Another Jump Back

Photo Compliments: Wikipedia.org
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Homer_glyptotek.jpg


Hello Everybody!

Today I decided to get back on track and research deeper into the history of Literature. I've strayed so much from the time that I read about the first recorded pieces of Literature. But should I really be blamed? With Literature there is so much to explore. However, I am sorry for not staying focused. Today I explored the history and development of Greek Literature through the ages. More specifically, I read about Ancient Greek Literature which is Greek Literature written before the 4th century A.D. The Greeks were very skillful writers and were the ones who invented many of the literary forms which we enjoy today, for example lyric poetry.

Greek Literature, as I had already discovered started in about the 8th century B.C with Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. During the prec lassical age (before 500 B.C.), there was another great poet called Hesoid. Two of his surviving poems are "Works and Days" and "Theogony". These two are also epic poems.

Another form of poetry also evolved in greek society at that time. This was lyric poetry with the first lyric poet being Archilochus of Paros. This type of poetry, along with many others, of course, was greater developed in the classical age (500-336 B.C.).

The Classical age gave way to genres of Western Literature such as odes, pastorals, elegies, epigrams, comical and tragic drama, histories, rhetorical treatises, philosophical dialects and philosophical treatises.

The Hellenistic Age (336-30 BC) gave way to further development of the genres that had already been established and also saw the introduction of astronomy and geography. One milestone in the Hellenistic Age, was the translation of the Old Testament to Greek. This was done in Alexandria and was completed by 2nd century B.C. and involved the work of 72 scholars.

One other very significant piece of Literature considered Ancient Greek Literature is the New Testament which was written in 1st to 2nd century A.D. The books of the New Testament were written in various forms of koine (common) Greek. The New Testament is a compilation of 27 "books", as they are now called, which tell of the life of Jesus and Christian living.

In short, there was great development in Western Literature in the age of "Ancient Greece." The Literature written at that time is considered Ancient Greek Literature. You can read more about Ancient Greek Literature here.

Well I'm off to read some more. I will keep you updated as I go along.

Bye!!! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another Jump Back