by: Alfonso Joel V.

Gonzales
BSA-IV
 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.
 The first is a faithful depiction of the poverty-stricken country life he knew so well,
and it sets forth principles and rules for farmers. Theogony is a systematic account of
creation and of the gods. It vividly describes the ages of mankind, beginning with a
long-past Golden Age. Together the works of Homer and Hesiod comprised a kind of
Bible for the Greeks; Homer told the story of a heroic relatively-near past, which
Hesiod bracketed with a creation narrative and an account of the practical realities
of contemporary daily life.
 • 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; dramatic presentations of
comedy and tragedy 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.
 • Classical (500 BC-323 BC)

 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 historyy) his “history”
contains the first literary use of prose in Western Lit. and Thucydides is better. His
critical source of sources, inclusion of documents and laborious reasearch made his
History of the Peneloppesian War a significant influene on later generatipons of
historians.
 The greatest achievement of the 3rd century 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' 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.
 Roman Literature (cont’d)

 In this field, his most distinguished successors were Marcus Pacuvius and
Lucius Accius. These three writers rarely used episodes from Roman
history. Instead, they wrote Latin versions of tragic themes that the Greeks
had already handled. But even when they copied the Greeks, they did not
translate slavishly. Only fragments of their plays have survived.
 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.
 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.
 Roman Literature (cont’d)

 Phormio is a Latin comic play by the early Roman playwright

Terence, based on a play by Apollodorus of Carystus. .
 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.
 • The Augustan Age

 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 Heroides take the form of letters
addressed by famous mythological characters to their partners
expressing their emotions at being separated from them, pleas for their
return, and allusions to their future actions within their own mythology.
 • 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 (Publius Ovidius Naso).
 • The Golden Age

 Cicero has traditionally been considered the master of Latin prose.

His letters provide detailed information about an important period in
Roman history and offer a vivid picture of the public and private life
among the Roman governing class. Cicero's works on oratory are our
most valuable Latin sources for ancient theories on education and
rhetoric. His philosophical works were the basis of moral philosophy
during the Middle Ages. His speeches inspired many European political
leaders and the founders of the United States.
 Julius Caesar and Sallust were outstanding historical writers of
Cicero's time. Caesar wrote commentaries on the Gallic and civil wars
in a straightforward style to justify his actions as a general. Sallust
adopted an abrupt, pointed style in his historical works. He wrote
brilliant descriptions of people and their motives.
 • 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.
 • Latin in the Middle Ages,
Renaissance, and Early Modernity

 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 franca (a mixture of Italian with French, Greek, Arabic,
and Spanish) among the learned throughout Europe, with the great works
of Descartes (Cartesian Coordinate System), Francis Bacon (scientific
method), and Baruch Spinoza (metaphysics) 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 (Law of
Gravitation), 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.
Greek Gods and Goddesses and
their Roman equivalents
• THE 12 OLYMPIANS

 Zeus Athena 
 Poseidon  Apollo 
 Hades  Aphrodite 
 Hestia Hermes 
 Hera  Artemis 
 Ares  Hephaestus 
 ZEUS’S IMMORTAL CHILDREN

 Metis -- Athene
 Themis -- Hours, Order, Justice, Peace, Fates
 Demeter -- Persephone
 Mnemosyne -- The Nine Muses
 Leto -- Artemis & Apollo
 Dione -- Aphrodite
 Semele -- Dionysus
 Maia -- Hermes
 Hera -- Hebe, Ares, Hephaestus
ZEUS (JUPITER)
Lord of the Sky, the Cloud-
gatherer
Supreme ruler of Mount
Olympus
Spiritual leader of both gods
and men
Upholder of the law, justice,
morals, and civilised conduct
Attributes: Thunderbolt, the
eagle, the aegis, the oak tree
POSEIDON (NEPTUNE)

