{{Short description|none}}
{{for|later Greek literature|Byzantine literature|Modern Greek literature}}
[[File:Houghton MS Gr 20 - Works and Days, 10.jpg|thumb|A [[Greece|Greek]] manuscript of the beginning of [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Works and Days]]'']]
{{History of literature by era}}
'''Ancient Greek literature''' encompasses the [[literature]] written in the [[Ancient Greek]] language from the earliest texts until the time of the [[Byzantine Empire]]. The earliest surviving works of ancient Greek literature, dating back to the early [[Archaic Greece|Archaic period]], are the two epic poems the ''[[Iliad]]'' and the ''[[Odyssey]]'', set in an idealized archaic past today identified as having some relation to the [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean era]]. These two epics, along with the ''[[Homeric Hymns]]'' and the two poems of [[Hesiod]], the ''[[Theogony]]'' and ''[[Works and Days]]'', constituted the major foundations of the Greek literary tradition that would continue into the [[Classical Greece|Classical]], [[Hellenistic Greece|Hellenistic]], and [[Roman Greece|Roman periods]].
The lyric poets [[Sappho]], [[Alcaeus of Mytilene|Alcaeus]], and [[Pindar]] were highly influential during the early development of the Greek poetic tradition. [[Aeschylus]] is the earliest Greek tragic playwright for whom any plays have survived complete. [[Sophocles]] is famous for his tragedies about [[Oedipus]], particularly ''[[Oedipus the King]]'' and ''[[Antigone (Sophocles play)|Antigone]]''. [[Euripides]] is known for his plays which often pushed the boundaries of the tragic genre. The comedic playwright [[Aristophanes]] wrote in the genre of [[Old Comedy]], while the later playwright [[Menander]] was an early pioneer of [[New Comedy]]. The historians [[Herodotus of Halicarnassus]] and [[Thucydides]], who both lived during the fifth century BC, wrote accounts of events that happened shortly before and during their own lifetimes. The philosopher [[Plato]] wrote dialogues, usually centered around his teacher [[Socrates]], dealing with various philosophical subjects, whereas his student [[Aristotle]] wrote numerous treatises, which later became highly influential.[{{Citation |last=Shields |first=Christopher |title=Aristotle |date=2016 |work=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |editor-last=Zalta |editor-first=Edward N. |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2016/entries/aristotle/ |access-date=2026-04-09 |edition=Spring 2016 |publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University |editor2-last=Nodelman |editor2-first=Uri}}][{{Cite web |title=The Cambridge History of Classical Literature |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/series/cambridge-history-of-classical-literature/60C8D821AE123CDE66D95898CE503120 |access-date=2026-04-09 |website=Cambridge Core |language=en}}]
Important later writers included [[Apollonius of Rhodes]], who wrote ''[[Argonautica|The Argonautica]]'', an epic poem about the voyage of the [[Argonauts]]; [[Archimedes]], who wrote groundbreaking mathematical treatises; and [[Plutarch]], who wrote mainly biographies and essays. The second-century AD writer [[Lucian of Samosata]] was a Greek, who wrote primarily works of [[satire]].[{{Cite web|title=Lucian {{!}} Greek writer|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lucian|access-date=2021-08-03|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|quote=Lucian [...] ancient Greek rhetorician, pamphleteer, and satirist.}}] Ancient Greek literature has had a profound impact on later [[Greek literature]] and also on [[western literature]] at large. In particular, many [[Roman literature|ancient Roman authors]] drew inspiration from their Greek predecessors. Ever since the [[Renaissance]], European authors in general, including [[Dante Alighieri]], [[William Shakespeare]], [[John Milton]], and [[James Joyce]], have all drawn heavily on classical themes and motifs.
== History ==
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=== Early writings ===
The earliest known Greek writings are [[Mycenaean language|Mycenaean]], written in the [[Linear B]] syllabary on clay tablets. These documents contain prosaic records largely concerned with trade (lists, inventories, receipts, etc.); no real literature has been discovered.[{{cite book|last1=Chadwick|first1=John|title=The Decipherment of Linear B|date=1967|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, England|isbn=978-1-107-69176-6|page=101|edition=Second}} "The glimpse we have suddenly been given of the account books of a long-forgotten people..."][{{cite book|last1=Ventris|first1=Michael|last2=Chadwick|first2=John|title=Documents in Mycenaean Greek|date=1956|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, England|isbn=978-1-107-50341-0|page=xxix|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AkgPCAAAQBAJ&q=Why+have+no+works+of+Linear+B+literature+survived%3F&pg=PR29}}] [[Michael Ventris]] and [[John Chadwick]], the original decipherers of Linear B, state that literature almost certainly existed in [[Mycenaean Greece]],[{{cite book|last1=Bury|first1=J. B.|title=A History of Greece to the Death of Alexander the Great|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofgreecet00bury|url-access=registration|date=1937|publisher=Modern Library|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyofgreecet00bury/page/724 724–821]}}] The [[Musaeum]], or Shrine to the Muses, which included the library and school, was founded by [[Ptolemy I]]. The institution was from the beginning intended as a great international school and library.[Entry [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2368883 Μουσείον] at [[Liddell & Scott]]] {{bsn|date=May 2025}} The library, eventually containing more than a half million volumes, was mostly in Greek. It was intended to serve as a repository for every work of classical Greek literature that could be found.[{{cite journal |last=Phillips |first=Heather A. |url=http://unllib.unl.edu/LPP/phillips.htm |title=The Great ''Library'' of Alexandria? |journal=Library Philosophy and Practice |date=August 2010 |issn=1522-0222 |access-date=2017-05-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418191647/http://unllib.unl.edu/LPP/phillips.htm |archive-date=2012-04-18 |url-status=dead }}]
=== Roman ===
While the transition from city-state to empire affected philosophy a great deal, shifting the emphasis from political theory to personal ethics, Greek letters continued to flourish under Roman rule. Romans of literary or rhetorical inclination looked to Greek models, and Greek literature of all types continued to be read and produced both by native speakers of Greek and later by Roman authors as well. A notable characteristic of this period was the expansion of literary criticism as a genre, particularly as exemplified by Demetrius, Pseudo-Longinus and Dionysius of Halicarnassus.{{cn|date=May 2025}}
== Poetry ==
=== Early epic poetry ===
[[File:Thomas Degeorge Ulysse.jpg|thumb|A painting by the French [[Neoclassicism|Neoclassical]] painter [[Thomas Degeorge]] depicting the climactic final scene from Book Twenty-Two of ''[[The Odyssey]]'' in which [[Odysseus]], [[Telemachus]], [[Eumaeus]], and [[Philoetius]] slaughter the [[suitors of Penelope]]]]
At the beginning of Greek literature stand the two monumental works: the ''[[Iliad]]'' and the ''[[Odyssey]]''.[{{cite book|last=Jenkyns|first=Richard|date=2016|title=Classical Literature: An Epic Journey from Homer to Virgil and Beyond|location=New York City, New York|publisher=Basic Books, A Member of the Perseus Books Group|isbn=978-0-465-09797-5}}]{{rp|1–3}} Although the works as they now stand are credited to a single poet named [[Homer]], both of these works were based on ancient legends, and it is certain that their roots reach far back before his time (see [[Homeric Question]]).[{{rp|15}} The ''Iliad'' is a narrative of a single episode spanning over the course of a ten-day-period from near the end of the ten years of the Trojan War. It centers on the person of [[Achilles]],][{{Cite book|title = The Iliad of Homer|last = Lattimore|first = Richmond|publisher = The University of Chicago Press|year = 2011|isbn = 978-0-226-47049-8|location = The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London|at = Book 1, Line number 155 (p. 79)}}] who embodied the Greek heroic ideal.[Guy Hedreen, "The Cult of Achilles in the Euxine" ''Hesperia'' '''60'''.3 (July 1991), pp. 313–330.][{{rp|3}} The ''Odyssey'' is an account of the adventures of [[Odysseus]], one of the warriors at [[Troy]].][{{rp|3}} After ten years fighting the war, he spends another ten years sailing back home to his wife and family. During his ten-year voyage, he loses all of his comrades and ships and makes his way home to [[Homer's Ithaca|Ithaca]] disguised as a beggar. These works are written in [[dactylic hexameter]] verse,][{{cite web|last1=Harris|first1=William|title=The Greek Dactylic Hexameter: A Practical Reading Approach|url=http://community.middlebury.edu/~harris/dactylic.hex.html|publisher=Middlebury College|access-date=12 March 2017}}] in the [[Homeric dialect]] of ancient Greek, a mixture of the [[Ionic dialect]] and some elements of the [[Aeolic dialect|Aeolic]] and [[Attic dialect]]s,[{{cite book |last=Stanford |first=William Bedell |date=1959 |author-link=William Bedell Stanford |title=Homer: Odyssey I-XII |volume=1 |chapter=Introduction, Grammatical Introduction |pages=ix–lxxxvi|orig-year=1947 |edition=2nd |publisher=Macmillan Education |isbn=1-85399-502-9 }}] the latter due to the Athenian edition of the 6th century BC.{{cn|date=May 2025}}
