A Short History of Greek Literature provides a concise yet comprehensive survey of Greek literature - from Christian authors - over twelve centuries, from Homer's epics to the rich range of authors surviving from the imperial period up to Justinian. The book is divided into three parts. The first part is devoted to the extraordinary creativity of the archaic and classical age, when the major literary genres - epic, lyric, tragedy, comedy, history, oratory and philosophy - were invented and flourished. The second part covers the Hellenistic period, and the third covers the High Empire and Late Antiquity. At that tine the masters of the previous age were elevated to the rank of 'classics'. The works of the imperial period are replete with literary allusions, yet full of references to contemporary reality.

Offers profiles of ancient Greek writers, including Homer, Hesiod, Herodotus, Sophocles, Plato, Aristotle, and Plutarch, and traces the development of Greek literature.

"First published as Geschichte der Griechischen Literatur by Francke Verlag, Bern"--T.p. verso.

The most up-to-date history of Greek literature from its Homeric origins to the age of Augustus. Greek literary production throughout this period of some eight centuries is embedded in its historical and social context, and Professor Dihle sees this literature as a historical phenomenon, a particular mode of linguistic communication, with its specific forms developing both in an organic way and in response to the changing world around. In this it differs from conventional humanist approaches to Greek and Latin literature which analyse the works as objects of timeless value independent of any historical setting or purpose. This magisterial survey by one of the leading European authorities on classical literature will establish itself, as it already has in Germany, as the standard account of the subject.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF Ancient Greek Attested since the fourteenth century BC, and still spoken today by over 10 million people, Greek has been one of the most influential languages in human history. English, Spanish, French, Russian, and Arabic are among the many languages to have borrowed key terms and concepts from Greek. A Brief History of Ancient Greek takes the reader through the history of this ancient language from its Indo-European beginnings right up to the present day, and explains key relationships between the language and literature of the Classical period (500–300 bc). The development of the language is also related to the social and political context, in line with modern sociolinguistic thought. The book reflects the latest scholarship on subjects such as koine Greek, and the relationship between literary and vernacular Greek. All Greek is transliterated and translated where appropriate, so that the text is accessible to readers who know little or no Greek, including scholars and students who require an accessible overview of the history of the language, or linguists and professionals who need a quick source of data and background information.

A Companion to Greek Literature presents a comprehensive introduction to the wide range of texts and literary forms produced in the Greek language over the course of a millennium beginning from the 6th century BCE up to the early years of the Byzantine Empire. Features contributions from a wide range of established experts and emerging scholars of Greek literature Offers comprehensive coverage of the many genres and literary forms produced by the ancient Greeks—including epic and lyric poetry, oratory, historiography, biography, philosophy, the novel, and technical literature Includes readings that address the production and transmission of ancient Greek texts, historic reception, individual authors, and much more Explores the subject of ancient Greek literature in innovative ways

The focus of this book--its new perspective--is on the 'receivers' of literature: readers, spectators, and audiences. Twelve contributors, drawn from both sides of the Atlantic, explore the various and changing interactions between the makers of literature and their audiences or readers from the earliest Greek poetry to the end of the Roman empires in the Western and Eastern Mediterranean. From the heights of Athens to the hellenistic Greek diaspora, from the great Augustans to the irresistible tide of Christianity, the contributors deploy fresh insights to map out lively and provocative, yet accessible, surveys. They cover the kinds of literature which have shaped western culture--epic, lyric, tragedy, comedy, history, philosophy, rhetoric, epigram, elegy, pastoral, satire, biography, epistle, declamation, and panegyric. Who were the audiences, and why did they regard their literature as so important? --jacket.