Rhapsode
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"The Greek for reading means, Lang reminds us, reading aloud. Homer was read in public places by the Rhapsodists, who wore a blue gown when they recited the Odyssey and a red one for the Iliad. The Romans so valued the method that their literary works were first read aloud, with a view to selling them, and readings were a recognised form of entertainment at many Greek and Roman feasts. It is not required of me that I should do more than name the reading of scriptures and other pious works which is common to all religions both in public and private, for these exercises of the art, whether enjoyable or not, are ceremonial rather than indulgent."--The Anatomy of Bibliomania (1930) by Holbrook Jackson |
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In classical Greece, in the fifth and fourth centuries BC and perhaps earlier, a rhapsode was a professional performer of poetry, especially of epic poetry (notably the epics attributed to Homer) but also the wisdom and catalogue poetry of Hesiod and the satires of Archilochus and others. Plato's dialogue Ion, in which Socrates confronts a star rhapsode, remains our richest source of information on these artists. Often, rhapsodes are depicted in Greek art, wearing their signature cloak and carrying a staff. This equipment is also characteristic of travellers in general, implying that rhapsodes were itinerant performers, moving from town to town.
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