The other great poet of the preclassical period was [[Hesiod]],[{{rp|23–24}}][West, M. L. ''[[Theogony]]''. Oxford University Press (1966), page 40] Hesiod's two extant poems are ''[[Works and Days]]'' and the ''[[Theogony]]''. ''Works and Days'' is a faithful depiction of the poverty-stricken country life he knew so well, and it sets forth principles and rules for farmers. It vividly describes the ages of mankind, beginning with a long-past [[Golden Age]].[[[Jasper Griffin]], "Greek Myth and Hesiod", J. Boardman, J. Griffin and O. Murray (eds), ''The Oxford History of the Classical World'', [[Oxford University Press]] (1986), page 88] The ''Theogony'' is a systematic account of creation and of the gods.[West, M. L. ''[[Theogony]]''. Oxford University Press (1966)]Unlike Homer, Hesiod refers to himself in his poetry.[J.P. Barron and [[P.E. Easterling]], "Hesiod" in ''The Cambridge History of Classical Literature: Greek Literature'', P. Easterling and B. Knox (eds), Cambridge University Press (1985), page 92] Nonetheless, nothing is known about him from any external source.{{cn|date=May 2025}}
The writings of Homer and Hesiod were held in extremely high regard throughout antiquity[{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dOht3609JOMC&q=Ancient+Greek+literature|author =M. Hadas|title=A History of Greek Literature (p.16)|publisher=published by [[Columbia University Press]] 13 Aug 2013, 327 pages |access-date=2015-09-08|isbn =978-0-231-51486-6|date =2013-08-13}}] and were viewed by many ancient authors as the foundational [[religious text|texts]] behind [[ancient Greek religion]];{{cn|date=April 2026}} Homer told the story of a [[hero]]ic past, which Hesiod bracketed with a creation narrative and an account of the practical realities of contemporary daily life.[{{rp|23–24}}
=== Elegy and iambus ===
[[Elegiac poetry]] and [[iambus (genre)|iambic poetry]] were both written in the [[Ionic Greek|Ionic dialect]]. Elegiac poems were written in [[elegiac couplets]] and iambic poems were written in [[iambic trimeter]]. The most important iambic poet was [[Archilochus of Paros]] (7th century BC).][J. P. Barron and P. E. Easterling, 'Elegy and Iambus', in ''The Cambridge History of Classical Literature: Greek Literature'', P. Easterling and B. Knox (ed.s), Cambridge University Press (1985), page 117] Only fragments remain of his work, as is the case with most of the poets.{{cn|date=May 2025}} The few remnants suggest that he was an embittered adventurer who led a very turbulent life.[David A. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric Poetry'', Bristol Classical Press (1982) page 136]
=== Lyric poetry ===
{{Main|Greek lyric}}
[[File:Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, R.A., O.M. - Sappho and Alcaeus - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|A nineteenth-century painting by the English painter [[Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema]] depicting the poet [[Sappho]] gazing on in admiration as the poet [[Alcaeus of Mytilene|Alcaeus]] plays the [[lyre]]|290x290px]]
[[Lyric poetry]] received its name from the fact that it was originally sung by individuals or a chorus accompanied by the instrument called the [[lyre]]. Lyric poems often employed highly varied poetic meters.{{cn|date=May 2025}}
The most famous of all lyric poets were the so-called "[[Nine Lyric Poets]]".[J. M. Edmonds - [https://books.google.com/books?id=CdLGSRQvDYMC Lyra Graeca (p.3)] Wildside Press LLC, 2007 {{ISBN|1-4344-9130-7}} [Retrieved 2015-05-06]] Of all the lyric poets, [[Sappho]] of [[Lesbos]] (c. 630 – c. 570 BC), who wrote in the [[Aeolic Greek|Aeolic dialect]], was by far the most widely revered. In antiquity, her poems were regarded with the same degree of respect as the poems of Homer.[[[Judith P. Hallett|Hallett, Judith P.]] (1979). "Sappho and her Social Context: Sense and Sensuality". ''Signs''. 4 (3).] Only one of her poems, "[[Ode to Aphrodite]]", has survived to the present day in its original, completed form.[Rayor, Diane; Lardinois, André (2014). ''Sappho: A New Edition of the Complete Works''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|978-1-107-02359-8}}.] In addition to Sappho, her contemporary [[Alcaeus of Mytilene|Alcaeus]] of [[Lesbos]] was also notable for [[Monody (Greek)|monodic]] lyric poetry.{{cn|date=May 2025}}
The poetry written by [[Alcman]] was written in the [[Doric Greek|Doric dialect]]. The later poet [[Pindar]] of [[Thebes, Greece|Thebes]] was renowned for his [[choral]] lyric poetry.[M. Davies's "Monody, Choral Lyric, and the Tyranny of the Hand-Book" in ''Classical Quarterly'', NS 38 (1988), pp. 52–64.]
=== Hellenistic poetry ===
[[File:Jason and Medea - John William Waterhouse.jpg|thumb|200px|left|A painting by [[John William Waterhouse]] depicting a scene from ''[[Argonautica|The Argonautica]]'' by [[Apollonius of Rhodes]]]]
The genre of bucolic poetry was first developed by the poet [[Theocritus]].[Introduction (p.14) to Virgil: ''The Eclogues'' trans. Guy Lee (Penguin Classics)] The Roman [[Virgil]] later wrote his ''[[Eclogues]]'' in this genre.[Article on "Bucolic poetry" in ''The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature'' (1989)]
[[Callimachus]], a scholar at the [[Library of Alexandria]], composed the ''[[Aetia (Callimachus)|Aetia]]'' ("Causes"),[{{cite book|last1=Harder|first1=Annette|title=Callimachus: Aetia|date=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford, England|isbn=978-0-19-958101-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a5YdwJJatoAC&q=Callimachus|pages=1–5}}] a long poem written in four volumes of [[elegiac couplet]]s describing the legendary origins of obscure customs, festivals, and names.[{{cite book|last1=Nisetich|first1=Frank|title=The Poems of Callimachus|date=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford, England|isbn=0-19814760-0|pages=xviii–xx|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ykWBWUOP8ukC&q=Callimachus+Ibis&pg=PR20|access-date=27 July 2017}}]
The Alexandrian poet [[Apollonius of Rhodes]] is best known for his epic poem the ''[[Argonautica]]'', which narrates the adventures of [[Jason]] and his shipmates the [[Argonauts]] on their quest to retrieve the [[Golden Fleece]] from the land of [[Colchis]].[{{Citation|first=Susan|last=Stephens|title=Brill's Companion to Apollonius Rhodius; Second|edition=Revised|editor=T. Papaghelis|editor2=A. Rengakos|publisher=Brill|year=2011|chapter=Ptolemaic Epic}}] The poet [[Aratus]] wrote the hexameter poem ''Phaenomena'', a poetic rendition of [[Eudoxus of Cnidus]]'s treatise on the stars written in the fourth century BC.[A. W. Mair and G. R. Mair, trans., Callimachus and Lycophron; Aratus, Loeb Classical Library (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1921), p. 363]
=== Late Antique epic poetry ===
[[File:Mykonos vase.jpg|thumb|The [[Mykonos vase]], one of the earliest surviving depictions of the myth of the [[Trojan Horse]], a myth which is described in depth in [[Quintus of Smyrna]]'s ''[[Posthomerica]]''|210x210px]]
The poet [[Quintus of Smyrna]], who probably lived during the late fourth century AD,[Thomas Christian Tychsen, ''Quinti Smyrnaei Posthomericorum libri XIV. Nunc primum ad librorum manoscriptorum fidem et virorum doctorum coniecturas recensuit, restituit et supplevit Thom. Christ. Tychsen acceserunt observationes Chr. Gottl. Heynii'' (Strassburg: Typhographia Societatis Bipontinae) 1807.][Armin H. Köchly, ''Quinti Smyrnaei Posthomericorum libri XIV. Recensuit, prolegomenis et adnotatione critica instruxit Arminius Koechly'' (Leipzig: Weidmannos) 1850.] wrote ''[[Posthomerica]]'', an epic poem narrating the story of the fall of Troy, beginning where the ''Iliad'' left off.[A.S. Way, ''Introduction'' 1913.{{full citation needed|date=November 2023}}] About the same time and in a similar Homeric style, an unknown poet composed the ''[[Blemyomachia]]'', a now fragmentary epic about conflict between Romans and [[Blemmyes]].[Nikoletta Kanavou (2015), "Notes on the Blemyomachia (P. Berol. 5003 + P. Gen. inv. 140 + P. Phoib. fr. 1a/6a/11c/12c)", ''Tyche'' '''30''': 55–60.]
