The First Wedding in Lesvos Since Greece Legalised Same-Sex Marriage
There wasn’t a dry eye in the harbour of Sappho’s hometown
Two of the world’s most prominent lesbian activists, Dragana Todorović and Evgenia Giakoumopoulou, stood in the back of a pick-up truck in the harbour of Eressos, a small town on the Greek island of Lesvos.
As the sun set into the sea, Guns N’ Roses’ Sweet Child O’ Mine blazed through the sound system as 200 members of their families, friends, colleagues, and the local Sapphic community welcomed the jubilant brides with cheers and tears.
As the birthplace of the poet Sappho, Eressos has been a place of pilgrimage for queer women since the 1970s; there’s a sizeable permanent community here, while hundreds, sometimes thousands of lesbians head to the island every year on “roots” trips.
This coastal town has hosted its fair share of ceremonies, unofficially held by friends over the decades, but this wedding ceremony — the first on the island of Lesvos since Greece legalised same-sex marriage in February — was seismically important.
“You came and I was crazy for you, and you cooled my heart that burned with longing,” said the wedding’s officiator, Tzeli Hadjidimitriou, quoting Sappho. “With these words, Sappho welcomed her loved ones…
