Alfonso Joel V.

Gonzales World Literature

BSA-IV Mr. Nesthe B. Quijano

Greek and Roman Literature

Greek Literature
Greek literature refers to literature written in Ancient Greek dialects. These works range from the oldest surviving
written works in the Greek language until works from the fifth century AD. The Greek language arose from the proto-Indo-
European language. A number of alphabets and syllabaries had been used to render Greek, but surviving Greek literature was
written in a Phoenician-derived alphabet that arose primarily in Greek Ionia and was fully adopted by Athens by the fifth
century BC.
Ancient Greek literature was written in an Ancient Greek dialect. This literature ranges from the oldest surviving
written works until works from approximately the fifth century AD. This time period is divided into the Preclassical,
Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman periods.

Preclassical (800 BC-500 BC)

The Greeks created poetry before making use of writing for literary purposes. Poems created in the Preclassical
period were meant to be sung or recited (writing was little known before the 7th century BC). Most poems focused on myths,
legends that were part folktale and part religion. Tragedies and comedies emerged around 600 BC.
At the beginning of Greek literature stand the works of Homer; the Iliad and the Odyssey. Though dates of
composition vary, these works were fixed around 800 BC. Another significant figure was the poet Hesiod. His two surviving
works are Works and Days and Theogony.

Classical (500 BC-323 BC)

During the classical period, many of the genres of western literature became more prominent. Lyrical
poetry, odes, pastorals, elegies,epigrams arose in this period.
One of the major lyrical poets was Sappho. Sappho was an archaic Greek poet from the island of Lesbos. Sappho
is known for her lyric poetry, written to be sung and accompanied by a lyre. Most of Sappho's poetry is now lost, and what is
extant has survived only in fragmentary form, except for one complete poem – the "Ode to Aphrodite".
Of the hundreds of tragedies written and performed during this time period, only a limited number of plays
survived. These plays are authored by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.
Aeschylus was an ancient Greek tragedian. He is often described as the Father of Tragedy. Only seven of his
estimated seventy to ninety plays have survived, and there is a long standing debate regarding his authorship of one of these
plays, Prometheus Bound, which some believe his son Euphorion actually wrote.
Sophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. The most famous tragedies of
Sophocles feature Oedipus and also Antigone.
Euripides, also known as the “most tragic poet”, was a tragedian of classical Athens. Some ancient scholars
attributed 95 plays to him but, according to the Suda, it was 92 at most. Of these, 18 or 19 have survived more or less
complete (there has been debate about his authorship of Rhesus, largely on stylistic grounds).
The comedy arose from a ritual in honor of Dionysus, the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking and wine, of
fertility, ritual madness, religious ecstasy and theatre in ancient Greek religion and myth. These plays were full of obscenity,
abuse, and insult.
Two influential historians of this age are Herodotus (Father of History) and Thucydides.
The greatest prose achievement of the 4th century BC was in philosophy. Greek philosophy flourished during the
classical period. Of the philosophers, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle are the most famous.

Hellenistic (323 BC-31 BC)

The Hellenistic age is defined as the time between the death of Alexander the Great and the rise of Roman
domination. After the 3rd century BC, the Greek colony of Alexandria in northern Egypt became the center of Greek culture.
Greek poetry flourished with significant contributions from Theocritus, Callimachus, and Apollonius of Rhodes.
Theocritus, who lived from about 310 to 250 BC, was the creator of pastoral poetry, a type that the Roman Virgil mastered
in his Eclogues.
Drama was represented by the New Comedy, (everyday life, rather than of public affairs).
One of the most valuable contributions of the Hellenistic period was the translation of the Old Testament into
Greek. This work was done at Alexandria and completed by the end of the 2nd century BC.

