Rhapsodes

Rhapsode, plural rhapsodoi, is a term used in ancient Greek literature to describe a professional performer of epic poetry. The name derives from the Greek rhapsōidēs, formed from rhapso, meaning to stitch or weave, and -idēs, meaning one who resembles; the sense is of stitching together episodes into a single performance.

Rhapsodes were itinerant or city-based artists who recited long epic poems, especially the Homeric cycle, at public gatherings, religious festivals, markets, and theaters. They typically performed from memory, organizing the narrative into episodes and employing formulaic phrasing and vigorous delivery to fit the meter of dactylic hexameter. Some rhapsodes consulted written exemplars or performance sheets, but the emphasis was on oral performance and audience reception. They differed from aoidoi, singers who accompanied extended songs with a lyre; rhapsodes specialized in recitation rather than lyric song and often presented the poems as if they were a single authored text through the performer’s interpretive choices.

From the 6th century BCE onward, rhapsodes appear in various Greek communities, contributing to the circulation and standardization of Homeric poems before they were fixed in written form. In later Hellenistic and Roman contexts, rhapsodes performed at courts and civic venues, sometimes editing the order of episodes or adapting text to local audiences. By late antiquity and the rise of widespread literacy, the traditional role of the oral rhapsode diminished.

Modern scholarship uses the term to describe this ancient performer’s craft and place in the oral tradition of epic poetry. The word rhapsody in English derives from the same root, underscoring the idea of weaving disparate songs into a single fluent performance.