The term "ancient literature" was first introducedhumanists of the Renaissance, who called the literature of ancient Greece and Rome. The term has been preserved for these countries and has become synonymous with classical antiquity - the world that influenced the formation of European culture.
The history of ancient literature is based primarily on the culture of ancient Greece. In connection with this, three periods of its development are distinguished.
1.The first period is called pre-classical or archaic. Literature is represented by oral folk art, which originated from the religion of the Gentiles. It includes hymns, incantations, stories about gods, weeping, proverbs and many other genres that represent folklore. The time frame of the first period can not be precisely determined. Oral genres have been formed over many centuries, but the approximate time of its end is the first third of the first millennium.
2.Antique literature of the second period occupies the 7th - 4th c. BC. e. It is customary to call classical, as it coincides with the time of the formation in Greece of the classical form of slavery. In this period, there were numerous lyrical and epic works, as well as prose, in the development of which a huge contribution was made by speakers, philosophers and historians. 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 the organization of power, a sharp differentiation of human life takes place, which differed radically from the simplicity of the classical period.
This time is often treated as a period of degradationliterature. 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 appeared.
The basis of ancient mythology are stories about the oldest deities, gods-Olympians and heroes.
Legends of 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 morebe like people. At this time, the image of Zeus or Jupiter - the supreme deity, who lived on Mount Olympus. It is from here that the name of the Olympian gods comes. In the view of the Greeks, these creatures had a rigid hierarchy that justified the same order that exists in society.
The heroes of the ancient myths were unusual peoplewhich appeared as a result of the connection between mere mortals and Olympian gods. For example, one of the most famous is Hercules - the son of Zeus and the usual woman Alkmena. The Greeks believed that each of the heroes had a special purpose: to cleanse the Earth from the monsters, which gave birth to Gaia.
The works of ancient literature in the epic genre are represented by such names as Homer and Virgil.
Homer is a legendary poet believedthe author of the oldest surviving epic poems - the Iliad and Odyssey. Sources for the creation of these works have become myths, folk songs and legends. Homer's epic poems were written in hexameter.
Virgil is an ancient Roman poet, author of the legendary epic poem Aeneid. In it, the author glorifies the legendary origin of the Roman people.
One of the most famous representativesLyric genre can be called the poetess Sappho. She used traditional folk motifs, but saturated them with vivid images and strong feelings. The poetess received wide popularity during her lifetime. Her work consisted of nine books of poetry, but only two poems and hundreds of lyric passages have survived to our time.
Theatrical productions were one of the most popular entertainment of ancient Greece. The antique literature of the Golden Age of this direction is presented in two main genres: tragedy and comedy.
In fact, the ancient tragedy wasthe opera. Its founder is considered the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus. He wrote more than 90 plays, but only seven have survived to this day. One of the most famous tragedies of Aeschylus is Prometheus Bound, whose image is still used by writers.
Antique comedy had a politicalfocus. 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 "The Riders" harshly criticizes the shortcomings of democracy that has developed in Athens.
Список античной литературы в жанре прозы presented, above all, the dialogues of Plato. The content of these works is presented through reasoning and a dispute between two interlocutors who must find the truth. The main hero of the dialogues of Plato was his teacher Socrates. This form of presenting information was called the "Socratic dialogue."
Known 30 dialogues of Plato. The most famous of them are the myth of Atlantis, "Feast", "Fedon", "Fedr".