The poet [[Nonnus]] of [[Panopolis]] wrote the ''[[Dionysiaca]]'', the longest surviving epic poem from antiquity. He also wrote a poetic paraphrase of [[The Gospel of John]].[Vian, Francis. '"Mârtus" chez Nonnos de Panopolis. Étude de sémantique et de chronologie.' REG 110, 1997, 143-60. Reprinted in: L'Épopée posthomérique. Recueil d'études. Ed. Domenico Accorinti. Alessandria: Edizioni dell'Orso, 2005 (Hellenica 17), 565-84][Cameron, Alan, 2015. ''Wandering Poets and Other Essays on Late Greek Literature and Philosophy''. Oxford University Press. p.81.] Nonnus probably lived sometime during the late fourth century AD or early fifth century AD.[[[Agathias Scholasticus]], ''Hist.'' 4.23. (530 {{abbr|x|sometime between}} 580)][Fornaro, S. s.v. Nonnus in ''Brill's New Pauly'' vol. 9 (ed. Canick & Schneider) (Leiden, 2006) col.812–815]
== Drama ==
[[File:Medeia child Louvre K300.jpg|thumb|left|290x290px|Medea kills her son (a scene from [[Euripides]]'s ''[[Medea (play)|Medea]]''), [[Campania]]n red-figure [[amphora]], c. 330 BC, [[Louvre]] (K 300)]]
All surviving works of Greek drama were composed by playwrights from [[Athens]] and are written exclusively in the [[Attic dialect]].[{{cite book|last1=Garland|first1=Robert|title=Ancient Greece: Everyday Life in the Birthplace of Western Civilization|date=2008|publisher=Sterling|location=New York City, New York|isbn=978-1-4549-0908-8|page=284}}] [[Greek chorus|Choral performances]] were a common tradition in all Greek city-states.[Buckham, Philip Wentworth, [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_IjAZAAAAYAAJ ''Theatre of the Greeks''], Cambridge: J. Smith, 1827.] Later playwrights expanded the number of actors to three, allowing for greater freedom in storytelling.[{{cite book|last1=Garland|first1=Robert|title=Ancient Greece: Everyday Life in the Birthplace of Western Civilization|date=2008|publisher=Sterling|location=New York City, New York|isbn=978-1-4549-0908-8|page=290}}]
=== Tragedy ===
In the age that followed the [[Greco-Persian Wars]], the awakened national spirit of [[Athens]] was expressed in hundreds of tragedies based on heroic and legendary themes of the past. The tragic plays grew out of simple choral songs and dialogues performed at festivals of the god [[Dionysus]]. In the classical period, performances included three tragedies and one pastoral drama, depicting four different episodes of the same myth.{{dubious|date=May 2025}} Wealthy citizens were chosen to bear the expense of costuming and training the chorus as a public and religious duty. Attendance at the festival performances was regarded as an act of worship. Performances were held in the great open-air theater of Dionysus in Athens. The poets competed for the prizes offered for the best plays.[{{cite book|last1=Garland|first1=Robert|title=Ancient Greece: Everyday Life in the Birthplace of Western Civilization|date=2008|publisher=Sterling|location=New York City, New York|isbn=978-1-4549-0908-8|pages=284–296}}]{{bsn|date=May 2025}}
All fully surviving Greek tragedies are conventionally attributed to [[Aeschylus]], [[Sophocles]] or [[Euripides]]. The authorship of ''[[Prometheus Bound]]'', which is traditionally attributed to Aeschylus,[Griffith, Mark. ''The Authenticity of the Prometheus Bound''. Cambridge, 1977.] and ''[[Rhesus (play)|Rhesus]]'', which is traditionally attributed to Euripides, are, however, questioned.[Walton, J. Michael, ''Euripides Our Contemporary'', University of California Press, 2009, {{ISBN|0-520-26179-8}}.]
There are seven surviving tragedies attributed to Aeschylus, three of which ''Agamemnon'', ''The Libation-Bearers'', and ''The Eumenides'', form a trilogy known as the ''[[Oresteia]]''.[Burke, Kenneth (1952). "Form and Persecution in the Oresteia". The Sewanee Review. 60 (3: July – September): 377–396. {{JSTOR|27538150}}.] ''[[Prometheus Bound]]'', however, may actually be the work of Aeschylus's son [[Euphorion (playwright)|Euphorion]].[West, M.L. Studies in Aeschylus. Stuttgart, 1990.]
Seven works of Sophocles have survived, the most acclaimed of which are the [[Sophocles#Theban plays|three Theban plays]], ''[[Oedipus the King]]'', ''[[Oedipus at Colonus]]'', and ''[[Antigone (Sophocles play)|Antigone]]'' all of which center around the story of [[Oedipus]] and his offspring.[{{cite book| last = Fagles| first = Robert| title = The Three Theban Plays | publisher = Penguin | year = 1986 | location = New York | page = 35 }}]
There are nineteen surviving plays attributed to [[Euripides]], the most well-known are ''[[Medea (play)|Medea]]'', ''[[Hippolytus (play)|Hippolytus]]'', and ''[[Bacchae]]''.[B. Knox, 'Euripides' in The Cambridge History of Classical Literature I: Greek Literature, P. Easterling and B. Knox (ed.s), Cambridge University Press (1985), page 316] ''[[Rhesus (play)|Rhesus]]'' is sometimes thought to have been written by Euripides' son, or to have been a posthumous reproduction of a play by Euripides.[Walton (1997, viii, xix)] Euripides pushed the limits of the tragic genre and many of the elements in his plays were more typical of comedy than tragedy.[B. Knox. "Euripides" in ''The Cambridge History of Classical Literature I: Greek Literature'', P. Easterling and B. Knox (ed.s), Cambridge University Press (1985), page 339]
=== Comedy ===
[[File:Lysistrata.jpg|thumb|309x309px|Illustration for [[Aristophanes]]'s ''[[Lysistrata]]'' by [[Aubrey Beardsley]] (1896)]]
Like tragedy, comedy arose from a ritual in honor of [[Dionysus]], but in this case the plays were full of frank obscenity, abuse, and insult. At [[Athens]], the comedies became an official part of the festival celebration in 486 BC, and prizes were offered for the best productions. As with the tragedians, few works remain of the great comedic writers.{{cn|date=May 2025}}
==== Old Comedy ====
The only complete surviving works of old comedy are eleven plays written by the playwright [[Aristophanes]].[Aristophanes: Clouds K.J. Dover (ed), Oxford University Press 1970, Intro. page X.] Aristophanes poked fun at everyone and every institution. In ''[[The Birds (play)|The Birds]]'', he ridicules [[Athenian democracy]]. In ''[[The Clouds]]'', he attacks the philosopher [[Socrates]]. In ''[[Lysistrata]]'', he denounces war.[David Barrett's edition ''Aristophanes: the Frogs and Other Plays'' (Penguin Classics, 1964), p. 13] In ''[[The Frogs]]'', he satirizes the tragedians Aeschylus and Euripides.[{{cite book|last1=Roche|first1=Paul|title=Aristophanes: The Complete Plays: A New Translation by Paul Roche|date=2005|publisher=New American Library|location=New York|isbn=978-0-451-21409-6|pages=537–540}}]
==== New Comedy ====
[[File:Relief with Menander and New Comedy Masks - Princeton Art Museum.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Roman Republic|Republican]] or [[Roman Empire|Early Imperial]] relief depicting a seating [[Menander]] holding the masks of [[New Comedy]] (1st century BC – early 1st century AD) [[Princeton University Art Museum]]]]
During the [[Hellenistic period]], the [[Old Comedy]] of the Classical Era was replaced by [[New Comedy]]. The most notable writer of New Comedy was the Athenian playwright [[Menander]]. None of Menander's plays have survived to the present day in their complete form, but one play, ''[[Dyskolos|The Bad-Tempered Man]]'', has survived to the present day in a near-complete form. Most of another play entitled ''[[Samia (play)|The Girl from Samos]]'' and large portions of another five have also survived.[Konstan, David (2010). ''Menander of Athens''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 3–6. {{ISBN|0-19-980519-9}}.]
