What are some important facts about Greek literature?

Greeks had used writing since…

C., but it was not until the late 8th century B.C. that their literature was first written down. Greek literature began in Ionia with the brilliant epics of the (by tradition, blind) poet Homer—the Iliad and the Odyssey.

What are the genres of Greek literature?

The ancient Greeks pioneered, developed, and in fact, named many familiar genre of World literature: epic, lyric, and pastoral poetry, tragic and comic drama, prose history, philosophy, and the novel all have deep roots in the literature of ancient Greece.

What are the 4 major literary genres that ancient Greek literature is known for?

Greek writers are responsible for the introduction of such genres as poetry, tragedy, comedy, and western philosophy to the world. These Greeks authors were born not only on the soil of their native Greece but also in Asia Minor (Ionia), the islands of the Aegean, Sicily, and southern Italy.

What is Greece known for literature?

At the beginning of Greek literature stand the two great epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Some features of the poems reach far into the Mycenaean age, perhaps to 1500 bc, but the written works are traditionally ascribed to Homer; in something like their present form they probably date to the 8th century.

What are the common themes of Greek literature?

The two major themes of ancient Greek playwriting were comedies and tragedies. Lastly, ancient Greek literature also included fables, such as those by Aesop, which used animals to teach moral lessons.

What type of literature did ancient Greece have?

The common European terminology about literary genres is directly derived from the ancient Greek terminology. Lyric and drama were further divided into more genres: lyric in four (elegiac, iambic, monodic lyric and choral lyric); drama in three (tragedy, comedy and pastoral drama).

When did Greek literature start?

800 BC
Greek literature (Greek: Ελληνική Λογοτεχνία) dates back from the ancient Greek literature, beginning in 800 BC, to the modern Greek literature of today.

What type of literature did the Greeks first write?

epic poems
Among the earliest Greek literature was Homer’s epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey. The Iliad is a detailed telling of the Trojan War while the Odyssey recounts Odysseus’ 20-year journey home following the Trojan War.