The Songs of Bilitis (Les Chansons de Bilitis) is a
collection of erotic poetry by Pierre Louÿs and
published in Paris in 1894. The book's sensual poems
are in the manner of Sappho; the introduction claims
they were found on the walls of a tomb in Cyprus,
written by a woman of Ancient Greece called Bilitis, a
courtesan and contemporary of Sappho, to whose 'life'
Louÿs dedicated a small section of his book. On
publication, the volume deceived even the most expert
of scholars. Though the poems w...(+)
The Songs of Bilitis (Les Chansons de Bilitis) is a
collection of erotic poetry by Pierre Louÿs and
published in Paris in 1894. The book's sensual poems
are in the manner of Sappho; the introduction claims
they were found on the walls of a tomb in Cyprus,
written by a woman of Ancient Greece called Bilitis, a
courtesan and contemporary of Sappho, to whose 'life'
Louÿs dedicated a small section of his book. On
publication, the volume deceived even the most expert
of scholars. Though the poems were actually clever
fabulations, authored by Louÿs himself, they are still
considered important literature.