Lesson 1: Introduction to Greek Literature
Literature
• A written artistic works, especially those with a high
and lasting artistic value. – Cambridge Dictionary
• A written material such as poetry, novels, essays, etc,
especially the works of imagination characterized
by excellence of style and expression and by themes of
general or enduring interest. – Collins Dictionary
• It is from the Latin word Littera meaning 'letters' and
referring to an acquaintance with the written word.
The Greeks are recognized as an Exceptional people. They are
known in history as the “nobles Greeks”.
Greek Literature has influenced not only its Roman neighbors
to the west but also countless generations across the European
continent. Greek writers are responsible for the introduction of
such genres as poetry, tragedy, comedy, and
western philosophy to the world (Wasson, 2017).
Only a portion of the literature of ancient Greece survives.
Despite the quality of the works, it is still important to note that
majority of them were produced by people who were familiar
with the tradition, either through Latin or directly. They were
conscious of how the forms they used were mainly Greek
inventions, and they took for granted the knowledge of Classical
literature.
The history of ancient Greek literature may be divided into
three periods:
• Archaic
• Classical
• Hellenistic
ARCHAIC PERIOD
(to the end of the 6th century BC)
• The Greeks created “Poetry” before they made use of
writing for literary purposes, and it was intended to be sung
or recited.
• During this period, the poets' works were spoken - an
outcome of an oral tradition - delivered at festivals.
• The literature of this period mostly centered on myth; part
history and part folklore.
HOMER: “The Iliad and the Odyssey”
The Iliad- centered on the last days of the Trojan War. It was
a poem of contrasts: gods and mortals, divine and human, war
and peace.
The Odyssey- revolved around the ten-year “odyssey” of the
Trojan War hero Odysseus and his attempt to return home.
AESOP: “Aesop's Fables"
The Mischievous Dog, The Lion and the Mouse, and The
Monkey as King.
The stories often ended (not always happily) with a moral such
as honesty is the best policy, look before you leap, heaven helps
those who help themselves, and once bitten, twice shy
The first printed works in vernacular English.
HESIOD: “THEOGONY”
A hymn to Apollo’s Muses.
It told about the origins and genealogies of the gods, the
kingdom of Zeus.
The father of didactic poetry.He came from Boeotia in central
Greece.
Works and Days, The Shield of Herakles, and Catalogue
of Women
SAPHO
One of the few female lyric poets.
Her poems were hymns to the gods and influenced such Romans
poets as Horace, Catullus, and Ovid.
CLASSICAL PERIOD
(5th and 4th centuries BCE)
• Oral recitation of poetry, as well as lyric poetry, morphed
into drama.
• This period centered on the tragedies and comedies.
• The golden age for rhetoric and oratory.
• Greek prose came to maturity in this period.
AESCHYLUS: “AGAMEMNON”
A play centering on the return of the Trojan War commander to
his wife Clytemnestra, who would eventually kill him.
His plays were centered on Greek myth, portraying the
suffering of man and the justice of the gods. His works were
among the first to have a dialogue between the play's characters.
Persians, Seven against Thebes, Suppliants (a play that beat
out Sophocles in a competition), Prometheus Bound, Oresteia
Trilogy
SOPHCOLES
Oedipus Rex or Oedipus the King, a play written 16 years after
first of the three, Antigone, a play about Oedipus' daughter. The
third in the series was Oedipus at Colonus, relaying the final
days of the blinded king.
The tragedy of Oedipus centered on a prophecy that foretold of
a man who would kill the king (his father) and marry the queen
(his mother).
EURIPIDES: “MEDEA”
speaks of a bitter woman who took revenge against her husband
by killing her children.
He was the author of 90 plays, among which
are Hippolytus, Trojan Women, and Orestes.
His plays - often based on myth.
ARISTOPHANES
Athenian author of Greek comedy
His plays were satires of public persons and affairs as well as
candid political criticisms.
His playsinclude Knights, Lysistrata, Thesmophoriazusae, The
Frogs, and The Clouds, a play that ridiculed the
philosopher Socrates as a corrupt teacher of rhetoric.
His plays had a moral or social lesson, poking fun at the literary
and social life of Athens.
PLATO
“Apology”, “ Crito”, and “Phaedo”- a tribute to the life and
death of his teacher, Socrates.
“ Symposium”, a series of speeches at a dinner party. However,
his most famous work was “ The Republic”, a book on the
nature and value of justice.
ARISTOTLE: “Nichomachean Ethics”
(a treatise on ethics and morality)
Physics, and Poetics
He was the creator of the syllogism
The teacher of Alexander the Great
EPICTETUS (A Stoic philosopher)
“ The Enchiridion” (the handbook) and his Discourses, both
foundational works in Stoic Philosophy
-Stoicism is the belief that the individual is wholly responsible
for his or her interpretations of circumstance and that all of life
is natural and normal in spite of one's impressions.
EPICURUS POLYBIUS

The founder of the Epicurean school in Athens. He wrote on Rome's rise to power.
"Pleasure is the principle and end to a happy life.“
Denounced as too friendly to Rome, he was a proponent
His teachings influenced Lucretius of Rome and his On the of Greek culture in Rome.
Nature of Things, and the Utilitarians Jeremy Bentham and J.S.
Mill -Of his Histories, only the first five books remain of the 40
written.
HERODOTUS
HELLENISTIC PERIOD
The “Father of History” (3rd century BC onward)

He is often criticized for factual errors, his accounts relied on
earlier works and documents.
His narratives demonstrate an understanding of the human
experience and unlike previous writers, he did not judge.
THUCYDIDES
-He wrote the contemporary History of the Peloponnesian
War between Athens and Sparta,
• Greek poetry, prose, and culture expand across
the Mediterranean influencing such Roman writers
as Horace, Ovid, and Virgil.
• A cosmopolitan period, literature was developed and
written for the entertainment or scientific instruction of a
small educated group.
• The founding of the Museum.

Part of his history was written as it happened and looked at both
long-range and short-range causes of the war.
His massive unfinished work would be completed by such
Greek authors as Xenophon and Cratippus.
• Individuals were becoming aware of their isolation and
were seeking consolidation and satisfaction outside
corporate society.
CALLIMACHUS ATHENIAN MENANDER

Of his over 800 books, 6 hymns, and 60 epigrams, only The leading proponent of New Comedy, authoring over 100
fragments remain. plays, including Dyscolus, Perikeiromene, and Epitrepontes.

His famous work was Aetia (Causes), which revealed his The master of suspense
fascination for the great Greek past, concentrating on many of
the ancient myths as well as the old cults and festivals. His plays were later adapted by the Roman authors Plautus and
Terence.
He heavily influenced the poetry of Catullus and
Ovid's Metamorphoses. PLUTARCH

THEOCRITUS One of the most famous of the Greek historians.

He produced several works of which only 30 poems and 24
epigrams exist.
He is said to be the originator of pastoral poetry.
His work influenced future Roman authors such as Ovid.
APOLLONIUS RHODIUS
His most famous work Parallel Lives provided biographies of
Roman statesmen as well as such Greeks as Alexander,
Lycurgus, Themistocles, and Pericles.
He concentrated on the personal character of each individual.
He also wrote on ethical, religious, political, and literary topics
of the day.

His major work was the four books of the Argonautica, a VALUING:
retelling of the story of Jason's travels to retrieve the
fabled Golden Fleece. "The one who plants and the one who waters have one
purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their
His work influenced Catullus and Virgil own labor."
1 Corinthians 3:8