Greek literature
The term Greek literature refers to literature in the Greek language , i. H. in ancient Greek as well as Middle Greek and modern Greek . In a narrower sense, however, it is often only understood to mean the ancient Greek literature of antiquity, as it has become generally accepted in research (e.g. division of chairs and subjects at universities). The Byzantine (Middle Greek) and Modern Greek literature are treated in separate articles. For the sake of simplicity, the ancient Greek literature is also often referred to as “Greek” literature for short in the following.
Almost all of the texts are available in libraries for research into European literatures of modern times and modern times. At most, texts from trivial literature that were not considered worth keeping are excluded. In ancient Greek and Latin literature, the situation is fundamentally different. Essentially, we only have texts that Christian monks copied in the Middle Ages. Your manuscripts ( codices ) are selectively supplemented by valuable late antique codices, papyrus finds and stone inscriptions, but these supplementary ways of transmission can by no means compensate for the losses. One will hardly go wrong if one also assumes that certain areas of literature are affected more than average by the losses: “pagan” doctrine of gods, philosophy of atheism, literature by women, literature of same-sex love or culture and much more. Corresponding approaches in recent research are regularly faced with large gaps in the source base that cannot be closed by speculation. However, this source restriction applies to broad areas of Greek literature: the complete works of hardly any author are available.
In addition, our image of Greek (and Latin) literature is largely shaped by the centuries-old tradition of reception and research. Authors who belonged to the canon of school reading were cared for and researched far more intensively than others. Especially in the areas of "small" authors, so-called colored writers and specialist literature, many authors and texts are still waiting for (broader) discovery. Even where teaching at schools (and universities) today picks up on newer trends in history and literary studies, it usually continues to do so only (or preferably) using the example of established school authors.
On the other hand, the centuries-long reception of Greek literature in Central Europe also shows its importance for us, and in some cases it is the reception that determines the meaning. Indian or Arabic literature is no less rich, but it is literally remote from us and much less has entered our cultural heritage.
The ancient Greek literature
The Archaic Period
Epic
The first surviving witnesses of Greek, and thus also of European, literature are the epics of Homer , who already has a long tradition of oral tradition . In addition to the Iliad and the Odyssey , which are commonly attributed to Homer, there are other so-called Cyclic epics that were attributed to Homer, but can no longer be considered Homeric today. However, just like the Iliad and the Odyssey, they deal with the legends surrounding the Trojan War , of which the Homeric poems only deal with excerpts.
The second great early epic is Hesiod . The Greeks even imagined a "competition" between him and Homer, although the lifetimes of the two poets did not allow such a competition at all. The great epics that came to us from Hesiod are the theogony , which comprehensively depicts Greek mythology, and the works and days , a didactic poem in epic form, which essentially deals with the peasant trade.
Poetry
Only fragments of the majority of early Greek poets have survived, partly as quotes from other ancient writers, partly as papyrus finds . The latter have significantly expanded our knowledge. Almost nothing was known about Sappho and Alkaios in the 19th century , today the collected fragments each fill a separate ribbon. Two exceptions are to be mentioned: Under the name of Theognis von Megara, a collection of elegiac poems in medieval manuscripts has been handed down, and the victory songs (choral lyric) of Pindar also had this traditional history.
Poetry (Greek lyrikós, after an ancient instrument, the lyre ) was originally the art poetry performed with a stringed instrument, which was divided into two main forms, monodic lyric and choral lyric. The division into individual genera of the lyric is carried externally by the poetic meters , whereby the respective meter but corresponds to the contents of the seal. In principle, the verses are to be understood as a regular sequence of long and short syllables, whereas the verse accent was of secondary importance. In some lyrical genres and in the songs of ancient tragedies and comedies, several verses of different meters form stanzas, some of which are complex. On the one hand, this construction of verses and stanzas is an important aspect of Greek poetry (and theatrical poetry), as at least a remnant of their musicality has been handed down in them (melodies are not preserved). On the other hand, the metric poses a major challenge for today's readers.
- Monodic poetry
The monodic lyric is the lyric performed by a single singer. It originated on the island of Lesbos. The poet and musician Terpander , who was born on the island but spent most of his time in Sparta, is considered to be the first Greek poet to combine music and poetry. Most of his poems were a hymn-like melody type (nomoi) of ancient Greek music, which at the beginning was only performed instrumentally, later with text, or liturgical hymns, which were written in honor of a god and performed by a single singer accompanied by a lyre has been.
