[…] since sophos means “wise,” sophia generally means “wisdom,” and sophoi denotes “wise men” of any kind and in any field […]. As a consequence, he regards Thales as having been the first of the sophoi and the profession as having begun with the seven sophoi of the oracle at Delphi […]. Given this understanding, the sophoi stood in close relation to religious ritual as well as to linguistic, musical, and dramatic performance, and philosophy itself becomes first of all an advanced form of poetic discourse still submerged in mythical images […]
Source: wiktionary