=== Satyr plays ===
The third dramatic genre was the [[satyr play]]. Although the genre was popular, only one complete example of a satyr play has survived: ''[[Cyclops (play)|Cyclops]]'' by [[Euripides]].[Euripides. McHugh, Heather, trans. ''Cyclops; Greek Tragedy in New Translations''. Oxford Univ. Press (2001) {{ISBN|978-0-19-803265-6}}] Large portions of a second satyr play, ''[[Ichneutae]]'' by Sophocles, have been recovered from the site of [[Oxyrhynchus]] in Egypt among the [[Oxyrhynchus Papyri]].[Hunt, A.S. (1912) ''The Oxyrhynchus Papyri: Part IX''. London.]
== Historiography ==
{{Main|Hellenic historiography}}
[[File:Herodotos Met 91.8.jpg|thumb|A second century AD Roman copy of a Greek [[Bust (sculpture)|bust]] of Herodotus from the first half of the fourth century BC|300x300px]]
Prose literature can largely be said to begin with [[Herodotus]]; his book ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|The Histories]]'' is among the oldest works of prose literature in existence.[{{cite book|last=Engels|first=Johannes|date=2008|chapter=Chapter Ten: Universal History and Cultural Geography of the ''Oikoumene'' in Herodotus' ''Historiai'' and Strabo's ''Geographika''|title=The Children of Herodotus: Greek and Roman Historiography and Related Genres|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j5vzBgAAQBAJ&q=genres+of+prose+literature+in+ancient+Greece&pg=PA146|editor-last=Pigoń|editor-first=Jakub|location=Newcastle upon Tyne, England|publisher=Cambridge Scholar Publishing|page=146|isbn=978-1-4438-0015-0}}]
Thucydides's book ''[[History of the Peloponnesian War]]'' greatly influenced later writers and historians, including the author of the book of [[Acts of the Apostles]] and the [[Byzantine Era]] historian [[Procopius]] of [[Caesarea Maritima|Caesarea]].[''Procopius'', John Moorhead, ''Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing: M–Z'', Vol. II, Kelly Boyd, (Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1999), 962]
A third historian of ancient Greece, [[Xenophon]] of [[Athens]], began his ''[[Hellenica]]'' where Thucydides ended his work about 411 BC and carried his history to 362 BC.[Xenophon, ''Hellenica'' 7.5.27; Xenophon. ''Xenophontis opera omnia'', vol. 1. Oxford, Clarendon Press. 1900, repr. 1968] Xenophon's most famous work is his book ''[[Anabasis (Xenophon)|The Anabasis]]'', a detailed, first-hand account of his participation in a Greek mercenary army that tried to help the Persian Cyrus expel his brother from the throne, another famous work relating to Persian history is his ''[[Cyropaedia]]''.{{cn|date=May 2025}}
The historian [[Timaeus (historian)|Timaeus]] was born in [[Sicily]] but spent most of his life in [[Athens]].[Baron, Christopher A. (2013). ''Timaeus of Tauromenium and Hellenistic Historiography''. Cambridge University Press.] His ''History'', though lost, is significant because of its influence on [[Polybius]]. In 38 books it covered the history of Sicily and Italy to the year 264 BC, which is where Polybius begins his work. Timaeus also wrote the ''Olympionikai'', a valuable chronological study of the Olympic Games.[Brown, Truesdell S. (1958). Timaeus of Tauromenium. Berkeley: University of California Press.]
The historian [[Polybius]] was born about 200 BC. He was brought to [[Rome]] as a hostage in 168. In Rome he became a friend of the general Scipio Aemilianus. He probably accompanied the general to Spain and North Africa in the wars against Carthage. He was with Scipio at the destruction of [[Carthage]] in 146.[{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0144:book=39:chapter=35&highlight=lycortas|title=Titus Livius (Livy), The History of Rome, Book 39, chapter 35|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu|access-date=2016-11-02}}]{{bsn|date=May 2025}}
[[Diodorus Siculus]] was a Greek historian who lived in the 1st century BC, around the time of Julius Caesar and Augustus. He wrote a [[Universal history (genre)|universal history]], ''[[Bibliotheca Historica]]'', in 40 books. Of these, the first five and the 11th through the 20th remain. The first two parts covered history through the early Hellenistic era. The third part takes the story to the beginning of Caesar's wars in Gaul, now France.[Sacks, Kenneth S. (1990). ''Diodorus Siculus and the First Century''. Princeton University Press. {{ISBN|0-691-03600-4}}.]
[[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]] lived late in the first century BC. His history of Rome from its origins to the First Punic War (264 to 241 BC) is written from a Roman point of view, but it is carefully researched. He also wrote a number of other treatises, including ''On Imitation'', ''Commentaries on the Ancient Orators'', and ''On the Arrangement of Words''.[T. Hidber. ''Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece'' (p.229). Routledge 31 Oct 2013, 832 pages, {{ISBN|1-136-78799-2}}, (editor N. Wilson). Retrieved 2015-09-07.]
The historians [[Appian of Alexandria]] and [[Arrian of Nicomedia]] both lived in the second century AD.[{{cite book|last=White|first=Horace|title=Appian's Roman History|year=1912|publisher=The Loeb Classical Library|location=Cambridge, Mass|isbn=0-674-99002-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/appianromanhisto00appi_466/page/ vii–xii]|chapter=Introduction|url=https://archive.org/details/appianromanhisto00appi_466/page/}}][{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lnIpo8KBbP4C&q=Bithyniaca+Arrian&pg=PA8|author=FW Walbank |editor= F. W. Walbank|title=The Cambridge Ancient History|publisher=Cambridge University Press, 6 Sep 1984 |isbn= 0-521-23445-X| access-date=2015-04-01|date=November 1984 }}] Appian wrote on Rome and its conquests, while Arrian is remembered for his work on the campaigns of Alexander the Great. Arrian served in the Roman army. His book therefore concentrates heavily on the military aspects of Alexander's life. Arrian also wrote a philosophical treatise, the ''Diatribai'', based on the teachings of his mentor [[Epictetus]].
[[File:Plutarch of Chaeronea-03.jpg|thumb|A bust of [[Plutarch]], one of the most famous ancient Greek historians, from his hometown of [[Chaeronea]]|282x282px]]
[[Ancient biography]], or ''bios'', as distinct from modern biography, was a genre of Greek (and Roman) literature interested in describing the goals, achievements, failures, and character of ancient historical persons and whether or not they should be imitated.
Authors of ancient ''bios'', such as [[Plutarch]]'s ''[[Parallel Lives]]'' imitated many of the same sources and techniques of the contemporary historiographies of ancient Greece, notably including the works of [[Herodotus]] and [[Thucydides]]. There were various forms of ancient biographies, including philosophical biographies that brought out the moral character of their subject, literary biographies which discussed the lives of orators and poets (such as [[Philostratus]]'s ''[[Lives of the Sophists (Philostratus)|Lives of the Sophists]]''), school and reference biographies that offered a short sketch of someone including their ancestry, major events and accomplishments, and death, autobiographies, commentaries and memoirs where the subject presents his own life, and historical/political biography focusing on the lives of those active in the military, among other categories.[Marincola, John, ed. ''A companion to Greek and Roman historiography''. John Wiley & Sons, 2010, 528-531.]
Plutarch's other surviving work is the ''[[Moralia]]'', a collection of essays on ethical, religious, political, physical, and literary topics.["Plutarch". ''Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy''.][Stadter, Philip A. (2015). ''Plutarch and His Roman Readers''. Oxford University Press. p. 69. {{ISBN|978-0-19-871833-8}}. Retrieved 2015-02-04. Although Plutarch wrote in Greek and with a Greek point of view, [...] he was thinking of a Roman as well as a Greek audience.]
