Primary Ancient Writers Types of Literature

Greek Roman
Although literature can be defined simply as "written works",
Poetry Narrative Homer Virgil the term is often used more specifically to denote writing of a
Lyric Pindar creative nature (e.g. poetry, drama), as opposed to scholarly
Drama Serious Sophocles (e.g. philosophy, science, history) or practical (e.g. letters,
comic Aristophanes diaries, travel accounts, law) documents. Essential Humanities
Archaic period (ca. 800-500 BC) focuses mainly on creative literature.
Classical period (ca. 500-330 BC)
Literature can be divided into three traditional categories:
golden age of Latin literature (ca. 80 BC-20 AD) prose, poetry, and drama. Prose denotes literature that features
"ordinary language", while poetry features language that has
Ancient Christian Literature been carefully structured (e.g. rhythm, rhyme) for aesthetic
written over the period... effect. All written works can be described as either prose or
ca. 1000 BC-0 poetry.
Old Testament
New Testament ca. 0-100
early theology ca. 0-500 Prose-Poetry Spectrum

prose poetry
The Three Ages of the West
straightforward poetic loosely- tightly-
Western history can be divided into three ages: ancient, prose prose structured structured
medieval, and modern. These ages are reflected in all facets of poetry poetry
Western culture, including politics, science, visual art, and
literature. e.g. newspaper e.g. e.g. e.g.
article novel Shakespearean Shakespearean
The ancient period featured Greco-Roman culture (the play sonnet
collective culture of ancient Greece and Rome), which became
the foundation of Western culture. As the Roman Empire
crumbled, medieval culture developed, which can be broadly Ordinary language Aesthetically Structured Language
described as Greco-Roman culture with the addition of
Christianity and the removal of humanism. Modern culture
finally emerged when humanism was restored (see
Humanism).
Drama, which can be defined as "literature intended for ca. 800-500 BC
performance", may be composed of poetry and/or prose.
The roots of literature lie in oral traditions, which emerged
Poetry is traditionally divided into narrative poetry (which throughout the world long before the development of writing.
tells a story, and tends to be relatively long; this type is often In addition to pure entertainment, oral stories were often used
called "epic poetry") and lyric poetry (which communicates for instruction (e.g. ethical, religious, historical). Storytelling
feelings or ideas, and tends to be relatively short). Drama is was sometimes ceremonial, and might be combined with other
traditionally divided into serious drama (tragedy) and comic aesthetic forms (e.g. music, dancing, costumes).
drama (comedy), though naturally the two are often mixed.
The most influential and highly-regarded works of ancient
Literature can thus be divided into five major types. All were literature are the narrative poems Iliad and Odyssey. Originally
founded (in the West) by the ancient Greeks. works of oral tradition, these poems were set down in the
Archaic period, apparently by a man named Homer. The Iliad
The Five Major Types of Literature recounts the decade-long seige of Troy, while the Odyssey
follows the decade-long homeward journey of Odysseus (a
narrative poetry serious drama
prose Greek king) at war's end.
lyric poetry comic drama
Meanwhile, ancient lyric poetry culminated with Pindar,
Ancient Prose whose victory odes (which celebrate athletic victories) are
considered the pinnacle of his work.4
Today, we are accustomed to prose as the usual method of
storytelling, especially in the form of novels; only in the Though Western prose and drama were also born in the
nineteenth century, however, did prose secure this dominant Archaic period, these genres did not truly flourish until the
position. Until then, poetry (in the form of narrative poetry or Classical age.
verse drama) was generally the preferred medium. While the
ancient Greeks and Romans did produce the first Western Classical Literature
prose stories (from brief folktales to epic legends), the creative
prose of antiquity did not remotely approach the renown or ca. 500-330 BC
influence of poetry.
As noted earlier, oral legends were a universal feature of early
Main Article human societies, and were often combined with other aesthetic
forms (such as music, dancing, and costumes) to produce
compelling reenactments of historical and/or mythical events.
Archaic Literature
Such "story-ceremonies" remained popular long after the torch of the West passed to the Romans, who wrote primarily
development of writing, and continue to flourish among many in Latin.
cultures today. The ancient Greeks invented drama by
harnessing (and developing upon) these ceremonies to tell One further Greek author merits mention, however: Aesop, the
newly-composed stories. (probably legendary) master of the fable, a brief story with
non-human characters that teaches a lesson. Whether or not
Greek drama was performed by a small number of actors (1 to Aesop was an actual person (sources claim he lived in the
3) and a chorus. The chorus was a group of supporting Archaic or Classical period), the ancient body of work known
characters (e.g. a crowd of citizens) that presented and as Aesop's fables became (and remains to this day) the most
commented upon the story (with speech, singing, miming, popular collection of fables ever written. The original Aesop
and/or dancing). Greek tragedy culminated in the works of collections have been lost; the fables are known only through
Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, the second of whom is later versions (sometimes poetry, sometimes prose), which
generally considered the greatest ancient playwright. The two have been produced regularly from antiquity up to the present.
outstanding figures of Greek comedy are Aristophanes and
Menander, of whom the former is widely regarded the foremost Roman Literature
comic dramatist of antiquity
The Roman Republic can be divided into the Early Republic
Sophocles' foremost tragedy is Oedipus Rex, in which the (ca. 500-250 BC), during which Roman territory expanded
titular character tries (and fails) to avoid fulfilling a prophecy gradually across Italy, and the Late Republic (ca. 250 BC-0),
that he will murder his father and wed his mother. In The during which Roman territory expanded rapidly across the
Birds, often hailed as Aristophanes' finest play, two world- Mediterranean. During the Late Republic, Roman culture
weary Athenians sprout wings and move to a city in the sky. (including art and literature) truly began to flourish. Roman
culture continued to thrive during the Early Empire (ca. 0-
Subsequent Greek Literature 200), then permanently declined in the Late Empire (ca. 200-
500).
The Archaic and Classical periods witnessed the emergence
and flourishing of every major type of literature, as well as the The Romans adopted Greek culture as the foundation of their
careers of all the foremost Greek authors. During the civilization, such that Roman literature (like Roman culture
subsequent Hellenistic (ca. 330 BC-0) and Roman Empire generally) continued and developed upon Greek forms.
(ca. 0-500) periods, Greek literature continued to thrive, but Naturally, these forms were modified to suit Roman tastes, and
never again would a Greek author achieve renown comparable were injected with native Roman cultural elements; most
to that of the Archaic/Classical titans. Meanwhile, the cultural obviously, the chief language of Roman literature was Latin
rather than Greek. Though all fields of ancient literature
reached their highest level among the Greeks, the Romans focuses on the life and teachings of Jesus, along with the
produced their own share of titans, notably in epic poetry (led attendant new covenant between God and Christians.6,7
by Virgil), lyric poetry (led by Horace), and comedy (led by
Plautus and Terence). Christianity (with the Bible as its core) was the supreme force
in medieval culture. Christian stories and themes dominated
Roman literature is widely considered to have culminated over medieval art and literature. Indeed, the religion's sweeping
the century-long period ca. 80 BC-20 AD, known as the golden cultural influence remained strong for centuries after the
age of Latin literature. The preeminent figure of this golden Middle Ages, though it came to share the stage with classical
age is Virgil, greatest of Roman writers. His masterpiece, the themes, as well as increasing attention to the immediate
epic poem Aeneid, recounts the adventures of Aeneas, a Trojan human world.
prince who (following the destruction of Troy) journeys to Italy
and founds Rome. Early Christian Literature

