Published Paper Details:

This paper attempts to study ancient Greeks and their contributions to literature and art. It also glances at Greek literature in translation that is given by classical versions which have linguistic limits. Ancient Greek literature is literature written in the Ancient Greek language from the earliest texts until the time of the Byzantine Empire. The earliest surviving works of ancient Greek literature, dating back to the early Archaic period, are the two epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey, set in an idealized archaic past today identified as having some relation to the Mycenaean era. These two epics, along with the Homeric Hymns and the two poems of Hesiod, Theology and Works and Days, comprised the major foundations of the Greek literary tradition that would continue into the Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman periods. The lyric poets Sappho, Alcaeus, and Pindar were highly influential during the early development of the Greek poetic tradition. Aeschylus is the earliest Greek tragic playwright for whom any plays have survived complete. Sophocles is famous for his tragedies about Oedipus, particularly Oedipus the King and Antigone. Euripides is known for his plays which often pushed the boundaries of the tragic genre. The comedic playwright Aristophanes wrote in the genre of Old Comedy, while the later playwright Menander was an early pioneer of New Comedy. The historians Herodotus of Halicarnassus and Thucydides, who both lived during the fifth century BC, wrote accounts of events that happened shortly before and during their own lifetimes. The philosopher Plato wrote dialogues, usually centered on his teacher Socrates, dealing with various philosophical subjects, whereas his student Aristotle wrote numerous treatises, which later became highly influential. The culture of Ancient Greek literature however is very different from our modern one. As its medium, the Ancient Greek language is incomprehensible outside the general context of Greek civilization. Any translation of an Ancient Greek text is to some extent false, or at least artificial, and it cannot express the special character of the reality of the original. Selected translations of passages from Homer, Herodotus and Aeschines illustrate the incompatibility of the ancient and modern styles of narration. The study of the language of literature in relation to the reality it represents is advocated as a possible solution to this problem. Readers are also recommended to make the effort to study the ancient originals instead of reading the texts in translations, which can never be flawless.