- Choral poetry
The so-called choral lyric - for people speaking, singing and dancing together - was developed in the 7th century BC. Founded by poets who wrote in the Doric dialect . The Doric dialect was native to the area around Sparta, later it was also used for choral singing in other parts of Greece. The poets composed their songs and dances initially for cultic celebrations, later also for other occasions, such as to celebrate a victory in sporting or musical competitions. At the transition to classical music, Pindar should be mentioned above all .
- Iambic poetry
The iambus is originally a foot of verse made up of a short, unstressed and a long, stressed syllable. He was formative for the jamb seal a. a. of Archilochus .
- elegy
Based on the Roman elegy , elegies in modern Western literature are poems in a plaintive tone and in resigned melancholy. The early Greek elegy did not yet know this limitation. Formally, the poems are characterized by the so-called elegiac distich. It is a pair of verses consisting of a hexameter and a pentameter.
- see also: Canon of the nine lyric poets
Science prose
- Around 550-450 BC In prose, various realia (news, knowledge) about peoples, cities and the nobility were collected and arranged in prose .
- In contrast to the epic, which was characterized by astonishment at the deeds of the gods and heroes, the recognizable was presented objectively and critically here.
- The work of these authors is based on their own perception (αὐτοψία, autopsia), on that of others (ἱστορία, historia = experience ) and also on anecdotes and short stories
- most important representative: Hecataeus of Miletus (approx. 550-480 BC)
philosophy
The archaic period (7th / 5th century BC) is the period for Greek philosophy that has the cosmos as the most important research object .
- The representatives of the school of Miletus (the natural philosophers ) establish the origin (ἀρχή, archē ) of being in the primary substance of matter.
-
Thales of Miletus , (around 640-545 BC):
- Urstoff = the water
-
Anaximander , (around 610-546 BC):
- Urstoff = the apeiron (ἄπειρον)
-
Anaximenes , (around 585-528 BC):
- Urstoff = the air
-
Thales of Miletus , (around 640-545 BC):
- Pythagoras :
- The problem Werden / change the immutability ?
- Heraclitus of Ephesus
- The school of Elea : Parmenides , Zenon
The classic period
The drama
- The Attic tragedy :
- The satyr game
- The Comedy : Aristophanes
see also: Theater of Ancient Greece
Other forms of poetry
Drama and rhetoric were typical forms of social art and created less favorable conditions for the (individual!) Poetry of this period.
The creative prose
- the historiography : Herodotus , Thucydides , Xenophon
- the other scientific literature: the Corpus Hippocraticum deals with various medical problems; it is not certain which writings go directly back to Hippocrates (approx. 460 - approx. 370 BC). The medical ethos still determines his role model today. The work is also not insignificant in literary terms.
- the rhetoric : Lysias , Isocrates , Demosthenes , Aeschines , cf. History of ancient rhetoric
The philosophy
- the younger natural philosophers → undertook the reconciliation of all that had gone before: Empedocles , Democritus
- the sophists relativized the traditional system of values: Protagoras , Hippias , Gorgias
- the reaction to the sophists = the culmination of Greek philosophy:
the Hellenism
The drama
- the tragedy: in Alexandria and other centers outside Attica
- the New Comedy : Menander (342–290 BC) described in his plays the family affairs of the petty bourgeoisie of the (Hellenistic) city
- the mimus : realistic & satirical scenes of daily life, etc. a. at Herondas , in the 3rd century BC. Chr.
