"song-stitcher". Singer or reciter of traditional songs.

Greek for a "song-stitcher." In classical antiquity, a rhapsode was a professional reciter of poetry, especially the epics of Homer, but also the wisdom-verse of Hesiod and the satires of Archilochus, among others. Plato's dialogue Ion, wherein Socrates confronts a star rhapsode, remains our richest source of information on these artists.

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.

A rhapsodist.