Roman Age (31 BC-284 AD)

Roman literature was written in Latin and contributed significant works to the subjects of poetry, comedy, history,
and tragedy. A large proportion of literature from this time period were histories.
Significant historians of the period were Timaeus, Polybius, and Diodorus Siculus. The period of time they cover
extended from late in the 4th century BC to the 2nd century AD.
Eratosthenes of Alexandria wrote on astronomy and geography, but his work is known mainly from later
summaries. The physician Galen pioneered developments in various scientific disciplines including anatomy, physiology,
pathology, pharmacology, and neurology.
The New Testament, written by various authors in varying qualities of Koine Greek (the common dialect during
Hellenistic and Roman periods), hails from this period. The Gospels and the Epistles of Saint Paul were written in this time
period as well.
Roman Literature (Latin Literature)
Formal Latin literature began in 240 BC, when a Roman audience saw a Latin version of a Greek play. The
adaptor was Livius Andronicus, a Greek who had been brought to Rome as a prisoner of war in 272 BC. Andronicus also
translated Homer's Greek epic the Odyssey into an old type of Latin verse called Saturnian.
The first Latin poet to write on a Roman theme was Gnaeus Naevius during the 3rd century BC. He composed an
epic poem about the first Punic War, in which he had fought. Naevius's dramas were mainly reworkings of Greek originals,
but he also created tragedies based on Roman myths and history.
Other epic poets followed Naevius. Quintus Ennius wrote a historical epic, the Annals (soon after 200 BC),
describing Roman history from the founding of Rome to his own time. He adopted Greek dactylic hexameter (also known as
"heroic hexameter" and "the meter of epic"), which became the standard verse form for Roman epics. He also became
famous for his tragic dramas.
In this field, his most distinguished successors were Marcus Pacuvius and Lucius Accius.
Considerably more is known about early Latin comedy, as 26 Early Latin comedies are extant – 20 of
which Plautus wrote, and the remaining six of which Terence wrote. These men modeled their comedies on Greek plays
known as New Comedy. But they treated the plots and wording of the originals freely.
Asinaria, which has been translated as The One with the Asses, is a comic play written in Latin by the Roman
playwright Titus Maccius Plautus and is known as one of the great works of ancient Roman comedy. It is famous for
containing the lines "A man is a wolf rather than a man to another man, when he hasn't yet found out what he's like."
and "Practice yourself what you preach."
Terence's plays were more polite in tone, dealing with domestic situations. His works provided the chief
inspiration for French and English comedies of the 17th century AD, and even for modern American comedy.
Phormio is a Latin comic play by the early Roman playwright Terence, based on a play by Apollodorus of
Carystus. . The play is named after the character Phormio, who is a cunning "parasite".
The prose of the period is best known through On Agriculture (160 BC) by Cato the Elder. Cato also wrote the
first Latin history of Rome and of other Italian cities. He was the first Roman statesman to put his political speeches in
writing as a means of influencing public opinion.
Early Latin literature ended with Gaius Lucilius, who created a new kind of poetry in his 30 books of Satires. He
wrote in an easy, conversational tone about books, food, friends, and current events.

The Augustan Age

The emperor Augustus took a personal interest in the literary works produced during his years of power. This
period is sometimes called the Augustan Age of Latin Literature. Virgil published his pastoral Eclogues, the Georgics, and
the Aeneid, an epic poem describing the events that led to the creation of Rome. Virgil told how the Trojan hero Aeneas
became the ancestor of the Roman people. Virgil also provided divine justification for Roman rule over the world. Although
Virgil died before he could put the finishing touches on his poem, it was soon recognized as the greatest work of Latin
literature.
Virgil's friend Horace wrote Epodes, Odes, Satires, and Epistles. The perfection of the Odes in content, form, and
style has charmed readers for hundreds of years. The Satires and Epistles discuss ethical and literary problems in an urbane,
witty manner. Horace's Art of Poetry, probably published as a separate work, greatly influenced later poetic theories. It stated
the basic rules of classical writing as the Romans understood and used them. After Virgil died, Horace was Rome's leading
poet.
The Latin elegy reached its highest development in the works of Ovid. Most of this poetry is concerned with love.
One of the most notable works of Ovid is the Heroides.