Other forms of poetry
Epic and didactic poem:
- Aratos von Soloi (310–245 BC): the Phainomena , an astronomical didactic poem about the starry sky
- Callimachus (305–240 BC)
- Apollonios of Rhodes (approx. 295–235 BC): the Argonautica
Smaller forms:
- Theocritus (305–250 BC): Eidyllia and Epyllia , an important source for Virgil's eclogues and the later bucolic
- Sotades (poet) (3rd century BC)
-
Epigram : now with a wider range of topics, handed down mainly in the Greek anthology . Well-known representatives are:
- Leonidas of Taranto (310–240 BC)
- Meleager of Gadara (130-60 BC)
The creative prose
- The historiography recorded an enormous productivity in this period
- the biography and the Alexander literature
- Timaeus of Tauromenion , (4th / 3rd century BC ): wrote the history of Magna Graecia up to the 1st Punic War
- Theopompus of Chios (4th century BC): wrote a. a. the story of Philip of Macedonia
- Polybios (approx. 200– 120 BC ): wrote a world history, describes the emerging great power Rome; Polybios was the most important source for Titus Livius ' Ab Urbe Condita Libri
- non-Greek historians who write Koiné-Greek:
- Berossus (c. 300 BC ) wrote about Babylon
- Manetho (c. 250 BC ) wrote about Egypt
- Quintus Fabius Pictor (after 250 BC) was a Roman who wrote about Roman history in Greek
- the Septuagint ( 3rd century BC ), the Greek version of the Old Testament by and for Hellenized Jews, originated in Alexandria
- The other scientific and technical literature :
- the linguistics : the Alexandrian philologists u. a. Aristophanes of Byzantium (257-180 BC )
- the humanities
- Euclid ( 3rd century BC ) wrote the famous Stoicheia
- Archimedes (280-212 BC ) wrote about his experiments and discoveries
- The philosophy
- the Peripatetic School : Theophrastus (372–287 BC), pupil and successor of Aristotle
- the Epikureismus : donated by Epikur (.. 341-270 BC), that taught in 306 Athens
- the Stoa : most important representative Zenon (335–263 BC), who founded a school around 300 in the Stoa Poikilē (= free colonnade ) near the Athens Agora, and his disciples, u. a. Kleanthes (331–232 BC, wrote a Zeus hymn ) and Chrysippos (280–207 BC)
- The rhetoric
The imperial era
Classical Attic became the norm for written Greek.
The poetry
- The epigram : important representatives
- Philodemus of Gadara (110–40 BC)
- Marcus Argentarius , beginning of the Christian era
- The epic
- Quintus of Smyrna (biographical?) Wrote a continuation of Homer's Iliad
- Nonnos of Panopolis (5th century) wrote the Dionysiacs
The prose
- The historiography
- Roman history (in Greek):
- Dionysius of Halicarnassus , 2nd half of the 1st century BC Chr.
- Diodorus of Sicily (contemporary of Julius Caesar and Emperor Augustus ): wrote a world history up to the Gallic War
- Cassius Dio (155-235)
- Herodianus (175–255), biographer of the Roman emperors after Marc Aurel
- Non-Roman Affairs:
- Flavius Josephus (37–100) described Jewish history and used Bible texts as an important source
- Arrianos (approx. 95–175) wrote about Alexander the Great and the Diadochi
- The biography :
- Plutarch , "the sage of Chaironeia" (46–120 AD) wrote parallel life descriptions of historical figures
- Diogenes Laertios (late 3rd century) wrote an important collection of works on the older philosophers
- Roman history (in Greek):
- Other scientific or technical literature
- Geography : three important representatives:
- Natural Sciences: Heron of Alexandria (dating uncertain)
- The philosophy
- the stoa
- Epictetus (approx. 50–130) and Arrianus
- Emperor Marc Aurel (121–180) wrote down his thoughts - probably in the tent on the campaign against the barbarians.
- other currents:
- the second sophistry : Lukian (120 - approx. 180)
- the Neuplatonismus : Plotinus (205-270), Porphyrius (232-304), Iamblichos of Chalkis († 330), Kaiser Julian (331 / 332-363, reg (355-) 360 / 361-363.)
- the Peripatetic School
- the skepticism : as a result of many philosophies that contradicted each other, we came to the conclusion that people have to abstain from any opinion, but to be satisfied with the fate (σκέψις, skepticism )
- the eclecticism : under the influence of pragmatism of the Romans (the philosophy as a special occasion in itself regarded) was sought (ἐκλέγειν, eklegein ) the useful to build up to its own world view
- the syncretism : east under the influence of thought (Jewish and Christian) one came to pick up elements of all known philosophies and (συγκεραννύναι to a system to process synkerannynai )
- the stoa
- A new genre comes up with the novel :
- Xenophon of Ephesus , 1st century
- Chariton , 2nd century
- Achilles Tatios , 3rd century and Heliodorus of Emesa ,
- Longos , 3rd / 4th centuries Century, author of the famous Daphnis and Chloë
- Christian literature
- New Testament : The most printed and most translated work of literature in ancient Greek (Koinē Greek) is curiously not rooted in the Greek literary tradition.