During later times, so-called "[[commonplace books]]", usually describing historical anecdotes, became quite popular.{{cn|date=May 2025}} Surviving examples of this popular genre include works such as [[Aulus Gellius]]'s ''Attic Nights'',[Ramsay, William (1867), "A. Gellius", in Smith, William, ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', 2, Boston, p. 235] [[Athenaeus of Naucratis]]'s ''[[Deipnosophistae]]'',[Ἀθήναιος [Athenaeus]. Δειπνοσοφισταί [Deipnosophistaí, Sophists at Dinner], c. 3rd century (Ancient Greek) Trans. Charles Burton Gulick as Athenaeus, Vol. I, p. viii. Harvard University Press (Cambridge), 1927. Accessed 13 Aug 2014.] and [[Claudius Aelianus]]'s ''De Natura Animalium'' and ''Varia Historia''.[Aelian, ''Historical Miscellany''. Translated by Nigel G. Wilson. 1997. Loeb Classical Library. {{ISBN|978-0-674-99535-2}}]
== Philosophy ==
Among the earliest Greek philosophers were the three so-called "[[Milesian school|Milesian philosophers]]": [[Thales of Miletus]], [[Anaximander]], and [[Anaximenes of Miletus|Anaximenes]].[G. S. Kirk and J. E. Raven and M. Schofield, ''The Presocratic Philosophers'' (Cambridge University Press, 1983, 108–109.] Of these philosophers' writings, however, only one fragment from Anaximander preserved by [[Simplicius of Cilicia]] has survived.[Curd, Patricia, ''A Presocratics Reader: Selected Fragments and Testimonia'' ([[Hackett Publishing]], 1996), p. 12.]
Many important and influential philosophers lived during the fifth centuries BC:{{cn|date=May 2025}} A large portion of the philosophical poem ''On Nature'' written by [[Empedocles of Acragas]] has survived, making Empedocles one of the most widely attested [[Pre-Socratic philosophers]].[Simon Trépanier, (2004), ''Empedocles: An Interpretation'', Routledge.] A large number of fragments written by the philosophers [[Heraclitus of Ephesus]][{{cite book |last=Kahn |first=Charles H.| author-link=Charles H. Kahn |title=The Art and Thought of Heraclitus. An Edition of the Fragments with Translation and Commentary |year=1979 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=0-521-21883-7}}] and [[Democritus of Abdera]] have also survived.[{{cite web|last1=Berryman|first1=Sylvia|title=Democritus|url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/democritus/|website=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy|publisher=Stanford University|access-date=25 March 2017}}]
[[File:David - The Death of Socrates.jpg|thumb|300px|right|''[[The Death of Socrates]]'', by [[Jacques-Louis David]] (1787)]]
Of all the classical philosophers whose writing survive, [[Plato]] and [[Aristotle]] are generally considered the most important and influential.[{{cite book |last= Magee |first=Bryan |author-link=Bryan Magee |title=The Story of Philosophy |date=2010 |publisher=Dorling Kindersley |page= 34}}]
Plato expressed his ideas through [[Socratic dialogues]] Some of the best-known of these include: ''[[The Apology of Socrates]]'', a defense of Socrates written by Plato and presented as if it was a speech he had given at the trial, ''[[Phaedo]]'', a fictional discussion between Socrates and his disciples on the nature of the soul, set immediately before his execution;[{{cite web |url=http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ancient-soul/#3.2 |author=Lorenz, Hendrik|title=Ancient Theories of Soul |access-date=2013-12-10 |date=22 April 2009 |publisher=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy}}] ''[[Symposium (Plato)|The Symposium]]'', a series of speeches given by [[Socrates]], [[Aristophanes]], and other famous Athenians on the nature of [[Eros]]; and ''[[The Republic (Plato)|The Republic]]'', widely regarded as Plato's most important work, a long dialogue describing the ideal government.[{{cite book | last = Baird | first = Forrest E. |author2=Walter Kaufmann | title = From Plato to Derrida | publisher = Pearson Prentice Hall | year = 2008 | location = Upper Saddle River, New Jersey | isbn = 978-0-13-158591-1 }}]
Aristotle was a student at Plato's [[Academy]] who later went on to found his own school in Athens, the [[Lyceum (classical)|Lyceum]].[{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iep.utm.edu/lyceum/ |title=The Lyceum |last=Morison |first=William |year=2006 |encyclopedia=Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy |access-date=30 October 2009}}] From the body of writings that have come down to us in his name, the enormous range of his interests is evident: the extant treatises cover logic, the physical and biological sciences, ethics, politics, and constitutional government. Among Aristotle's most notable works are ''[[Politics (Aristotle)|Politics]]'', ''[[Nicomachean Ethics]]'', ''[[Poetics (Aristotle)|Poetics]]'', ''[[On the Soul]]'', and ''[[Rhetoric (Aristotle)|Rhetoric]]''.[{{cite web|title=Great Philosophers: Aristotle (384-322 BCE)|url=https://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl201/modules/Philosophers/Aristotle/aristotle.html|website=Great Philosophers|publisher=Oregon State University|access-date=23 June 2017}}]
[[File:Plotinos.jpg|thumb|left|Head of [[Plotinus]], a major philosopher from the Roman Era|233x233px]]
[[Plotinus]] transformed Plato's philosophy into a school called [[Neoplatonism]].[Philip Merlan, ''From Platonism to Neoplatonism'' (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1954, 1968), p. 3.] His ''[[Enneads]]'' had a wide-ranging influence on European thought until at least the seventeenth century.[Detlef Thiel: ''Die Philosophie des Xenokrates im Kontext der Alten Akademie'', München 2006, pp. 197ff. and note 64; [[Jens Halfwassen]]: ''Der Aufstieg zum Einen.''] Plotinus's philosophy mainly revolved around the concepts of ''[[nous]]'', ''[[Plato's tripartite theory of soul|psyche]]'', and the "[[Henology|One]]".[{{cite web|title=Who was Plotinus?|website=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] |date=11 June 2011 |url=http://www.abc.net.au/rn/philosopherszone/stories/2011/3237626.htm}}]{{bsn|date=May 2025}}
== Prose fiction ==
Very little has survived of prose fiction from the Hellenistic Era, the Roman Period was the time when the majority of extant works of Greek prose fiction were composed. ''The Milesiaka'' by Aristides of Miletos was probably written during the second century BC. ''The Milesiaka'' itself has not survived to the present day in its complete form, but various references to it have survived. The book established a whole new genre of so-called "[[Milesian tales]]".{{cn|date=May 2025}}
The [[ancient Greek novel]]s ''[[Chaereas and Callirhoe]]''[Edmund P. Cueva (Fall 1996). "Plutarch's Ariadne in Chariton's Chaereas and Callirhoe". American Journal of Philology. 117 (3): 473–484. {{doi|10.1353/ajp.1996.0045}}.] by Chariton and ''[[Metiochus and Parthenope]]''[Cf. Thomas Hägg, 'The Oriental Reception of Greek Novels: A Survey with Some Preliminary Considerations', Symbolae Osloenses, 61 (1986), 99–131 (p. 106), {{doi|10.1080/00397678608590800}}.][Thomas Hägg and Bo Utas, ''The Virgin and Her Lover: Fragments of an Ancient Greek Novel and a Persian Epic Poem''. Brill Studies in Middle Eastern Literatures, 30 (Leiden: Brill, 2003), p. 1.] were probably both written during the late first century BC or early first century AD, during the latter part of the Hellenistic Era. The discovery of several fragments of Lollianos's ''Phoenician Tale'' reveal the existence of a genre of ancient Greek [[picaresque novel]].[{{cite book|last1=Reardon|first1=Bryan P.|title=Collected Ancient Greek Novels|date=1989|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley|isbn=0-520-04306-5|pages=809–810|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AZT8fEYMKBwC&q=Phoenicica+ancient+Greek+novel&pg=PA809|access-date=31 May 2017}}]
[[File:Charles Gleyre - Daphnis et Chloe revenant de la montagne.jpg|thumb|A nineteenth-century painting by the Swiss-French painter [[Charles Gleyre|Marc Gabriel Charles Gleyre]] depicting a scene from ''[[Daphnis and Chloe]]''|299x299px]]
