Famous people and works
Ancient Greek society placed considerable emphasis on literature and, according to many, the whole Western literary tradition began there, with the epic poems of Homer.
In addition to the invention of the epic and lyric forms of poetry, though, the Greeks were also essentially responsible for the invention of drama, and they produced masterpieces of both tragedy and comedy that are still reckoned among the crowning achievements of drama to this day.
Indeed, there is scarcely an idea discussed today that has not already been debated and embroidered on by the writers of ancient Greece.
The epic poems attributed to Homer are usually considered the first extant work of Western literature, and they remain giants in the literary canon for their skillful and vivid depictions of war and peace, honor and disgrace, love and hatred.
Hesiod was another very early Greek poet and his didactic poems give us a systematic account of Greek mythology, the creation myths and the gods, as well as an insight into the day-to-day lives of Greek farmers of the time.
The fables of Aesop represent a separate genre of literature, unrelated to any other, and probably developed out of an oral tradition going back many centuries.
Sappho and, later, Pindar, represent, in their different ways, the apotheosis of Greek lyric poetry.
The earliest known Greek dramatist was Thespis, the winner of the first theatrical contest held at Athens in the 6th Century BCE. Choerilus, Pratinas and Phrynichus were also early Greek tragedians, each credited with different innovations in the field.
Aeschylus, however, is usually considered the first of the great Greek playwrights, and essentially invented what we think of as drama in the 5th Century BCE (thereby changing Western literature forever) with his introduction of dialogue and interacting characters into play-writing.
Sophocles is credited with skillfully developing irony as a literary technique, and extended what was considered allowable in drama.
Euripides, on the other hand, used his plays to challenge the societal norms and mores of the period (a hallmark of much of Western literature for the next 2 millennia), introduced even greater flexibility in dramatic structure and was the first playwright to develop female characters to any extent.
Aristophanes defined and shaped our idea of what is known as Old Comedy, while, almost a century later, Menander carried on the mantle and dominated the genre of Athenian New Comedy.
After Menander, the spirit of dramatic creation moved out to other centres of civilization, such as Sicily, Alexandria and Rome. By about the 4th Century BCE, Greek literature went into a decline from its previous heights, although much valuable writing in the fields of philosophy, history and science continued to be produced throughout Hellenistic Greece.
Brief mention should also be made here of a lesser known genre, that of the ancient novel or prose fiction. The five surviving Ancient Greek novels, which date to the 2nd and 3rd Century CE are the "Aethiopica" or "Ethiopian Story" by Heliodorus of Emesa,"Chaereas and Callirhoe" by Chariton, "The Ephesian Tale" by Xenophon of Ephesus, "Leucippe and Clitophon" by Achilles Tatius and "Daphnis and Chloe" by Longus.
In addition, a short novel of Greek origin called "Apollonius, King of Tyre", dating to the 3rd Century CE or earlier, has come down to us only in Latin, in which form it became very popular during medieval times.
Main Authors: * Homer (epic poet, 8th Century BCE) * Hesiod (didactic poet, 8th Century BCE) * Aesop (fabulist, 7th - 6th Century BCE) * Sappho (lyric poet, 7th - 6th century BCE) * Pindar (lyric poet, 6th - 5th Century BCE) * Aeschylus (tragic playwright, 6th - 5th Century BCE) * Sophocles (tragic playwright, 5th Century BCE) * Euripides (tragic playwright, 5th Century BCE) * Aristophanes (comic playwright, 5th - 4th Century BCE) * Menander (comic playwright, 4th - 3rd Century BCE)

Roman Literature and Famous Peoples and their Works
Roman literature, written in the Latin language, remains an enduring legacy of the culture of ancient Rome. Some of the earliest extant works are historical epics telling of the early military history of Rome, followed (as the Republic expanded) by poetry, comedies, histories and tragedies.
Latin literature drew heavily on the traditions of other cultures, particularly the more matured literary tradition of Greece, and the strong influence of earlier Greek authors is readily apparent. Few works remain of Early and Old Latin, although a few of the plays of Plautus and Terence have come down to us.
The “Golden Age of Roman Literature” is usually considered to cover the period from about the start of the 1st Century BCE up to the mid-1st Century CE.
Catullus pioneered the naturalization of Greek lyric verse forms into Latin in his very personal (sometimes erotic, sometimes playful, and frequently abusive) poetry.
The Hellenizing tendencies of Golden Age Latin reached their apex in the epic poetry of Vergil, the odes and satires of Horace and the elegiac couplets of Ovid.
The “Silver Age of Roman Literature” extends into the 2nd Century CE, a period during which the eloquent, sometimes bombastic, poetry of Seneca the Younger and Lucan gave way to the more restrained, classicized style of Pliny the Younger’s letters and the powerful satires of Juvenal.
Brief mention should also be made here of a lesser known genre, that of the ancient novel or prose fiction. Two such Ancient Roman novels have come down to us, the "Satyricon" of Gaius Petronius (1st Century CE) and "The Golden Ass" (or "Metamorphoses") of Lucius Apuleius (2nd Century CE).
Roman literature written after the mid-2nd Century CE is often disparaged and largely ignored, and Medieval Latin was usually dismissed as “Dog-Latin”. However, long after the Roman Empire had fallen, the Latin language continued to play a central role in Western European civilization.
Main Authors: * Catullus (lyric and elegiac poet, 1st Century BCE) * Vergil (epic and didactic poet, 1st Century BCE) * Horace (lyric poet and satirist, 1st Century BCE) * Ovid (didactic and elegiac poet, 1st Century BCE - 1st Century CE) * Seneca the Younger (tragic playwright and satirist, 1st Century CE) * Lucan (epic poet, 1st Century CE) * Juvenal (satirist, 1st - 2nd Century CE) * Pliny the Younger (correspondent, 1st - 2nd Century CE)