The Golden Age

Traditionally, the height of Latin literature has been assigned to the period from 81 BC to AD 17, although recent
scholarship has questioned the assumptions that privileged the works of this period over both earlier and later works. This
period is usually said to have begun with the first known speech of Cicero and ended with the death of Ovid.
Cicero has traditionally been considered the master of Latin prose.
Julius Caesar and Sallust were outstanding historical writers of Cicero's time.

The Imperial Period

During the reign of Nero from 54 to 68, the Stoic philosopher Seneca wrote a number of dialogues and letters on
such moral themes as mercy and generosity. In his Natural Questions, Seneca analyzed earthquakes, floods, and storms.
Seneca's tragedies greatly influenced the growth of tragic drama in Europe.
The Satyricon (about 60) by Petronius was the first Latin novel. Only fragments of the complete work survive. It
describes the adventures of various low-class characters in absurd, extravagant, and dangerous situations, often in the world
of petty crime.

Latin in the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Early Modernity

Pagan Latin literature showed a final burst of vitality in the late 3rd century through 5th centuries. Ammianus
Marcellinus in history, Quintus Symmachus in oratory, and Ausonius and Rutilius Claudius Namatianus in poetry all
wrote with great talent. The Mosella by Ausonius demonstrated a modernism of feeling that indicates the end of classical
literature as such.
 At the same time, other men laid the foundations of Christian Latin literature during the 4th century and 5th
century. They included the church fathers Augustine of Hippo, Jerome, and Ambrose, and the first great Christian
poet, Prudentius.
During the Renaissance there was a return to the Latin of Classical times, called for this reason Neo-Latin. This
purified language continued to be used as the lingua among the learned throughout Europe, with the great works
of Descartes, Francis Bacon, and Baruch Spinoza all being composed in Latin. Among the last important books written
primarily in Latin prose were the works of Swedenborg, Linnaeus, Euler, Gauss, and Isaac Newton, and Latin remains a
necessary skill for modern readers of great early modern works of linguistics, literature, and philosophy.
Several of the leading English poets wrote in Latin as well as English. Milton's 1645 Poems are one example, but
there were also Thomas Campion, George Herbert and Milton's colleague Andrew Marvell. They indeed wrote chiefly in
Latin and were valued for the elegance and Classicism of their style.

The Greek and Roman Gods and Goddesses

Greek Roman Functions and attributes

King of the gods and ruler of Mount Olympus; god of the sky, lightning, thunder, law, order and justice. Youngest child of the
Zeus Jupiter
Titans Cronus and Rhea.

Hera Juno Queen of the gods and the goddess of marriage, women, childbirth and family.

Poseidon Neptune God of the seas, water, storms, hurricanes, earthquakes and horses.

Hades Ceres God of Wealth, he was also the ruler of the underworld.

Athena Minerva Goddess of wisdom, knowledge, reason, intelligent activity, literature, handicrafts, science, defense and strategic warfare.

Apollo Apollo God of light, the sun, prophecy, philosophy, truth, inspiration, poetry, music, arts, medicine, healing, and plague.

Artemis Diana Goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, virginity, the moon, archery, childbirth, protection and plaque.

Ares Mars God of war, violence, bloodshed and manly virtues.

Aphrodite Venus Goddess of love, pleasure, passion, procreation, fertility, beauty and desire.

Hephaestus Vulcan Master blacksmith and craftsman of the gods; god of the forge, craftsmanship, invention, fire and volcanoes.

Hermes Mercury Messenger of the gods; god of travel, commerce, communication, borders, eloquence, diplomacy, thieves and games.

Goddess of the hearth, fire and of the right ordering of domesticity and the family; she was born into the first Olympian
Hestia Vesta
generation and was one of the original twelve Olympians.