Université Paris Cité with the theme: “The heroines of modernism”, Panagiotis Bernardakis, Doctor of the University of Frankfurt with the title “The prejudices about Sappho’s homosexuality – a scientific approach”
Immediately after, a theatrical event will follow, at the Eresos Museum with a recitation of Sappho’s poems by the actress Markella Giannatou accompanied by the musician Stavroula Spanou (sandour, pendir).

On Friday, June 21, at the Eresos Cultural Center, there will be a social discussion and speeches on women’s right to sexual orientation with speakers: Eugenia Giakoumopoulou, Head of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Unit (SOGI), Council of Europe, Stella Belia, President of the Association “Rainbow”, Venetia Kantsa, Professor of Anthropology, University of the Aegean.

The same evening at 20:30 at the Sanctuary of the Masses, in Agia Paraskevi, the work “Silhouettes” will be presented with Stefania Goulioti, Loukia Michalopoulou.
This is a theatrical repertory written especially for the Festival, with texts inspired by mythical figures of antiquity (Antigone, Phaedra, Clytemnestra, Sappho) with a common axis of absolute love, as a disease and as a destination. The music and visual editing is by Andrea Manda.

On Saturday, June 22, at Kato Kastro, in Mytilini, at sunset, a unique theatrical event will be presented, after a greeting from the ‘Ephor of Antiquities of Lesbos, Pavlos Triantafyllidis.

The internationally award-winning multifaceted German artist Julia Krahn will perform at sunset an impressive artistic event inspired by the poetess Sappho and the North Aegean sea, entitled “Hesperus- The lost Child”. The musical composition is by Zowa, who composed the track especially for the performance.

In the same place, right after Lakis Lazopoulos together with: Dimitris Christoforidis and Zisi Roubo present a stand-up comedy entitled “A mother of yesterday, of today and a father” improvising they will talk about mom, dad and family .