aoidos

...For details on VI and VII, please refer to Byzantine Literature and the description at the end of this article.
[I. The period when the epic poems were created]
No traces of literature have been found in the records of the Mycenaean period, but the first seeds of epic literature, such as those of Homer and Hesiod, which emerged from the 8th century BCE onwards, can be found in the storytelling skills of the wandering bards (aoidos) who travelled from place to place during the Dark Ages from the 12th century BCE onwards. The works of these two poets as they are known today were established as oral stories among professional poets who primarily used the early Ionian dialect, and they developed and matured as a representative repertoire among them.

*Some of the terminology explanations that mention "aoidos" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…VIおよびVIIについては〈ビザンティン文学〉とこの項末尾の記述を参照されたい。
【I叙事詩成立の時代】
　ミュケナイ時代の記録には文学の痕跡は発見されていないが，前8世紀以降台頭するホメロス，ヘシオドスらの叙事詩文学の最初の萌芽は，前12世紀以降の〈暗黒時代〉に諸地を歴遊した吟遊詩人(アオイドスaoidos)の語り物技芸に発する。今日伝わる両詩人の作品は初期イオニア方言をおもに用いた職業的詩人たちの間で口承の語り物として成立し，彼らの間で代表的レパートリーとして発展･熟成の過程をたどった。…

※「aoidos」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報