Skala Eressos: On Sappho’s Shore

Swim, linger and celebrate in Skala Eressos, the Lesbos village of Sappho's birth, where LGBTQ+ women have gathered since the 1970s.

Sappho’s Island

Sappho was one of the great poets of ancient Greece, writing in the seventh and sixth centuries BC. She lived on the island of Lesbos, and her poems of desire between women gave us the words lesbian and sapphic.

Skala Eressos, the village most closely linked with her birth, sits on a long beach in the island’s southwest. It has a permanent population of around 1,500, yet it draws thousands of queer women each year.

Visiting with a private driver and time to spare lets you take in both the village and the island around it.

Sappho and Her Poetry

Only a small part of Sappho’s work survives, much of it in fragments. Even so, her voice comes through clearly: personal, direct, and full of longing for the women she loved.

For centuries, later writers tried to explain away what she wrote. Reading a few lines with a local guide before you reach the village gives the place its proper meaning.

The Village and the Beach

Skala Eressos is relaxed and low-key, with tavernas and cafes along a seafront that faces a long stretch of dark sand. A statue of Sappho stands on the promenade, holding a lyre and looking out to sea.

Rainbow flags hang outside many businesses, and the village has welcomed lesbian and bisexual women since the 1970s. It is easy to fall into its rhythm of long swims, slow lunches, and evenings on the waterfront.

The Eressos Women’s Festival

Each September, the International Eressos Women’s Festival fills the village for around two weeks. It began in the early 2000s and is now run by the nonprofit Sappho Women, with concerts, film screenings, theater, workshops, and parties on the beach.

The festival welcomes lesbian, bisexual, trans, and queer women from around the world, and in recent years more American and Australian visitors have joined. Many come back year after year.

Mytilene and Sappho Square

The island’s capital, Mytilene, is around two hours away by road. At its center is Sappho Square, where another statue of the poet stands among the cafes.

The town also has a harbor, a castle, and a lively market, and it makes a good first or last stop before flights home.

The Petrified Forest at Sigri

Close to Eressos, near the village of Sigri, lies one of the island’s most unusual sights: a petrified forest of fossilized trees, millions of years old, preserved by ancient volcanic eruptions. The area is recognized by UNESCO as a Global Geopark.

It makes a memorable half-day from the village and a reminder that Lesbos has far more to offer than its most famous daughter.

Planning Your Skala Eressos Experience

Lesbos is reached by a short flight from Athens to Mytilene, followed by the drive west. The best time to visit runs from late spring to the end of September, and the festival dates fill accommodation quickly.

Out Of Office can arrange your flights, a private driver, and a stay in or near the village. Your LGBTQ+ travel specialist can also combine Lesbos with Athens or other islands in Greece as one of our beach vacations.