We all know that the superstructure of Western thought and art is built upon the sturdy foundation of Greek literary artists. These men include playwrights, poets, philosophers and historians. Although a great deal of what they wrote was lost, that which has survived of their work throughout many centuries can be considered something of a miracle, and has been ample for later practitioners of the writer’s craft to draw inspiration from. What follows are thumbnail sketches of the most important of these writers, listed by order of significance, followed by a quick overview of some other poets.
1. Homer- 8th century BC
Nothing is known about the life of this, the greatest Greek literary artist of all. His epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey, are the earliest works in the canon of Western Literature. His influence of the currents of modern literature cannot be overestimated. He has inspired and continues to inspire literary thought throughout the centuries in artists such as Shakespeare, who borrowed his themes liberally from Homer, to Tolstoy, who learned ancient Greek in order to read Homer, which then inspired elements of War and Peace, to Hollywood, which to date has produced 33 works inspired by or based on the Odyssey alone, the most recent being 2024’s The Return.
2. Hesiod- 8th century BC
Considered the father of didactic (teaching) poetry, not much is known of Hesiod either, beyond his father having moved from Asia Minor to Boetia, Central Greece. He credited his gifts to the Muses, who inspired him as he tended his sheep. As a rhapsodist (reciter of epic poems), he competed in song contests. His two most significant works are the Theogony, dealing with the origins of the gods and their battles, and Works and Days, a personal address to his brother, who had cheated Hesiod out of his full share of their father’s inheritance and is trying to take more. Hesiod sings the praises of an honest, simple, hardworking life, and his devotion to Justice, a daughter of Zeus.
3. Sophocles- 496-406 BC
Sophocles is credited with a prolific 123 tragedies, of which only 7 survive. He, Aeschylus, and Euripides are considered Ancient Greece’s 3 great tragedians. Sophocles served as a general in the siege of Samos, an island that challenged Athens’ authority. He introduced innovations in stagecraft such as background scenes and a third actor. The Shakespeare of his time, for nearly 5 decades he was Athens’ most celebrated playwright. He competed in 30 dramatic competitions, winning 24 times, and never placing lower than second. He is credited with introducing a third character in his plays, which made the chorus less important. His characters were also deeper and more complex than those of earlier playwrights. Among his works are Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Electra.
4. Herodotus- c. 484 BC-c. 420’s BC
Born in Halicarnassus, SW Asia Minor (Bodrum, Turkey), during Persian rule, Herodotus wrote the world’s first great history, of the Greco-Persian Wars. He moved to and lived in Athens at some point, and was likely in Athens during the opening years of the Peloponnesian War. He traveled widely, to Egypt, Libya, Syria, Babylonia, Byzantium, Macedonia, north of the Danube, and the northern shore of the Black Sea. He wrote in an engaging storytelling format. He’s known as the Father of History.
5. Euripides- 484 BC- 406 BC
Chronologically the last of the three Athenian great tragedians, after Aeschylus and Sophocles, Euripides was born in the deme of Phlya (now known as the Athens suburb of Chalandri). He authored about 92 plays, of which 19 survive. He entered the Athenian Dionysian Festival 22 times, winning only 4 times, but his reputation grew after his death. His plays were character driven, in opposition to the then current trend of employing grand, mythic themes. Gods were absent, or unpredictable, and human beings were psychologically complex, irrational and/or vulnerable, characteristics which ran counter to traditional Athenian values. He invented the Deux ex machina (the sudden, unlooked for resolution of the plot seemingly out of nowhere), and often used female protagonists, such as in his works Medea, Andromache, and Hecuba.
6. Aristophanes- c. 450 BC- c. 388 BC
Aristophanes, an Athens native, is believed to have written around 40 plays, of which 11 survive intact. His plays are the only surviving examples of Ancient Greek Old Comedy, which lampooned people in power or prominent figures, such as Socrates in Clouds. (New comedy focused on more general comedic situations, like the modern sitcom). Aristophanes’ plays featured puns, witty dialogue, broad physical and sexual humor, and remarkably free political expression. Works include The Archarnians, Wasps, Birds, ad Lysistrata.
