in ancient Greece, the creation of melos, or melody; the melodic embodiment of a poetic text. Ancient Greek music theory included a special branch that was basically a systematization of phenomena related to melopoeia. The term came into use again in Western Europe during the Renaissance, usually with reference to the teaching of composition, which was also known as musica poetica. In the 19th and 20th centuries the term “melopoeia”has been used rarely. It is considered synonymous with “melodies.”