The [[ancient Greek novel]]s ''[[Leucippe and Clitophon]]'' by [[Achilles Tatius]][The "early dating of P.Oxy 3836 holds, Achilles Tatius' novel must have been written 'nearer 120 than 150'" Albert Henrichs, Culture In Pieces: Essays on Ancient Texts in Honour of Peter Parsons, eds. Dirk Obbink, Richard Rutherford, Oxford University Press, 2011, p. 309, n. 29 {{ISBN|0-19-929201-9}}, 9780199292011]["the use (albeit mid and erratic) of the Attic dialect suggest a date a little earlier [than mid-2nd century] in the same century." The Greek Novel: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide Oxford University Press, 2010, p. 7 {{ISBN|0-19-980303-X}}, 9780199803033] and ''[[Daphnis and Chloe]]'' by [[Longus]][Longus; Xenophon of Ephesus (2009), Henderson, Jeffery, ed., Anthia and Habrocomes (translation), Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, pp. 69 & 127, {{ISBN|978-0-674-99633-5}}] were both probably written during the early second century AD. ''Daphnis and Chloe'', by far the most famous of the five surviving ancient Greek romance novels, is a nostalgic tale of two young lovers growing up in an idealized pastoral environment on the Greek island of [[Lesbos]].[{{cite book |title= The Novel in the Ancient World |editor= Gareth L. Schmeling |publisher=Brill |year=1996 |isbn=90-04-09630-2 |chapter= Longus, ''Daphnis and Chloe'' |author= Richard Hunter |pages=361–86 |author-link= Richard L. Hunter}}] ''The Wonders Beyond Thule'' by [[Antonius Diogenes]] may have also been written during the early second century AD, although scholars are unsure of its exact date. ''The Wonders Beyond Thule'' has not survived in its complete form, but a very lengthy summary of it written by [[Photios I of Constantinople]] has survived.[J.R. Morgan. Lucian's True Histories and the Wonders Beyond Thule of Antonius Diogenes. The Classical Quarterly (New Series), 35, pp 475–490 {{doi|10.1017/S0009838800040313}}.] ''[[Ephesian Tale|The Ephesian Tale]]'' by [[Xenophon of Ephesus]] was probably written during the late second century AD.[Moeser, Marion (Dec 15, 2002). The Anecdote in Mark, the Classical World and the Rabbis: A Study of Brief Stories in the Demonax, The Mishnah, and Mark 8:27–10:45. A&C Black. p. 88. {{ISBN|978-0-8264-6059-2}}. Retrieved 16 September 2016.] Almost all of Lucian's works are written in the heavily [[Attic Greek|Atticized dialect]] of [[ancient Greek language]] prevalent among the well-educated at the time. His book ''[[De Dea Syria|The Syrian Goddess]]'', however, was written in a faux-[[Ionic dialect]], deliberately imitating the dialect and style of [[Herodotus]].[Lightfoot, ''De Dea Syria'' (2003)][Lucinda Dirven, "The Author of De Dea Syria and his Cultural Heritage", Numen 44.2 (May 1997), pp. 153–179.] Lucian's most famous work is the novel ''[[True History|A True Story]]'', which some authors have described as the earliest surviving work of [[science fiction]].[Greg Grewell: "Colonizing the Universe: Science Fictions Then, Now, and in the (Imagined) Future", Rocky Mountain Review of Language and Literature, Vol. 55, No. 2 (2001), pp. 25–47 (30f.)][Fredericks, S.C.: "Lucian's True History as SF", Science Fiction Studies, Vol. 3, No. 1 (March 1976), pp. 49–60] His dialogue ''[[Lover of Lies|The Lover of Lies]]'' contains several of the earliest known [[ghost]] stories["The Doubter" by Lucian in Roger Lancelyn Green (1970) ''Thirteen Uncanny Tales''. London, Dent: 14–21; and Finucane, pg 26.] as well as the earliest known version of "[[The Sorcerer's Apprentice]]".[George Luck "Witches and Sorcerers in Classical Literature", p. 141, ''Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: Ancient Greece And Rome'' edited by Bengt Ankarloo and Stuart Clark {{ISBN|0-8122-1705-5}}] His letter ''[[Passing of Peregrinus|The Passing of Peregrinus]]'', a ruthless satire against [[Christians]], contains one of the earliest pagan appraisals of early Christianity.[Robert E. Van Voorst, ''Jesus outside the New Testament'', Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2000.]
''The [[Aethiopica]]'' by [[Heliodorus of Emesa]] was probably written during the third century AD.[Holzberg, Niklas. The Ancient Novel. 1995. p. 78] It tells the story of a young Ethiopian princess named Chariclea, who is estranged from her family and goes on many misadventures across the known world.[Bowersock, Glanwill W. The Aethiopica of Heliodorus and the Historia Augusta. In: Historiae Augustae Colloquia n.s. 2, Colloquium Genevense 1991. p. 43.] Of all the ancient Greek novels, the one that attained the greatest level of popularity was the ''[[Alexander Romance]]'', a fictionalized account of the exploits of [[Alexander the Great]] written in the third century AD. Eighty versions of it have survived in twenty-four different languages, attesting that, during the Middle Ages, the novel was nearly as popular as the Bible.[{{cite book|last1=Reardon|first1=Bryan P.|title=Collected Ancient Greek Novels|date=1989|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley|isbn=0-520-04306-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AZT8fEYMKBwC&q=Phoenicica+ancient+Greek+novel&pg=PA809|access-date=22 June 2017}}]{{rp|650–654}} Versions of the ''Alexander Romance'' were so commonplace in the fourteenth century that [[Geoffrey Chaucer]] wrote that "...every wight that hath discrecioun / Hath herd somwhat or al of [Alexander's] fortune."[{{rp|653–654}}
== Science and mathematics ==
[[File:Pausanias Description of Greece.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Manuscript (1485), of [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]]'s ''Description of Greece'' at the [[Laurentian Library]]]]
{{further|Greek mathematics|Greek astronomy|Medicine in ancient Greece}}
[[File:Archimedes Palimpsest.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|In 1906, [[Archimedes Palimpsest|The Archimedes Palimpsest]] revealed works by [[Archimedes]] previously thought to have been lost.]]
[[Eratosthenes of Alexandria]] ({{circa}} 276 BC – {{circa}} 195/194 BC), wrote on astronomy and geography, but his work is known mainly from later summaries. He is credited with being the first person to measure the Earth's circumference. Much that was written by the mathematicians [[Euclid]] and [[Archimedes]] has been preserved. Euclid is known for his ''[[Euclid's Elements|Elements]]'', a treatise that has exerted a continuing influence on mathematics. From Archimedes several treatises have come down to the present. Among them are ''[[Measurement of the Circle]]'', in which he worked out the value of pi; ''[[The Method of Mechanical Theorems]]'', on his work in mechanics; ''[[The Sand Reckoner]]''; and ''On Floating Bodies''.{{cn|date=May 2025}}
The physician [[Galen]] lived during the 2nd century AD. He was a careful student of anatomy, and his works exerted a powerful influence on medicine for the next 1,400 years. [[Strabo]], who died about AD 23, was a geographer and historian. His ''Historical Sketches'' in 47 volumes has nearly all been lost. His ''[[Geographica (Strabo)|Geographical Sketches]]'' remains the only existing ancient book covering the whole range of people and countries known to the Greeks and Romans through the time of [[Augustus]].][{{cite book | first=Daniela | last=Dueck | title=Strabo of Amasia: A Greek Man of Letters in Augustan Rome | publisher=Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group | location=London, New York | year=2000 | isbn=0-415-21672-9 | page=145}}] [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], who lived in the 2nd century AD, was also a geographer.[Historical and Ethnological Society of Greece, Aristéa Papanicolaou Christensen, ''The Panathenaic Stadium – Its History Over the Centuries'' (2003), p. 162] His ''Description of Greece'' is a travel guide describing the geography and mythic history of Greece during the second century. The book takes the form of a tour of Greece, starting in [[Athens]] and ending in [[Nafpaktos|Naupactus]].[{{cite book|last1=Pausanias|title=Description of Greece: Complete|date=18 October 2014 |publisher=First Rate Publishers|isbn=978-1-5028-8547-0}}]
The scientist of the Roman period who had the greatest influence on later generations was undoubtedly the astronomer [[Ptolemy]]. He lived during the 2nd century AD,[{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ptolemy|title=Ptolemy {{!}} Accomplishments, Biography, & Facts|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=2016-03-06}}] though little is known of his life. His masterpiece, originally entitled ''The Mathematical Collection'', has come to the present under the title ''[[Almagest]]'', as it was translated by Arab astronomers with that title.[A. I. Sabra, "Configuring the Universe: Aporetic, Problem Solving, and Kinematic Modeling as Themes of Arabic Astronomy," ''Perspectives on Science'' 6.3 (1998): 288–330, at pp. 317–18] It was Ptolemy who devised a detailed description of an [[Geocentrism|Earth-centered universe]],[NT Hamilton, N. M. Swerdlow, [[G. J. Toomer]]. "The Canobic Inscription: Ptolemy's Earliest Work". In Berggren and Goldstein, eds., ''From Ancient Omens to Statistical Mechanics''. Copenhagen: University Library, 1987.] a notion that dominated astronomical thinking for more than 1,300 years.[Fraser, Craig G. (2006). ''The Cosmos: A Historical Perspective''. p. 14.] The Ptolemaic view of the universe endured until [[Copernicus]], [[Galileo]], [[Johannes Kepler|Kepler]], and other early modern astronomers replaced it with [[heliocentrism]].[Lattis, James L. (1995). ''Between Copernicus and Galileo: Christoph Clavius and the Collapse of Ptolemaic Cosmology'', University of Chicago Press, pgs 186–190]
== Christian literature ==
The [[New Testament]], written by various authors in varying qualities of [[Koine Greek]] also hails from this period,[{{cite book | title=The Canon of the New Testament: Its Origin, Development, and Significance | last=Metzger | first=Bruce M. | year=1987 | pages=295–296 | publisher=Clarendon Press | isbn=0-19-826180-2 | url=http://ixoyc.net/data/Fathers/134.pdf | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601181717/http://www.ixoyc.net/data/Fathers/134.pdf | archive-date=2013-06-01 }}][{{rp|208–209}} the most important works being the [[Gospels]] and the [[Pauline epistles|Epistles of Saint Paul]].][{{cite book|last=Trobisch|first=David|title=Paul's Letter Collection: Tracing the Origins|year=1994|isbn=0-8006-2597-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/paulslettercolle0000trob/page/1 1–27]|publisher=Fortress Press |url=https://archive.org/details/paulslettercolle0000trob/page/1}}][{{rp|208–213}}