7. Plato- c. 428- c. 347 BC
Student of Socrates, teacher of Aristotle, Plato was born into an aristocratic Athenian family. He was descended from Solon (630-560 BC), who founded Athenian democracy and was one of the 7 Sages of Ancient Greece. Tradition says that he wrote poetry as a young man, then burned his poems after he met Socrates and decided to follow philosophy. Like Socrates, Plato’s focus was ethics and politics, and Socrates’ influence on his life and world view is evident in his writings, which almost always feature Socrates speaking, not Plato. His greatest contribution to philosophy is his Theory of Forms, a metaphysical concept which states that the physical world is less real than the “forms” or “essences” behind them, upon which reality is based. Plato is considered the foundational thinker of Western philosophy. Works include The Republic, Symposium, Crito, and Phaedo.
8. Aristotle- 384-322 BC
Born in Stagira, Halkidiki, east of Thessaloniki in northern Greece, Aristotle was orphaned at a young age. He moved to Athens at 18 and joined Plato’s Academy. Twenty years later, he moved back north, to Macedonia, at the invitation of King Phillip II, to tutor Phillip’s 13 year-old son, Alexander. He taught Alexander for about 3 years, and urged him toward eastern conquest. A prolific writer, about a third of his work survives. His world view greatly influenced the early Church’s theology, the scholars of the Middle Ages, and, until the 19th century, the field of ethics. He was also proficient in geology, biology, zoology, and meteorology. Near the ruins of ancient Stagira, Aristotle’s Park features instruments invented or developed by Aristotle. There are two parabolic deflectors that amplify sound waves, a water turbine, inertia spheres that demonstrate energy transfer, a pentaphone (five large pieces of granite that have been calculated to produce a sound of different frequency, a different note), a solar clock, lenses, optical discs, a prism, and a telescope, and a pendulum.
9. Aeschylus- 525-456 BC
Aeschylus is the chronologically middle figure of the 3 great Greek tragedians. As did Sophocles earlier, Aeschylus served in the Athenian army. In his case he fought against the Persians in the battle of Marathon. He is considered the most innovative of the big 3. He invented the trilogy with the Orestia. He increases conflict by expanding the number of characters in a play, and had them interact with each other instead of only with the chorus as previous plays did. Because he laid down ground rules for drama which still exist today, he’s sometimes called “the father of tragedy.” Only 7 of his 70 to 90 plays have survived. His work was so respected by his contemporaries that he was the only Greek playwright whose works were performed in revival performances. He is said to have died when an eagle carrying a tortoise mistook his bald head for a stone and dropped the tortoise in order to break it open, killing him instantly. Other works include The Persians, 7 Against Thebes, and Prometheus Bound.
10. Thucydides- c. 460 BC- c. 400 BC
A general and an historian, Thucydides greatest work was the eight volume History of the Peloponnesian War, which took place during his lifetime. He is reputed to have been a strictly evidence-based, impartial historian, foregoing mention of interference by the gods. An Athens area native, there is a legend that his father took him to the Agora, where he heard a lecture by Herodotus and decided on the spot to become a historian. His family was wealthy, which allowed him the leisure time to travel and write. He is considered the first true historian.
11. Sappho- c.630 BC- 570 BC
Born on the island of Lesbos, much of Sappho’s work has been lost. She wrote lyric poetry, meant to be accompanied by music. Her sole surviving poem is the Ode to Aphrodite. Born to a wealthy family, Sappho is credited with authoring some 10,000 lines of poetry. What survived is emotional in nature, expressing personal longings, with themes including faith and family. She is also an exemplar of love and desire between women, although she is also said to have given birth to a daughter. Although she is considered a lesbian in modern times, in her own time she was at the very least bisexual. There’s a lot of debate about her sexual proclivities. What is known is that she was a talented and prolific poetess, with contemporaries calling her the “tenth muse,” and one of the Canonical list of Nine Lyric Poets by the scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria.
