"Homeric poetry was performed at the Panathenaia by rhapsōidoi, ‘rhapsodes’ ... The rhapsodes narrated the Iliad and Odyssey in relay, following traditions of rhapsodic sequencing: each rhapsode waited for his turn to pick up the narrative where the previous rhapsode left off." In this post we share a selection of passages that describe the repertoire, performance, and skills of rhapsodes. Read more
"...the Muse impelled the singer to sing the glories of men, starting from a thread [of a song] that had at that time a glory reaching all the way up to the vast sky." In Homeric poetry, there are several examples of singers performing. So in this post we will focus on the singer [aoidos] as featured in epics themselves. How does epic depict the role of singers and their… Read more
Our next Book Club selection is Chapter 3, "Heroes as Performers," of The Language of Heroes: Speech and Performance in the Iliad, by Richard P. Martin, available online at the CHS website. Read more