The Bible Christianity emerged in 1st-century Palestine (as a splinter

sect of Judaism), then spread throughout the Roman Empire.
ca. 1000 BC-100 AD By the early medieval period, Christianity had come to
dominate most of Europe; consequently, a great portion of
The Bible, the scripture (sacred text) of the Christian faith, Western literature (from the Roman Empire period onward) is
consists of two main parts: the Old Testament (which is also Christian in nature.
the Hebrew Bible) and New Testament, which are themselves
divided into many distinct works. The Old Testament was Theology can be defined as "the study of religious belief and
written (mainly in Hebrew) over the first millennium BC, while practice". Christian theology, which emerged under the
the New Testament was written (in Greek) mainly in the first Roman Empire (and subsequently became the primary focus of
century AD medieval scholarship), is thus concerned with analyzing
biblical truths (e.g. the nature of God and the afterlife,
The Bible contains various elements typical of religious texts humanity's relationship with God) and their implications for
across the world, including explanations of supernatural human life (e.g. religous practice, politics, law, ethics).
beings and places (and their relevance to humanity), history
(ordinary and supernatural), law, ethics, and prophecy. The To modern secular eyes, theological literature may seem an
principal subject of the Old Testament is God's covenant with isolated curosity, of concern only to devoted religious
the Hebrews (the chosen people) and the ensuing formation and intellectuals. Prior to the rise of secular societies, however,
history of Israel (the Hebrew kingdom). The New Testament theology (along with the scripture it drew upon) was widely
and profoundly influential on Western views and values.
Indeed, for some Christians (and for millions who follow other
faiths), the resounding impact of scripture and theology on
everyday life has not dwindled (see Religion).

The theologians of the Roman Empire period laid the

groundwork of Christian doctrine. In addition to analysis of
the Bible itself, theology often attempted to reconcile scripture
with classical philosophy (see History of Western
Philosophy). The growth of theological scholarship began in
earnest during the Late Empire period (ca. 200-500), especially
once the religion was granted official tolerance by Constantine
(313). By far the most influential theologian of antiquity was
Saint Augustine.

Ages of Western
Literature
ancient literature
ca
. 800 BC-500 AD medieval literature
ca. 500-1500 Renaissance/Reformation literature
ca. 1300-1650 Enlightenment literature
ca. 1650-1800 modern literature
ca. 1800-present