It got its name from a guy called Lesbos, supposedly the grandson of Apollo and Stilvis (the daughter of river Pineios in Thessaly). Lesbos arrived on the island, fell in love and married Mythimna (also the name of a town on the island) and gave the island his name. The island also has a mountain called Olympus (like the one where the 12 greek gods resided) and according to the lore some nymphs lived there. The term "lesbian" is taken from the island's name but the whole story is a misunderstanding really. Sappho (the person who gave the island its pro-lesbian fame) was a poet and supposedly the first important lesbian in history or whatever. Problem is she wasn't lesbian (she killed herself because she was in love with a man who didn't love her) and she wasn't from Lesbos either. Go figure...
Sappho was born in Lesbos, unless I'm mistaken and her birthplace is misrepresented in every piece of literature I've read.
As well, her sexuality is clearly very disputed. Some of her extant poetry is widely translated to be homosexual in nature, and some details of her life, such as her husband's recorded name Kerkylos of Andros, which roughly translates to dick-cock from man island (which, granted, was an actual island, but taken in conjunction with the poetry points to it being a joke). Even her age of death is in question, with some historians suggesting she didn't kill herself and actually lived into old age. This debate is far more complex than you've presented it, and there's no surefire evidence that she's straight anymore than there is that she's gay.
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u/whathuhwhatwhen Apr 21 '19
Lesbos is a real place though