Early Christian philosophers including [[Justin Martyr]] and [[Origen of Alexandria]]][{{cite journal |last=Moore |first=Edward |url=http://www.iep.utm.edu/origen-of-alexandria/ |title=Origen of Alexandria (entry in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy) |journal=The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy |publisher=[[Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy|IEP]] |issn=2161-0002 |access-date=2014-04-27}}] also made extensive use of ideas from Greek philosophy, especially [[Platonism]].[New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge 3rd ed. 1914. [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/encyc06/Page_284.html Pg 284]][{{cite book|last=Schaff|first=Philip|title=The new Schaff-Herzog encyclopedia of religious knowledge: embracing biblical, historical, doctrinal, and practical theology and biblical, theological, and ecclesiastical biography from the earliest times to the present day|year=1910|publisher=Funk and Wagnalls Company|page=[https://archive.org/details/newschaffherzog09haucgoog/page/n300 272]|url=https://archive.org/details/newschaffherzog09haucgoog|access-date=2014-07-30}}]
== Legacy ==
[[File:Gillis Backereel - Hero mourns the dead Leander.jpg|thumb|316x316px|''Hero Mourns the Dead Leander'' by [[Gillis Backereel]] (1640s)]]
Ancient Greek literature has had an enormous impact on [[western literature]] as a whole.[{{cite web|title=Western literature|url=https://www.britannica.com/art/Western-literature|website=Encyclopaedia Britannica|access-date=19 June 2017}}] Ancient Roman authors adopted various styles and motifs from ancient Greek literature. These ideas were later, in turn, adopted by other western European writers and literary critics.[{{cite book |title=Classical Epic: Homer and Virgil |last=Jenkyns |first=Richard |year=2007 |publisher=Duckworth |location=London |isbn=978-1-85399-133-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k0cXAQAAIAAJ |page=53}}]
Ancient Greek literature especially influenced later [[Greek literature]]. For instance, the Greek novels influenced the later work ''[[Hero and Leander]]'', written by [[Musaeus Grammaticus]].{{cn|date=May 2025}}
=== Medieval and Renaissance ===
[[File:Poetique Aristote Arabe 2346.jpg|thumb|left|Page from an Arabic translation of [[Aristotle]]'s ''[[Poetics (Aristotle)|Poetics]]'' by [[Abu Bishr Matta ibn Yunus|Abū Bishr Mattā]]|305x305px]]
During the [[Middle Ages]], ancient Greek literature was largely forgotten in Western Europe; The medieval writer [[Roger Bacon]] wrote that "there are not four men in Latin Christendom who are acquainted with the Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic grammars."[{{cite book|last1=Sandys|first1=Sir John Edwin|title=A History of Classical Scholarship; Volume One: From the Sixth Century B.C. to the End of the Middle Ages|date=1921|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, England|isbn=978-1-108-02706-9|page=591|edition=3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-cA8AAAAIAAJ&q=there+are+not+four+men+in+Latin+Christendom+who+are+acquainted+with+the+Greek%2C+Hebrew%2C+and+Arabic+grammars.&pg=PA591|access-date=24 March 2017}}]
A Latin translation of an Arabic version of the ''Poetics'' by [[Averroes]] was available during the Middle Ages.[{{cite book|last=Habib|first=M.A.R.|title=A History of Literary Criticism and Theory: From Plato to the Present|year=2005|publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell]]|isbn=0-631-23200-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofliterar0000habi/page/60 60]|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofliterar0000habi/page/60}}]
Numerous figures from classical literature and mythology appear throughout ''[[The Divine Comedy]]'' by [[Dante Alighieri]].[{{cite book|last1=Osborn|first1=Kevin|last2=Burgess|first2=Dana|title=The Complete Idiot's Guide to Classical Mythology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ly8nbJj5DY0C&pg=PA270|access-date=19 December 2012|date=1998-07-01|publisher=Penguin|isbn=9780028623856|pages=270–}}]{{bsn|date=May 2025}}
It was not until the [[Renaissance]] that Greek writings were rediscovered by western European scholars.[[https://books.google.com/books?id=kKGgoNo4un0C&pg=PA261 ''Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics, and Society''], Marvin Perry, Myrna Chase, Margaret C. Jacob, James R. Jacob, 2008, 903 pages, p.261/262.] During the Renaissance, [[Greek language|Greek]] began to be taught in western European colleges and universities for the first time, which resulted in western European scholars rediscovering the literature of ancient Greece.[Reynolds and Wilson, pp. 119, 131.] The ''[[Textus Receptus]]'', the first New Testament printed in the original Greek, was published in 1516 by the Dutch humanist scholar [[Desiderius Erasmus]].[W. W. Combs, ''Erasmus and the textus receptus'', DBSJ 1 (Spring 1996), 45.] Erasmus also published Latin translations of classical Greek texts, including a Latin translation of [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Works and Days]]''.[{{cite book|last1=Meagher|first1=Robert E.|title=The Meaning of Helen: In Search of an Ancient Icon|date=2002|publisher=Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers|location=Wauconda, Illinois|isbn=0-86516-510-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/meaningofhelenin0000meag/page/56 56]|url=https://archive.org/details/meaningofhelenin0000meag|url-access=registration|access-date=19 June 2017}}]
Plutarch's ''Lives'' were a major influence on [[William Shakespeare]] and served as the main source behind his tragedies ''[[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]]'', ''[[Antony and Cleopatra]]'', and ''[[Coriolanus]]''.[{{rp|883–884}} Shakespeare's comedies ''[[A Comedy of Errors]]'' and ''[[The Twelfth Night]]'' drew heavily on themes from Graeco-Roman [[New Comedy]].][{{rp|881–882}} Meanwhile, Shakespeare's tragedy ''[[Timon of Athens]]'' was inspired by a story written by Lucian][Armstrong, A. Macc. "Timon of Athens - A Legendary Figure?", ''Greece & Rome'', 2nd Ser., Vol. 34, No. 1 (April 1987), pp. 7–11] and his comedy ''[[Pericles, Prince of Tyre]]'' was based on an adaptation of the ancient Greek novel ''[[Apollonius of Tyre]]'' found in [[John Gower]]'s ''[[Confessio Amantis]]''.[{{cite book|last1=Reardon|first1=Bryan P.|title=Collected Ancient Greek Novels|date=1989|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley|isbn=0-520-04306-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MA7rRGBC7IMC|page=737|access-date=17 June 2017}}]
=== Modern ===
The influence of classical Greek literature on modern literature is also evident. The common European terminology about literary genres is directly derived from the ancient Greek terminology.[{{cite book|author=Grendler, Paul F|title=The Universities of the Italian Renaissance|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|year=2004|isbn=0-8018-8055-6|page=239}}]
[[John Milton]]'s epic poem ''[[Paradise Lost]]'' is written using a similar style to the two Homeric epics.[{{cite book|last=Kirk|first=G. S.|date=1976|title=Homer and the Oral Tradition|url=https://archive.org/details/homeroraltraditi00kirk|url-access=registration|quote=Homeric style.|location=Cambridge, England|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-13671-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/homeroraltraditi00kirk/page/85 85]–99}}] It also makes frequent allusions to figures from classical literature and mythology, using them as symbols to convey a Christian message.[{{cite book|last1=Osgood|first1=Charles Grosvenor|title=The Classical Mythology of Milton's English Poems|date=1900|publisher=Henry Holt|location=New York City, New York|page=ix-xi|url=https://www.questia.com/read/77762244/the-classical-mythology-of-milton-s-english-poems|access-date=5 June 2017}}]
Lucian's ''A True Story'' was part of the inspiration for [[Jonathan Swift]]'s novel ''[[Gulliver's Travels]]''.[{{cite book|last1=Grafton|first1=Anthony|last2=Most|first2=Glenn W.|last3=Settis|first3=Salvatore|title=The Classical Tradition|date=2010|publisher=The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England|isbn=978-0-674-03572-0}}]{{rp|545}}
''[[Bulfinch's Mythology]]'', a book on [[Greek mythology]] published in 1867 and aimed at a popular audience, was described by Carl J. Richard as "one of the most popular books ever published in the United States".[[https://books.google.com/books?id=0qAY29cYNxsC&dq=bulfinch%E2%80%99s+mythology+by+thomas+bulfinch&pg=PA33 Richard, Carl J., ''The Golden Age of the Classics in America,''] Harvard University Press, 2009, page 33.]
