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WORLD LITERATURE
www.themegallery.com
● The Greeks are known as people of
the world who had one of the highest
forms of culture that we have ever
known.
● Their literature arose from different
ages and represent that represent
their outstanding achievement.
GREEK
• The name Greece comes from the Latin
“Graecia” which in turn comes from
the Greek word Graikoi, the original
name of the people living in Dodona.
• However, the word is used to address
people living in Greece.
• The original Greek name was, and still
is Hellas., the land of the Helens.
• Originally, this was a small area south of
Thessalia, but it was widely used for
people with a Greek background and
culture, stretching from the West Coast
of Asia Minor, southern Italy and Sicily to
the Pyrenes and Northern Africa.
• Influences from their art and culture
have made a great impact on the
European and American culture.
• Their highly organized society (even the
word politics is a Greek word), their
system of justice, and of course their art,
the sculptures, statues, plays and
mythology have been a major source of
inspiration.
GENERAL VIEW OF LITERATURE

• The most striking quality of Greek

Literature, poetry and prose alike is that it
is alive and relevant today as it was when it
was written.
• We may admire it for its technical skill, but
what binds us to it is its profound humanity
, its wise appreciation of human values.
• It deals with precise issues in a
universal way and it gains our attention
not by arguing for this side or for that,
but by presenting a situation full, in all
its powerful implication.
• Poetry was the Greek’s immediate
response to a wide range of
experience, and to reflect this
variety they invented or perfected
many of the poetic form that we
now know.
• They seem to have begun with the
heroic epic which is objective story
telling in verse of exciting and tragic
events.
• They followed this with a more personal
and emotional poetry, which was sung
to the lyre, and is called lyric for this
reason.
• At their high noon, the Greeks
invented both the tragedy and the
comedy.
• Even in later years, they continued
to write charming poetry though its
strength had become diminished
and its subject less majestic.
 Ancient Greek Literature
• refers to literature written in Ancient Greek
from the oldest surviving written works in
the Greek language until approximately
the fifth century AD and the rise of the
Byzantine Empire.
• arose from the proto-Indo-European
language, though roughly one-third of its
words cannot be derived from various
reconstructions of the tongue.
• A number of alphabets and syllabifies 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.
• At the beginning of Greek literature stand
the two monumental works of Homer, the
Iliad and the Odyssey.
• The other great poet of the pre-classical
period was Hesiod.
• His two surviving works are Works and
Days and Theogony.
• 30% of the words in a ordinary dictionary
comes from the ancient Greek language.
• Ancient Greeks were the first to use vowels.
• The vowels made the language easier to learn
and speak.
• Our alphabet came from the Greek language.
• For example: the word “alphabet” came from
ancient Greek words “alpha” “beta”.
• Ancient Greek literature had four major
writings; epic traditions, lyric poetry,
tragedy and comedy.
• An example of the epic traditions are the
Iliad and the Odyssey.
• Lyric poems got its name from a group of
individuals singing while playing the lyre.
Tragedies and comedies were dramas
and used to honor Greek god Dionysus.
• These are the five main dialects of
ancient Greek that have been found on
inscriptions:
– Attic-Ionic Greek
– Achaean
– Aeolic
– Doric
– Northwest Greek
• Studying Greek Literature would
always lead one to the study and
understanding of its mythology.
• One would have to familiarize himself
with the uniqueness of its gods and
goddesses.
• The origin of this is unclear although it
was believed to have been influenced
by the Mediterranean whose origins lie
in Crete and Asia Minor.
• The Greek mythological gods and
goddesses were made out of their own
image very different from the Egyptians
and the others.
• They were believed to be the controller
of the life of human beings.
• Greek gods were not supreme, almighty
beings.
• They were looked upon as idealized
human beings.
• They were powerful, but looked human
and had the same flaws human had.
• They were immortal, didn’t get old or sick
and had eternal youth, but they did have
human flaws, desires and needs, such
as hunger and thirst.
Zeus (Roman name: Jupiter)

• The most powerful of all, god of the sky

and the king of Olympus.
• His temper affected the weather, and he
threw thunderbolts when he was
unhappy.
• He was married to Hera but had many
other lovers.
• His symbols include the oak and the
thunderbolt.
Hera (Roman name: Juno)

• Hera was goddess of marriage and the

queen of Olympus.
• She was Zeus's wife and sister; many
myths tell of how she sought revenge
when Zeus betrayed her with his lovers.
• Her symbols include the peacock and
the cow.
Poseidon (Roman name:
Neptune)
• Poseidon was god of the sea.
• He lived in a beautiful palace under the
sea and caused earthquakes when he
was in a temper.
• His symbols include the horse and the
trident (a three-pronged pitchfork).
Aphrodite (Roman name:
Venus)
• Aphrodite was the goddess of love and
beauty, and the protector of sailors.
• She may have been the daughter of
Zeus and the Titan Dione, or she may
have risen from sea foam.
• Her symbols include the myrtle tree and
the dove
Apollo

• Apollo was the god of music and healing.

