Erinna was a Greek poet from the island of Telos, though some sources suggest Rhodes, who lived in the mid-4th century BCE. Ancient tradition, recorded in sources like the Palatine Anthology, holds that she died at the age of 19. Her poetry centers on themes of female friendship and domestic life, indicating a more modest social background than earlier lyric poets such as Sappho, to whom she is frequently compared.

Only fragments of her work survive. Her most famous poem is the Distaff, a hexameter lament of approximately 300 lines composed for her childhood friend Baucis; about 50 lines of this work remain. The Suda also references poems titled The Spindle and The Weaving, which may be alternate titles for the same work. Three epigrams attributed to Erinna are preserved in the Greek Anthology, though their authenticity is disputed.

Erinna was highly esteemed in antiquity, notably included by Antipater of Thessalonica among the nine great female poets. Her significance stems from her distinctive voice, which bridges the emotional intensity of earlier lyric poetry with emerging Hellenistic style. She achieved this through her innovative use of the Doric dialect and the hexameter form for personal lament. Her Distaff provides a rare and poignant glimpse into the domestic and emotional world of ancient Greek women.