[[George Bernard Shaw]]'s play ''[[Pygmalion (play)|Pygmalion]]'' is a modern, rationalized retelling of the ancient Greek legend of [[Pygmalion (mythology)|Pygmalion]].[{{rp|794}}
[[James Joyce]]'s novel ''[[Ulysses (novel)|Ulysses]]'' is a retelling of Homer's ''Odyssey'' set in modern-day [[Dublin]].][{{cite book|last=Jaurretche|first=Colleen|title=Beckett, Joyce and the Art of the Negative |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=__8cwVnwFEoC&pg=PA29 |access-date=February 1, 2011|series=European Joyce studies|volume= 16|year=2005|publisher=Rodopi|isbn=978-90-420-1617-0|page=29}}][[[Richard Ellmann|Ellmann, Richard]]. ''James Joyce''. Oxford University Press, revised edition (1983).]
The mid-twentieth-century British author [[Mary Renault]] wrote a number of critically acclaimed novels inspired by ancient Greek literature and mythology, including ''[[The Last of the Wine]]'' and ''[[The King Must Die]]''.[{{cite web|title=Who was Mary Renault?|url=https://www.maryrenaultsociety.org/who-is-mary-renault.html|website=The Mary Renault Society|access-date=31 May 2017}}]
The ideas expressed in Aristotle's ''[[Poetics (Aristotle)|Poetics]]'' have influenced generations of Western writers and literary critics.[{{cite web|last1=Forster|first1=E. M.|last2=Hans-Georg|first2=Gadamer|title=Aristotle:Poetics|url=http://www.english.hawaii.edu/criticalink/aristotle/|website=CriticaLink|publisher=University of Hawaii|access-date=25 June 2017}}]
== Papyrus evidence ==
[[File:Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 551 - Princeton University Library, AM 4405 - Homer, Iliad XIV,227–253,256–263.jpg|thumb|Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 551, a fragment of Homer's ''Iliad'']]
Literary papyri represent only a small proportion of surviving [[Papyrus|papyri]]. At [[Oxyrhynchus Papyri 159 through 207|Oxyrhynchus]], only about 10% of the papyri are literary texts, while the majority consist of everyday documents such as letters, receipts, and official records.[{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://oxyrhynchus.web.ox.ac.uk/home |access-date=2026-04-09 |website=oxyrhynchus.web.ox.ac.uk |language=en}}]
Approximately 40% of all literary papyri are fragments of Homer's works. In the [[William Hailey Willis]]'s 1968 survey of Egyptian literary papyri, Homer's works constitute 657 fragments. This far exceeded other classical authors: [[Demosthenes]] had 83 fragments, while [[Euripides]] and [[Hesiod]] had 75 and 74 fragments respectively. Willis documented 26 authors with more than 5 fragments each, 48 authors with 2-4 fragments, and 70 authors represented by just a single fragment.[{{Cite journal|url=https://grbs.library.duke.edu/index.php/grbs/article/view/10921|title=A Census of the Literary Papyri from Egypt|first=William H.|last=Willis|date=June 3, 1968|journal=Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies|volume=9|issue=2|pages=205–241|via=grbs.library.duke.edu}}] As of 2024, the distribution remains similar, with Homer's works appearing in 1680 fragments, Demosthenes in 204 fragments, and Euripides in 170 papyri.[{{cite web |last1=Allan |first1=Bill |title=Discovering a new Euripides papyrus |url=https://www.the-tls.co.uk/classics/greek/new-euripides-papyrus-essay-bill-allan |website=TLS |access-date=26 September 2024}}]
The dominance of Homer in papyrus findings has been consistently documented over decades. Pack's 1965 inventory counted 681 Homeric papyri, compared to approximately 80 each for Euripides and Demosthenes. By 1983, Paul Mertens identified 1004 Homeric papyri, compared to 111 for Euripides and 105 for Demosthenes, showing an increase from about 600 to about 900 fragments.[{{Cite book|url=https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110772371-032/pdf?lang=en|title=In the Company of Many Good Poets. Collected Papers of Franco Montanari|first=Franco|last=Montanari|date=October 24, 2023|publisher=De Gruyter|pages=459–472|via=www.degruyterbrill.com|doi=10.1515/9783110772371-032}}]
A significant number of papyri belong to the category of "Homerica" – exegetical texts, commentaries, reading aids, and scholarly materials related to Homer. Of the 681 Homeric papyri in Pack's inventory, 605 were poetry fragments while 76 were Homerica. In Mertens' updated inventory of 1004 items, 864 contained poetry and 140 were Homerica – showing an 84% increase in Homerica compared to a 42% increase in poetry fragments, suggesting growing scholarly engagement with Homeric texts.[{{Cite web|url=https://daily.jstor.org/pieces-and-bits/|title=Pieces and Bits|first=Catherine|last=Halley|date=April 15, 2023|website=JSTOR Daily}}]
== See also ==
* [[Late antique literature]]
* [[Syriac literature]]
==References==
{{reflist|25em}}
==Further reading==
*{{cite book|last=Beye|first=Charles Rowan|title=Ancient Greek Literature and Society|url=https://archive.org/details/ancientgreeklite00beye|url-access=registration|location=Ithaca, New York|publisher=Cornell University Press|year=1987|isbn=0-8014-1874-7}}
*{{cite book|editor =Easterling, P.E. |editor2=Knox, B.M.W. |title=The Cambridge History of Classical Literature: Volume 1: Greek literature|location=Cambridge [Cambridgeshire]; New York|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1985|isbn=0-521-21042-9}}
*{{cite book|first=Robert|last=Flacelière|title=A Literary History of Greece.|others=(Translated by Douglas Garman)|location=Chicago|publisher=Aldine Pub. |year=1964|author-link=Robert Flacelière}}
*{{cite book |first=Kathryn|last=Gutzwiller|title=A Guide to Hellenistic Literature|publisher=Blackwell|year=2007|isbn=978-0-631-23322-0}}
*{{cite book|last=Hadas|first=Moses|title=A History of Greek Literature|location=New York, NY|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=1950|author-link=Moses Hadas}}
*{{cite book|first=Albin|last=Lesky|title=A History of Greek Literature|location=Indianapolis / Cambridge|publisher=Hackett Publishing Company|year=1966|isbn=0-87220-350-6|translator=James Willis|translator2=Cornelis de Heer}}
*{{cite book|first=Franco|last=Montanari|title=History of Ancient Greek Literature|translator1=Orla Mulholland|translator2=Rachel Barritt Costa|date=2022|location=Berlin and Boston|publisher=De Gruyter|isbn=9783110419924|doi=10.1515/9783110426328}}
*{{cite book|first=Michael|last=Schmidt|title=The First Poets: Lives of the Ancient Greek Poets|location=London|publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson|year=2004|isbn=0-297-64394-0}}
*{{cite book|author =C. A. Trypanis|title=Greek Poetry from Homer to Seferis|url =https://archive.org/details/greekpoetryfromh00tryp|url-access =registration|author-link=C. A. Trypanis|publisher=University of Chicago Press|year=1981|isbn=9780226813165 }}
*{{cite book|first=Tim|last=Whitmarsh|title=Ancient Greek Literature|location=Cambridge|publisher= Polity Press|year=2004|isbn=0-7456-2792-7}}
*{{cite book |last1=Walton |first1=J. Michael |title=Found in Translation: Greek Drama in English |date=2006 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-86110-6 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/found-in-translation/3079852FD1E159A13F3685F836E6ADD6 |access-date=24 December 2023}}
==External links==
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