Ancient Greek Literature

• Ancient Greek Literature is based on Epic Poems by Homer and Hesiod, written in the 8th century BCE.
• It then flourished with Lyrical Poetry, Plays that were Tragedies or Comedies, Philosophical Dialogues and Histories. It strongly influenced subsequent Roman Literature.

Greek Mythology

The Fathers of Ancient Greek Literature are Homer and Hesiod who developed the Epic Poem.

• Homer (c. 8th century BCE) and Epic Poetry
  • The Myth of Troy and the Adventures of Ulysses:
    • Iliad
    • Odyssey
• Hesiod (c.750-650 BCE) and Didactic Poetry
  • The Myth of the Origin of the Gods and the World
    • Works and Days:
      • The Myths of Prometheus, Pandora and the Five Ages.
    • Theogony (The Origin of the Gods):
      • The Myth of the Origin of the World, the Origin of the Gods, the Titans and the Giants.
    • Shield of Heracles:
      • The expedition of Heracles and Iolaus to combat Cycnus.

Top classics of Ancient Greek Literature

1. • Homer (8th century BCE) Iliad and Odyssey
   • Euripides (c.532-c.406 BCE) Medea, Electra, Hippolytus
   • Sophocles (c.497-c.405 BCE) The Oedipus Cycle: Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone
   • Aristophanes (446-386 BCE) Lysistrata, The Clouds
   • Plato (c.428-c.347 BCE) The Five Dialogues, The Symposium, The Republic
   • Aristotle (385-323 BCE) The Poetics, Metaphysics, Politics, The Nicomachean Ethics
   • Sappho (610-580 BCE ) Poems and Fragments
   • Aeschylus (523-456 BCE) The Orestia
   • Herodotus (c.484-c.425 BCE) The Histories
   • Xenophon (c.431-360 BCE) The Anabasis

Top Ten Greek Myths

• • Prometheus
  • Iliad: Helen of Troy and the Trojan War.
  • Odysseus and the Odyssey and his wife Penelope.
  • Heracles and the Twelve Labours of Heracles
  • Pandora and Pandora’s Box
  • Theseus and the Minotaur
  • Jason and the Argonauts
  • Demeter and Persephone
  • Orpheus and Eurydice
  • Oedipus

Greek Tragedy: (525-496 BCE)

The Greek Playwrights of Tragedy are Euripides (c.480-406 BCE), Sophocles (c.496-406 BCE) and Aeschylus (c.525-455 BCE), who all lived and worked in Athens around the same time.

• • Euripides
    • Medea
    • Hippolytus
    • The Trojan Women
    • Hecuba
    • Medea
    • Alcestis
    • The Bacchae
    • Cyclops
  • Sophocles
    • Antigone
  • Aeschylus
    • Prometheus Bound

Greek Comedy

The ‘Father of Comedy’ is considered to be Aristophanes.

• • Aristophanes (c.446-486 BCE)
    • The Acharnians (425 BCE)
    • The Knights (424 BCE)
    • The Clouds (423 BCE)
    • The Wasps (422 BCE)
    • Peace (421 BCE)
    • The Birds (414 BCE)
    • Lysistrata (411 BCE)
    • Thesmophoriazusae (411 BCE)
    • The Frogs (405 BCE)
    • Ecclesiazusae (392 BCE)

New Comedy

• • Menander (c.342-290 BCE)
    • Dyskolos (The Grouch)

Hellenistic Philosophy

There were two great Schools of Logic: Platonism, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Socrates was tutor to Plato who then tutored Aristotle. Stoicism was the other great school founded by Zeno of Citium and Chrysippus.

• • Platonism
    • Socrates (470-399 BCE)
      • Socrates’ ideas are preserved by Plato in the 29 ‘Socratic Dialogue’s.
    • Plato (c.428-347 BCE)
      • Meno
      • The Republic
      • Socratic Dialogues: Total of 29
      • Plato’s Laws – 12 books (one of the dialogues)
      • Critias: discusses the Myth of Atlantis
    • Aristotle (384-322 BCE)
      • Founder of the Perpatetic School at Athens.
      • Poetics
  • Stoicism
    • • Zeno of Citium
      • and Chrysippus.

The Nine Lyric Poets

1. Pindar (c.522-443 BCE)
   • The Odes of Pindar
2. Sappho (c.630-570 BCE)
   • Ode to Aphrodite
3. Alcman of Sparta (7th century BCE)
4. Alcaeus of Mytilene (c. 600 BCE)
5. Anacreon of Teos (6th century BCE)
6. Stesichorus of Metauros (7th century BCE)
7. Ibycus of Rhegium (6th century BCE)
8. Simonides of Ceos (6th century BCE)
9. Bacchylides of Ceos (5th century BCE)

Fables

• Aesop (c.620-564 BCE)
  • Aesop's Fables

Epic Poetry

• Appollonius of Rhodes (3rd century BCE)
  • The Argonautica:
    • Jason and the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece.

Greek Historians

• Herodotus (c. 484-420 BCE) Halicarnassus, The ‘Father of History’
  • The Histories.
• Thucydides (c. 460-c.395 BCE)
  • ‘History of the Peloponnesian War’.
• Berossus (early 3rd century BCE)
  • Babylonian historian.
• Xenophon (c. 431-360 BCE)
  • Athens, a student of Socrates.
• Ephorus (c.400-330 BCE)
  • ‘Universal History’ in 29 Books.
• Theopompus of Chios (b.380 BCE)
• Theophrastus (371-287 BCE)
  • A 4th century BCE Greek Historian and Botanist.
• Ptolemy I Soter (c.367-283 BCE)
  • Alexander the Great’s General, whose Dynasty ruled Egypt.
  • Timaeus of Tauromenium (c. 345-150 BCE) ‘Greek History’.

Later Greek Historians under the Roman Empire

• Polybius (c.200-c.118 BCE)
• Strabo (c.64 BCE – c.24 CE) Greek Geographer and Historian.
• Dio Chrysostom (c.40-115 CE)

Greek Geographers

• Hecataeus of Abdera (4th century BCE)
• Eratosthenes of Cyrene (c.275-194 BCE)
• Strabo (64 BCE-24 CE)