Introduction and Definition
Oral tradition refers to cultural material transmitted orally from one generation to another without the aid of writing. It may take many forms: jokes, sayings, narrative poetry, songs, folktales, genealogies, and praise poetry. In this way, laws, prescriptions, and even historical elements are transmitted. But principally oral tradition refers to poetic composition and, as such, is called “oral theory” or “oral-formulaic theory.” Oral tradition is distinct from the study of orality, which has to do with the nature of thought and expression in illiterate societies.
Historical Background
The study of oral traditions began in the nineteenth century with the Serbian scholar Vuk Stefanović Karadžić (1787–1864), of peasant origins. Vuk Karadžić was a linguist and reformer of the Serbian written language, especially its orthography, bringing it closer to common speech and away from Serbian Church Slavonic. He is called the father of Serbian folklore because of his...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Foley, J.M. 1995. Oral tradition and its implications, in I. Morris & B. Powell (ed.) A new companion to Homer. Leiden: Brill.
Parry, A. 1971. The making of Homeric verse. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Powell, B.B. 1991. Homer and the origin of the Greek alphabet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- 2003. Writing and the origins of Greek literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Further Reading
Bakker, E.J. 1996. Poetry in speech: orality and Homeric discourse. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Edwards, M.W. 1986. Homer and oral tradition: the formula (Part I). Oral Tradition 1: 171-230. Available at: http://journal.oraltradition.org/issues/1ii/edwards (accessed 30 August 2013)
- 1987. Homer: Poet of the Iliad. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
- 1988. Homer and oral tradition: the formula (Part II). Oral Tradition 3: 11-60. Available at http://journal.oraltradition.org/issues/3i-ii/edwards (accessed 30 August 2013)
- 1992. Homer and oral tradition: the type scene. Oral Tradition 7: 284-330. Available at http://journal.oraltradition.org/issues/7ii/edwards (accessed 30 August 2013)
Foley, J.M. 1988. Immanent art: from structure to meaning in traditional oral epic. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Havelock, E. 1963. Preface to Plato. Cambridge (MA): Harvard University Press.
Lord, A.B. 2000. The singer of tales, 2nd edn. Cambridge (MA): Harvard University Press.
Mededović, A. 1974. The wedding of Smailagić Meho. Translated by A. B. Lord. Cambridge (MA): Harvard University Press.
Morris, I. & B.B. Powell. (ed.) 1997. A new companion to Homer. Leiden: Brill.
Murko, M. 1990. The singers and their epic songs. Translated by J.M. Foley. Oral Tradition 5: 107-30. Available at http://journal.oraltradition.org/issues/5i/murko. (accessed 30 August 2013)
Ong, W. 2001. Orality and literacy: the technologizing of the word, 2nd edn. New York: Routledge.
Powell, B. B. 2007. Homer, 2nd edn. Malden/Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Radloff, W. 1990. Preface to The Dialect of the Kara-Kirgiz. Translated by G.B. Sherman with A.B. Davis. Oral Tradition 5: 73-90. Available at http://journal.oraltradition.org/issues/5i/radloff. (accessed 30 August 2013).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this entry
Cite this entry
Powell, B.B. (2014). Oral Tradition: Ancient Greece. In: Smith, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_949
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_949
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-0426-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-0465-2
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and Law