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Ancient Literature

Ancient literature or classical literature is literature written in ancient times, referring to ancient Greece and the Roman Empire; although prehistoric literature from the development of the first script and literature in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia, India, and Palestine to medieval literature is often included.

Classical literature often refers to literature written in one of the classical languages: Greek, Hebrew, and Latin during a time that coincides with ancient times and it is literature that is written and not oral.

Sumerian literature was mainly concerned with practical matters - there are inscriptions on tombstones - and like Egyptian literature, it was mostly religious in nature. Early Egyptian literature includes, among other things, the Book of the Dead. Hammurabi's laws and other secular texts can be found well preserved, although written several millennia BC. Kr. Assyrian-Babylonian literature continues the Sumerian tradition, but also contributes to the development of philosophy, law, and astronomy.

Below you'll find a list of book summaries from authors that influenced Ancient literature and left their mark in the writing world.

Homer

Homer lived somewhere between 900 and 700 B.C. He is the oldest known Greek author. He was described as a blind poet who traveled from one place to another reciting his poems, but not even that information can be perceived as true.

  • Iliad
  • Odyssey

Sophocles

He was a play writer from Athena and one of the three great Greek tragedians. He introduced the third character into the plays and placed a man, passion and action into the center of the plot.

  • Antigone
  • Oedipus Rex / Oedipus the King

Latin literature

Latin literature, in the broadest sense, is all literature created in Latin in three epochs: antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the New Age. In some traditions, ancient Latin literature is regularly called Roman literature and includes essays, histories, poems, plays, and other writings written in Latin.

The beginning of formal Latin literature dates back to 240 BC when the first theatrical play was performed in Rome. Latin literature will flourish in the next six centuries. The classical era of Latin literature can be roughly divided into the following periods: Early Latin Literature, Golden Age, Imperial Age, and Late Antiquity.

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