• He was also an archer, and hunted with
a silver bow.
• Apollo was the son of Zeus and the Titan
Leto, and the twin of Artemis.
• His symbols include the laurel tree, the
crow, and the dolphin.
Ares (Roman name: Mars)

• Ares was the god of war.

• He was both cruel and a coward.
• Ares was the son of Zeus and Hera, but
neither of his parents liked him.
• His symbols include the vulture and the
dog, and he often carried a bloody spear.
Artemis (Roman name: Diana)

• Artemis was the goddess of the hunt and

the protector of women in childbirth.
• She hunted with silver arrows and loved
all wild animals.
• Artemis was the daughter of Zeus and
Leto, and the twin of Apollo.
• Her symbols include the cypress tree
and the deer.
Athena (Roman name: Minerva)

• Athena was the goddess of wisdom.

• She was also skilled in the art of war,
and helped heroes such as Odysseus
and Hercules.
• Athena sprang full-grown from the
forehead of Zeus, and became his
favorite child.
• Her symbols include the owl and the
olive tree.
Hephaestus (Roman name:
Vulcan)
• Hephaestus was the god of fire and the
forge (a furnace in which metal is
heated).
• Although he made armor and weapons
for the gods, he loved peace.
• He was the son of Zeus and Hera and
married Aphrodite.
• His symbols include the anvil and the
forge.
Hermes (Roman name: Mercury)

• Hermes was the messenger god, a

trickster, and a friend to thieves.
• He was said to have invented boxing
and gymnastics.
• He was the son of Zeus and the
constellation Maia.
• The speediest of all, he wore winged
sandals and a winged hat and carried a
magic wand.
Demeter (Roman name: Ceres)

• Demeter was the goddess of the harvest.

The word “cereal” comes from her
Roman name.
• She was the sister of Zeus.
• Her symbols include wheat.
Hestia (Roman name: Vesta)

• Hestia was the goddess of the hearth (a

fireplace at the center of the home).
• She was the most gentle of the gods,
and does not play a role in many myths.
• Hestia was the sister of Zeus and the
oldest of the Olympians.
• Fire is among her symbols.
Important Authors
HOMER

• Homer is best known for the two epic

poems the Iliad and the Odyssey.
• The Greek blind poet
Sophocles

• Sophocles a Greek dramatist

• Wrote 123 plays (only 7 survived)
• Died in 406 B.C at Athens
EUCLID

• His main work is The Elements which is

still used as a textbook in mathematics.
PLATO

• The most famous works The Republic

and Symposium.
Aristophanes

• He was a playwright who wrote

comedies.
• His notable plays, The Wasps and
Lysistrata.
EURIPIDES

• Was a Greek tragedian.

• His most known works are Alcestis,
Medea and The Bacchus.
THE MAIN PERIODS OF GREEK
LITERATURE
THE HOMERIC AGE

• In this period • This age was no

(Circa 850 B.C.) doubt preceded
the Greek epics by a good deal of
Iliad and the “floating” or
odyssey were unwritten
created. literature which
very little is
known.
THE ATTIC AGE

• This is the period • Great historians

of the emergence like Herodotus
of excellent and Thucydides;
playwrights like • Philosophers like
Aeschylus, Amagoras and
Sophocles, Socrates.
Euripidis and
Aristophanes;
• Their works • This period is the
flourished mostly most glorious in
in the fifth century ancient history.
when political
supremacy in
Athens was at its
height.
• It revolves around • It is also known
a great political as the Periclean
leader in the Age.
person of
pericles.
THE HELLENISTIC OR ALEXANDRIAN AGE

• This age began • The following

after the death of year, just after the
Demosthenes death of
and Aristotle 322 Alexander, came
BC. the division of his
empire.
• The literary • Alexandria then
predominance of became the
Athens was metropolis of the
passed to Hellenistic world.
Alexandria, a city
in Egypt founded
by Alexander.
GREEK LITERATURE
HAS THE
FOLLOWING
QUALITIES
Permanence and Universality

• Greek Literature has an enduring quality.

• It is alive today as it was when it was
written more than 3,000 years ago.
• It has a universality that is truly
remarkable: it is read and admired by all
nations of the world regardless of race,
religion, or culture.
Essentially full of Artistry

• Greek literature is a product of people

who purposely and conscientiously
developed their physical and intellectual
powers.
• Greek art is the highest form of the
classic art
• The Greek mind became the foundation
of the literature of the Western world,
and its masterpieces afford the most
splendid examples of artistic beauty and
excellence that the world has ever
known.
Originality

• The quality of literary originality does not

mean that all literary types originated
from Greece.
• The drama had been produced by the
Egyptians and narrative poetry had been
cultivated in India.
• The Greek mind modified and improved
all that it touched.
Diversity

• The Greek mind never rested

complacently on any subject; it was ever
searching, ever seeking.
• It was found of diversity of application.
Intellectual Quality

• This means that the Greek mind

challenges one of to think for some
purpose- to bring about some inner
transformation.