I’M DEEPLY GRATEFUL to all the people who helped make this book possible. First, to the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, where I first began my research, and to Luther College, which allowed me a sabbatical to pursue my work. Thanks also to the kind scholars at the Egypt Exploration Society and the Sackler Library at Oxford University for all their help with ancient papyri and the Egyptian site of Oxyrhynchus. My gratitude as well to my guides in Egypt and on the beautiful Greek island of Lesbos. The book would not have been possible without Joëlle Delbourgo and the wonderful editors and staff at W. W. Norton, especially Jill Bialosky, Angie Shih, and Stephanie Hiebert. Thanks finally to my wife, Alison, who listened patiently to yet another of my translations from the original Greek of Sappho and offered her advice on so many aspects of the book.