Greek tragedy culminated in the works of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, the second of whom is generally considered the greatest ancient playwright. a crowd of citizens) that presented and commented upon the story (with speech, singing, miming, and/or dancing). The chorus was a group of supporting characters (e.g. Greek drama was performed by a small number of actors (1 to 3) and a chorus. The ancient Greeks invented drama by harnessing (and developing upon) these ceremonies to tell newly-composed stories. Such "story-ceremonies" remained popular long after the development of writing, and continue to flourish among many cultures today. Classical LiteratureĪs noted earlier, oral legends were a universal feature of early 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. Though Western prose and drama were also born in the Archaic period, these genres did not truly flourish until the Classical age. Meanwhile, ancient lyric poetry culminated with Pindar, whose victory odes (which celebrate athletic victories) are considered the pinnacle of his work.
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The Iliad recounts the decade-long seige of Troy, while the Odyssey follows the decade-long homeward journey of Odysseus (a Greek king) at war's end. Originally works of oral tradition, these poems were set down in the Archaic period, apparently by a man named Homer. The most influential and highly-regarded works of ancient literature are the narrative poems Iliad and Odyssey. Storytelling was sometimes ceremonial, and might be combined with other aesthetic forms (e.g. In addition to pure entertainment, oral stories were often used for instruction (e.g. The roots of literature lie in oral traditions, which emerged throughout the world long before the development of writing. While the ancient Greeks and Romans did produce the first Western prose stories (from brief folktales to epic legends), the creative prose of antiquity did not remotely approach the renown or influence of poetry. Until then, poetry (in the form of narrative poetry or verse drama) was generally the preferred medium.
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Today, we are accustomed to prose as the usual method of storytelling, especially in the form of novels only in the nineteenth century, however, did prose secure this dominant position.
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The Five Major Types of Literature narrative poetry All were founded (in the West) by the ancient Greeks. Literature can thus be divided into five major types. Drama is traditionally divided into serious drama (tragedy) and comic drama (comedy), though naturally the two are often mixed. Poetry is traditionally divided into narrative poetry (which tells a story, and tends to be relatively long this type is often called "epic poetry") and lyric poetry (which communicates feelings or ideas, and tends to be relatively short). Prose-Poetry Spectrum proseĭrama, which can be defined as "literature intended for performance", may be composed of poetry and/or prose. All written works can be described as either prose or poetry. Prose denotes literature that features "ordinary language", while poetry features language that has been carefully structured (e.g. Literature can be divided into three traditional categories: prose, poetry, and drama. Essential Humanities focuses mainly on creative literature. letters, diaries, travel accounts, law) documents. philosophy, science, history) or practical (e.g. poetry, drama), as opposed to scholarly (e.g. Types of LiteratureĪlthough literature can be defined simply as "written works", the term is often used more specifically to denote writing of a creative nature (e.g. Modern culture finally emerged when humanism was restored (see Humanism). As the Roman Empire crumbled, medieval culture developed, which can be broadly described as Greco-Roman culture with the addition of Christianity and the removal of humanism.
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The ancient period featured Greco-Roman culture (the collective culture of ancient Greece and Rome), which became the foundation of Western culture. These ages are reflected in all facets of Western culture, including politics, science, visual art, and literature. Western history can be divided into three ages: ancient, medieval, and modern. Ancient Literature Introduction Table Summary Primary Ancient Writers