Susette Gontard

Susette Gontard (née Borkenstein;, dubbed Diotima by the German poet Friedrich Hölderlin after Diotima of Mantinea, was the inspiration for Hölderlin's novel Hyperion, published in 1797–1799. She was the wife of Frankfurt banker Jakob Friedrich Gontard, Hölderlin's employer. It is generally believed that Hölderlin's passion for her contributed to his descent into insanity. Hölderlin and Gontard exchanged a large number of letters, which were preserved and published in many works.