Lord of the Sea

Gave the first horse to man
(God of Horses)
The Earth-shaker (God of
Earthquakes)
Submarine palace
Attributes: The trident,
dolphins, horses, bulls
HADES (PLUTO)

 Lord of the Underworld, Ruler of

the Dead
 Abducted and gave Persephone a
pomegranate, she ate and belonged
to the underworld forever
 The God of Wealth, possesses the
riches of the earth
 His name is avoided
 Attributes: The scepter, the helmet
(of invisibility), the narcissus flower
HESTIA (VESTA)

Goddess of the Hearth, the symbol

of home and domestic life
A virgin goddess, wooed by
Poseidon and Apollo but swore by
Zeus to remain a virgin
Every hearth on Earth was her
altar
New colonies took fire from the
hearth of the mother-city
Attributes: The hearth
HERA (JUNO)

Queen of Mount Olympus

Zeus’ wife and sister
Goddess of Marriage and Birth
Always jealous of Zeus’s love
affairs
Punishes her rivals and their
children (e.g. Zeus, Io, Helen)
Attributes: The peacock, the
cow, the pomegranate, the city
of Argos
ARES (MARS)
God of War
Handsome but vain, cruel and
murderous; detested by gods
and men
Attended by his sister Eris, the
Goddess of Strife, his sons, and
by Enyo, old goddess of war
Cowardly runs away when
wounded
Born in Thrace, where there
lives a fierce people
Attributes: The vulture, the dog,
and the war gear
PALLAS ATHENA (MINERVA)
Goddess of Wisdom, War, the
Handicrafts, Industry and Justice
Born out of Zeus’s head, fully-grown
and wearing a robe and helmet, no
mother
Zeus’s favourite child
Virgin goddess
Athena, the grey-eyed; Athena of the
flashing eyes
Attributes: The olive tree, the owl,
the aegis, the city of Athens, and
Parthenon temple
PHOEBUS APOLLO
God of Light (assoc. with the
Sun-god Helios), Truth (can
never tell a lie), Medicine,
Archery, Music, Poetry
Master musician, he directed
the choir of Muses
The Archer-god, the Healer
Twin-brother of Artemis
Killed the dragon Python
Attributes: The lyre, the bow
and the arrow, the tripod, the
swan, the laurel tree
APHRODITE (VENUS)

 Goddess of Love, Beauty, and

Sexual Desire
 The laughter-loving, irresistible
goddess; had many lovers
 Born out of sea foams; the sea carried
her to Cyprus
 Married to Hephaestus, the ugly, lame
God of Fire
 Aphrodisiac festival celebrated in
Athens and Corinth, sexual
intercourse as worship
 Attributes: The myrtle tree, the dove,
the swan
HERMES (MERCURY)

 Messenger God, God of

Commerce, Travel, Literature,
Athletics
 The Divine Herald, leads the souls
of the dead to Hades
 Cunning, shrewd, swift
 Gave the lyre to Apollo in
exchange for his cattle
 Attributes: The winged-sandals, a
broad-brimmed hat with wings,
Caduceus (staff with snakes and
wings)
ARTEMIS (DIANA)

 Goddess of Hunting, Wild Animals, and

Fertility
 A virgin goddess associated with Chastity,
twin-sister of Apollo, associated with
Selene, the Moon
 Armed with a bow and arrows,
accompanied by the Nymphs
 Contradictory features; protectress of
women in labour and of young children,
brought sudden death to labouring women
by shooting arrows
 Attributes: Cypress tree, the deer
HEPHAESTUS (VULCAN/MULCIBER)

 God of Fire, Forge, Smith of Gods

 The armourer; patron of smiths
 Hera conceived him alone, later rejected
 He imprisoned his mother Hera on a
magic throne; released her after
Aphrodite was given as his bride
 He caught his wife with Ares with the
magic chain-link net
 Made the first woman,Pandora from clay
 Attributes: Ugly, lame; carries an axe;
wears a beard