- Church fathers
The afterlife of ancient Greek as a literary language
Unlike Latin , which in the West asserted itself as the language of church and education alongside the national languages, although it was no longer anyone's mother tongue, ancient Greek has always been more or less easily accessible to the Greeks, so that in literary work one always refers to the used the classic language level as a model. The spectrum ranges from atticent to puristic use. For example, the novel Parerga by Nikolaos Maurokordatos , the first modern novel in Greek, was written in pure Attic in the 18th century . On the other hand, many Renaissance humanists such as Daniel Heinsius write prose and poetry in classical Greek as non-native speakers, on the one hand as an exercise in style, on the other hand also to continue a cultural tradition, such as Wilhelm Kuchenmüller in the 20th century, who wrote his perfectly formed poems in the Alindethra magazine published; even Harry Potter translated into Ancient Greek.
Byzantine literature
The modern Greek literature
literature
- Albrecht Dihle : The Greek and Latin Literature of the Imperial Era. From Augustus to Justinia in the Google book search , Munich: CH Beck 1989.
- Albrecht Dihle: Greek Literature History , Stuttgart: Kröner 1967. New edition Munich in the Google book search: CH Beck ²1991; Paperback, ibid. 1998: ISBN 3-406-44450-4 .
- Bernhard Kytzler : Reclam's Lexicon of Greek and Roman Authors , Philipp Reclam jun., Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-15-029618-8 .
- Albin Lesky : History of Greek Literature . Saur, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-598-11423-0 .
- Martin Hose : A Little Greek Literary History. From Homer to the end of antiquity , Munich 1999 (261 pages) (Beck'sche series).
- Handbook of Classical Studies , Section 7.
See also
- Greek Language - History of Greece
- List of ancient writers (Greek) , antiquity
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Examples: Wiener Dioskurides , for Latin literature: Vergilius Romanus , Vergilius Vaticanus .
- ↑ Particularly relevant, for example, to our knowledge of Sappho , Alkaios , Menander , but also Hellenica from Oxyrhynchos , Aristotle ( Athenaion politeia ) and Philodemos from Gadara .
- ↑ Examples: City charter of Gortys , Monumentum Ancyranum , Diogenes von Oinoanda .
- ↑ Extensive considerations on the losses and their quantification see under Book Losses in Late Antiquity .
- ↑ Partly accidentally, partly deliberately, as already shown in Acts 19:19 in the report of a book burning by the Apostle Paul. A pointed “statement” in this direction is: Catherine Nixey: The Darkening Age. The Christian Destruction of the Classical World. Macmillan, London 2017, the presentation of which is controversial in research. German edition: Heiliger Zorn. How the early Christians destroyed antiquity. 2nd Edition. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Munich 2019, ISBN 978-3-421-04775-5 .
- ↑ Here, too, a pointed “statement” should be made: Tim Whitmarsh, Battling the Gods: Atheism in the Ancient World (2016).
- ↑ In this area, recent research has given us a better overview, for example through anthologies and lexical compilations of the authors, at least by name or fragmentarily. Poets are at the center of attention. Women philosophers were discussed particularly in connection with Hypatia, but at least a dozen names have survived. - Ellen Greene (ed.), Women Poets in Ancient Greece and Rome (2005) pp. 192–196 ( list limited to poetry ); Ian Michael Plant, Women writers of ancient Greece and Rome: an anthology (2004); Marjorie Lightman / Benjamin Lightman, A to Z of Ancient Greek and Roman Women. Revised edition (2008).
- ↑ The remains include: Sappho , Book 2 of the Theognis collection and Straton von Sardis .
- ↑ Tip for beginners: If you want to read Greek poetry in the original, you have to struggle less with problems of text transmission with these two authors than with those that have only survived in fragments.
- ↑ As long as Wikipedia does not yet contain an article on Greek metrics , reference should be made to Historical Metrics and Latin Metrics for this fundamental difference .
- ↑ Only one example of the fragments of Greek music handed down from antiquity relates to a well-known literary text, a few verses from Orestes des Euripides. Egert Pöhlmann, Monuments to Ancient Greek Music , Nuremberg 1970.
- ↑ For example, Pindar's 12th Pythian Ode applies to a victory in a musical agon : Midas of Akragas had won the Aulos game.