(ῥαψῳδοί/ rhapsōidoí). Professional reciters of (as a rule epic) poetry. The profession emerged in Greece in the 8th cent. BC as a consequence of the transition from speech to writing as a medium for the transmission of information (Literacy/Orality). [German version] A. Meaning and connotation The first component of the word is the stem of the verb ῥάπτειν/ rháptein, 'sew' (cf. modern Greek ῥαπτο-μηχανή/ rhapto-mēchanḗ, 'sewing machine'); the second element the stem of the noun ᾠδή/ ōidḗ (< ἀοιδή/ aoidḗ), 'song', in the role of object effected. The meaning is thus: 'he wh…