Level 108
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Classical Literature

Classical Literature

A survey of the epic, tragic, comic, and lyric traditions of ancient Greece and Rome, from Homer's oral epics to the Latin poets and prose writers who together founded the literature of the Western world.

60-Second Review

Express review

A condensed, point-by-point summary of the module, for reviewing right before a test or exam.

  1. Homer and the Epic Tradition. The Iliad and Odyssey emerged from oral tradition, epic formulas, and centuries of sung performance.
  2. Hesiod, Lyric Poetry, and the Birth of Tragedy. Hesiod's didactic epic, archaic lyric poets, and Dionysian ritual gave rise to Greek tragedy.
  3. The Great Athenian Tragedians. Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides defined Athenian tragedy through the Oresteia, Oedipus, and Medea.
  4. Comedy, Philosophy, and History in Athens. Aristophanes's comedy, Aristotle's Poetics, and Herodotus's inquiry shaped Athenian letters.
  5. Thucydides, Plato, and Hellenistic Literature. Thucydides, Plato's dialogues, and Hellenistic poets like Callimachus refined Greek prose and verse.
  6. Virgil, Ovid, and the Augustan Poets. Virgil's Aeneid, Ovid's myths and exile, and Horace and Catullus defined Augustan Roman poetry.
  7. Roman Drama, Rhetoric, and Prose. Roman comedy, Senecan tragedy, Ciceronian rhetoric, and early Latin prose fiction and history.
  8. Transmission and Legacy of the Classics. Medieval and Byzantine copying preserved the classics that still shape literature and its canon.

This is the starting point of Classical Literature: you don't need any prior knowledge of this subject to begin.

Key points

Visual module map

1Homer and the Epic Tradition
2The Great Athenian Tragedians
3Thucydides, Plato, and Hellenistic Literature
4Virgil, Ovid, and the Augustan Poets
5Transmission and Legacy of the Classics

Alternative visual view: a simplified sequence of some of the module's key points, in their order within the syllabus.

Your module mastery

0% (overall measurement)
Approximate breakdown by skill
Understanding of historiographical debate0%

A rough estimate based on the key points reviewed, not an exact measurement of actual mastery.

Final test

You need to review all key points to unlock the final test.

Optional mini-games

Extra practice, with no penalty, to reinforce the module's content.

Review Flashcards

Review each key point with cards that flip to reveal the summary.

Memory

Match each concept with its definition in as few attempts as possible.

Time Attack

Answer true or false statements before time runs out.

Chronological Order

Put the module's key points back in their original order.

Further reading

Bibliography and cited sources used to create this module.

  • Finley, M. I. (1954). The World of Odysseus. New York: Viking Press.
  • Knox, B. (1979). Word and Action: Essays on the Ancient Theater. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
  • Parry, A. (ed.) (1971). The Making of Homeric Verse: The Collected Papers of Milman Parry. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  • Lesky, A. (1966). A History of Greek Literature (J. Willis and C. de Heer, Trans.). London: Methuen.
  • Conte, G. B. (1994). Latin Literature: A History (J. B. Solodow, Trans.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
  • Reynolds, L. D. and Wilson, N. G. (1991). Scribes and Scholars: A Guide to the Transmission of Greek and Latin Literature (3rd ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press.