12. Alcaeus- 625- 580 BC
Also listed as one of the Nine Lyric Poets, Alcaeus was from Lesbos and a friend of Sappho, with whom he possibly exchanged poems. A politician as well, he came from the aristocratic ruling class. Later Greeks assumed that Alcaeus and Sappho were romantically involved. His poetry can be classified into 4 themes: political songs, drinking songs, hymns to the gods, and love songs, with a 5th, miscellaneous collection.
Other important writers of Ancient Greece
Aesop – 620-564 BC
Everyone is familiar with the use of anthropomorphic animals in Aesop’s fables to teach life lessons, such as industry in The Ant and the Grasshopper, greed in The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs, and the virtues of simplicity in The City Mouse and the Country Mouse, to name just a few. Several of his fables are simply compiled wisdom stories in Ancient Greek culture, and similar traditional tales can be found in Middle Eastern and Indian traditions.
Apollonius of Rhodes – first half, 3rd century, BC
Author of the Argonautica, the story of Jason and the Argonauts, Apollonius of Rhodes worked as a scholar at the Library of Alexandria. He was known as among the best scholars of Homer in the 3rd century, BC. The Argonautica was borrowed stylistically somewhat from Homer, although at 6,000 lines it is considerably shorter than the Iliad’s 16,000 lines. Jason also was presented less heroically, as a human with failings and foibles. Apollonius also wrote a number of foundational poems, writing of the founding of such places as Alexandria, Rhodes, and Lesbos, among others.
Tyrtaeus – Mid 7th century, BC
Tyrtaeus was a poet from Sparta who is reputed to have written 7 books, only 250 lines of which survive, including themes such as exhortations to Spartans to fight to the death for their city-state. His work was read to the Spartan army to motivate its soldiers.
Archilochus- c. 680 BC- c. 645 BC
A native of Paros, Archilocus’ claim to fame was his facility with meter (rhythm structure in verse). His were the first poems dealing with human emotions.
Simonides of Ceos- 556-458 BC
Born on the Cycladic island of Ceos, Simonidis was one of the Canonical 9 Lyric Poets. Known as the “Greek Voltaire,” he is credited with the invention of the letters omega, eeta, ksee, and psee (ω,η,ξ,ψ). His style was simple but affecting. He also composed epitaphs for fallen soldiers, such as those at Thermopylae. (“Tell them in Lacedaemon, passer-by, That here, obedient to their word, we lie.”) He was the first poet to sell his work for money.
Pindar- c. 518 BC- c. 438 BC
A Theban by birth, Pindar was one of the Canonical 9 Lyric Poets, of which his work is the best preserved. He majored in writing odes, which were to be accompanied by music and dance. Considered the greatest of the 9, his poetry was hard to grasp, which apparently was a stylistic trend of his day. First to write about poetry itself, he expressed faith in man’s abilities with the help of the gods.
Bacchylides 518 BC- 451 BC
Another of the Canonical 9 Lyric Poets, as was his uncle, Simonides, Bacchylides was not popular during his lifetime, in apposition to his contemporary and rival, Pindar. His subject matter catered to the styles and tastes of the elite class. He was one of the last traditional purely lyrical poets.
Callimachus of Cyrene 310-240 BC
Born in Cyrene, Libya, Callimachus was a scholar and librarian in addition to being a poet. He lived and wrote in Alexandria, Egypt. He was an aesthete, a lover of beauty, producing a philosophy known as Callimacheanism, which influence poets throughout the Roman Empire, and, by extension, much of subsequent Western literature. He worked at the library of Alexandria. There he produced a catalogue of Greek literature known as the Pinakes. Most of his work has been lost. What remains is a 4-book poem, the Aetia (Origins), and some religious hymns, epigrams, satirical poetry, and Hecate, a narrative poem. He was a minimalist, preferring small and obscure subjects, rather than the more typical epic poetry of the day.
Herodas- 3rd Century, BC
He wrote humorous scenarios in verse, likely in Alexandria. His subjects were everyday people, written in popular spoken idiom, with liberal use of sexual innuendo. He wrote a series of scenarios called "mimes,” expressing a particular meter from southern Italy, often involving bawdy humor.
