The term "ancient literature" was first coined by humanists of the Renaissance, who called the literature of ancient Greece and Rome. The term was retained by these countries and became synonymous with classical antiquity - the world that influenced the formation of European culture.
Periodization of the literature of antiquity
The history of ancient literature is based primarily on the culture of ancient Greece. In this regard, there are three periods of its development.
1. The first period is called preclassical or archaic. Literature is represented by folklore that originated from the religion of the Gentiles. It includes hymns, spells, stories about the gods, lamentations, proverbs and many other genres that represent folklore. The time frame of the first period cannot be precisely determined. Oral genres have been formed over many centuries, but the approximate time of its completion is the first third of the first millennium.
2. Antique literature of the second period occupies the VII-IV century. BC e. It is customary to call it classical, since it coincides with the time of the establishment in Greece of the classical form of slavery. During this period, numerous lyrical and epic works appeared, as well as prose, into the development of which speakers, philosophers and historians made a huge contribution. Separately, it should be noted V century BC. e., which is called Golden. The central place in the literature of this period was occupied by the theater.
3. The third, Hellenistic period in the history of ancient literature is associated with the development of slavery. With the advent of the military-monarchical form of organization of power, there is a sharp differentiation of human life, which is fundamentally different from the simplicity of the classical period.
This time is often interpreted as a period of degradation of literature. It distinguishes the stage of early and late Hellenism, which occupy a period of time from the III century BC. e. until the 5th century AD e. During this period, Roman antique literature first made itself known.
Ancient mythology
The basis of ancient mythology is stories about the most ancient deities, Olympian gods and heroes.
Legends about the most ancient gods appeared among the Greeks and Romans at a time when society was matriarchal. These gods were called chthonic, or bestial.
With the onset of patriarchy, the gods began to look more like people. At this time, the image of Zeus or Jupiter appears - the supreme deity who lived on Mount Olympus. This is where the name of the Olympian gods comes from. In the view of the Greeks, these creatures had a rigid hierarchy that justified the same order existing in society.
The heroes of ancient myths were unusual people who appeared as a result of the connection between ordinary mortals and the Olympian gods. For example, one of the most famous is Hercules - the son of Zeus and the ordinary woman Alkmena. The Greeks believed that each of the heroes had a special purpose: to cleanse the Earth from the monsters that Gaia had generated.
Epos
Works of ancient literature in the epic genre are represented by such names as Homer and Virgil.
Homer is a legendary poet who is considered the author of the oldest surviving epic poems - the Iliad and the Odyssey. The sources for the creation of these works were myths, folk songs and traditions. Homer's epic poems were written with a hexameter.
Virgil - an ancient Roman poet, author of the legendary epic poem "Aeneid". In it, the author glorifies the legendary origin of the Roman people.
Lyrics and Drama
One of the most famous representatives of the lyrical genre can be called the poetess Sappho. She used traditional folklore motifs, but saturated them with vivid images and strong feelings. The poetess became widely known during her lifetime. Her work consisted of nine books of poems, but only two poems and a hundred lyric passages have survived to our time.
Theatrical performances were one of the most popular entertainment in ancient Greece. Antique literature of the Golden Age of this direction is presented in two main genres: tragedy and comedy.
In fact, the ancient tragedy was an opera. Its founder is the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus. He wrote more than 90 plays, but only seven have survived to our time. One of Aeschylus’s most famous tragedies is Prometheus Chained, whose image is still used by writers.
Antique comedy had a political orientation. For example, one of the representatives of this genre - Aristophanes - in his comedies Mir and Lysistrata condemns the war between Greece and Sparta. The comedy "Riders" harshly criticizes the shortcomings of democracy that prevailed in Athens.
The origin of the prose genre
The list of ancient literature in the prose genre is represented, first of all, by the dialogues of Plato. The content of these works is presented through the reasoning and argument of two interlocutors who must find the truth. The main character in the dialogues of Plato was his teacher Socrates. This form of reporting has been called the Socratic Dialogue.
30 Plato dialogues are known. The most famous of them are the myth of Atlantis, "Feast", "Fedon", "Fedr."