The chapter "Orality and Literacy" by Françoise Letoublon explores the socio-linguistic aspects of orality and literacy, emphasizing their anthropological significance as successive stages in human cultural evolution. The invention of writing is seen as a pivotal moment that marks the transition from orality to literacy, though this transition is not always straightforward. The example of Mycenaean script, which disappeared during the Dark Ages, challenges the notion that once a culture acquires writing, it remains there. Instead, the text suggests that literacy can be lost, as seen in ancient Greece. The chapter highlights the complex relationship between orality and literacy, noting that literacy often brings significant changes in thinking and social structures. In ancient societies, literacy was typically confined to a privileged class, while the general population remained in an oral stage. The text also discusses the paradoxical attitudes towards literacy found in classical Greece, such as Antigone's reliance on unwritten laws, Pindar's emphasis on poetry over athletic achievements, and Socrates' skepticism about writing. Key features of orality, particularly in Homeric epics, include catalogues, genealogies, typical scenes and formulas, and similes. These elements are crucial for oral performance and memory, and they contribute to the rich, analogical world of the epics. The chapter also examines the concept of "semata," or meaningful objects, which carry symbolic and cultural significance in oral traditions. In contrast, literacy tends to freeze or mummify these meanings, leading to a more concrete and less ambiguous world. Finally, the text discusses the role of signs and symbols in both oral and literary traditions, noting how they function to establish identity and meaning. The transition from oral to literary forms, as seen in works like Heliodorus' *Aithiopica*, illustrates how literacy introduces new ways of representing and interpreting the world, often at the expense of the ambiguity and depth of oral traditions.The chapter "Orality and Literacy" by Françoise Letoublon explores the socio-linguistic aspects of orality and literacy, emphasizing their anthropological significance as successive stages in human cultural evolution. The invention of writing is seen as a pivotal moment that marks the transition from orality to literacy, though this transition is not always straightforward. The example of Mycenaean script, which disappeared during the Dark Ages, challenges the notion that once a culture acquires writing, it remains there. Instead, the text suggests that literacy can be lost, as seen in ancient Greece. The chapter highlights the complex relationship between orality and literacy, noting that literacy often brings significant changes in thinking and social structures. In ancient societies, literacy was typically confined to a privileged class, while the general population remained in an oral stage. The text also discusses the paradoxical attitudes towards literacy found in classical Greece, such as Antigone's reliance on unwritten laws, Pindar's emphasis on poetry over athletic achievements, and Socrates' skepticism about writing. Key features of orality, particularly in Homeric epics, include catalogues, genealogies, typical scenes and formulas, and similes. These elements are crucial for oral performance and memory, and they contribute to the rich, analogical world of the epics. The chapter also examines the concept of "semata," or meaningful objects, which carry symbolic and cultural significance in oral traditions. In contrast, literacy tends to freeze or mummify these meanings, leading to a more concrete and less ambiguous world. Finally, the text discusses the role of signs and symbols in both oral and literary traditions, noting how they function to establish identity and meaning. The transition from oral to literary forms, as seen in works like Heliodorus' *Aithiopica*, illustrates how literacy introduces new ways of representing and interpreting the world, often at the expense of the ambiguity and depth of oral traditions.