GREEK LITERATURE
onwards
It is the body of writings in the Greek language, with a continuous
history extending from the 1st millennium bc to the present day.
The history of literature is divided into three periods. The first
period, covering the Pre-Homeric Age and Homeric Age.
 The meaning of PRE-HOMERIC is occurring before the time of
the Greek poet Homer or the Homeric writings.
Pre-Homeric Period
The Pre-Homeric Period is connected to the rise of the Greeks, with
two civilizations standing out: Cretan and Mycenaean.
The Cretans arose in the present-day region of Turkey and migrated
to the islands of the Aegean Sea, mainly to the island of Crete.
The life of the Cretans included agriculture, livestock, and trade,
which were responsible for their expansion throughout Asia Minor.
The Cretan people existed until about 1400 B.C. and were replaced by
the Mycenaeans. The fall of the Cretan civilization, it is believed,
happened because of the high exploitation of the soil added to the
natural disasters that struck the island.
The Mycenaeans assimilated the Cretan culture and this had a great
influence on the formation of the Greek culture. For example, the
Mycenaeans already organized themselves into city-states and
maintained strong trade relations with other peoples and regions.
The Mycenaean civilization declined from 1200 B.C.
because of the Dorian invasion. After this event, the Homeric Period
began
Homeric Period
The destruction of the Mycenaean civilization by the Dorians caused
the civilization to go through a retreat. The great Mycenaean cities
were reduced to small villages and great palaces were destroyed.
The Homeric Period is somewhat obscure. Historians know little
about this part of Greek history.
It extends from remote antiquity to the age of Herodotus (484 B.C).
This period includes the earliest poetry of Greece and the works of
Homer. The second period, which coincides with the Athenian
period to the Golden Age of Pericles,
 A “golden age” is a time of peace, prosperity, and happiness, and
often occurs when cultural activities such as art or writing reach a
peak. The Greek city-state of Athens reached its Golden Age
between 480-404 BCE. This era is also referred to as the Age of
Pericles, for the Athenian statesman who led the city from 461-
429 BCE.
extends from the Age of Herodotus to the death of Alexander the
Great (323 B.C.). The third period, the Period of Decline, extends
from the death of Alexander the Great to the enslavement of the
Greeks by Rome and extends to A.D. 1453.
Hellenistic Period
The Hellenistic Period represents the decline of the Greek
civilization.

After the war against the Persians, Athens experienced a period of

supremacy, developing greatly in economic and cultural matters.

Athens' growth bothered Sparta, so the two cities started a war. The
Peloponnesian War, as it became known, lasted from 431 BC to 404
BC.

The Spartans defeated the Athenians and became the great city in
Greece. But their rule did not please everyone either, and the city of
Thebes declared war on Sparta in 371 BC and defeated them.

This succession of wars significantly weakened the entire Greek

territory and left them susceptible to invasions from other peoples.

In 338 BC, Philip of Macedon conquered Greek territory, and two

years later, his son Alexander became king and expanded his empire.

After Alexander's death, the Macedonian empire began to decline,

and the Romans – centuries later – conquered his empire and Greece.