Ancient Greece

===Literature and theatre===
{{Main|Ancient Greek literature|Ancient Greek comedy|Theatre of ancient Greece}}
[[File:The great theater of Epidaurus, designed by Polykleitos the Younger in the 4th century BC, Sanctuary of Asklepeios at Epidaurus, Greece (14015010416).jpg|thumb|left|The [[ancient Theatre of Epidaurus]], 4th century BC]]

The earliest Greek literature was poetry and was composed for performance rather than private consumption.<ref>{{harvnb|Power|2016|p=58}}</ref> The earliest Greek poet known is [[Homer]], although he was certainly part of an existing tradition of oral poetry.<ref>{{harvnb|Kirk|1985|p=44}}</ref> Homer's poetry, though it was developed around the same time that the Greeks developed writing, would have been composed orally; the first poet to certainly compose their work in writing was [[Archilochus]], a [[Greek lyric|lyric poet]] from the mid-seventh century BC.<ref>{{harvnb|Kirk|1985|p=45}}</ref> [[Greek tragedy|Tragedy]] developed around the end of the archaic period, taking elements from across the pre-existing genres of late archaic poetry.<ref>{{harvnb|Power|2016|p=60}}</ref> Towards the beginning of the classical period, comedy began to develop—the earliest date associated with the genre is 486 BC, when a competition for comedy became an official event at the [[City Dionysia]] in Athens, though the first preserved ancient comedy is [[Aristophanes]]' ''[[Acharnians]]'', produced in 425.<ref>{{harvnb|Handley|1985|p=355}}</ref>

[[File:Hypnos Thanatos BM Vase D56 full.jpg|thumb|upright|A scene from the ''[[Iliad]]'': [[Hypnos]] and [[Thanatos]] carrying the body of [[Sarpedon (Trojan War hero)|Sarpedon]] from the battlefield of [[Troy]]; detail from an Attic [[white-ground]] [[lekythos]], {{circa|440 BC}}]]

Like poetry, Greek prose had its origins in the archaic period, and the earliest writers of Greek philosophy, history, and medical literature all date to the sixth century BC.<ref name="mcglew79">{{harvnb|McGlew|2016|p=79}}</ref> Prose first emerged as the writing style adopted by the [[presocratic]] philosophers [[Anaximander]] and [[Anaximenes of Miletus|Anaximenes]]—though [[Thales of Miletus]], considered the first Greek philosopher, apparently wrote nothing.<ref>{{harvnb|McGlew|2016|p=81}}</ref> Prose as a genre reached maturity in the classical era,<ref name="mcglew79" /> and the major Greek prose genres—philosophy, history, rhetoric, and dialogue—developed in this period.<ref>{{harvnb|McGlew|2016|p=84}}</ref>

The Hellenistic period saw the literary centre of the Greek world move from Athens, where it had been in the classical period, to Alexandria. At the same time, other Hellenistic kings such as the [[Antigonids]] and the [[Attalids]] were patrons of scholarship and literature, turning [[Pella]] and [[Pergamon]] respectively into cultural centres.<ref>{{harvnb|Mori|2016|p=93}}</ref> It was thanks to this cultural patronage by Hellenistic kings, and especially the Museum at Alexandria, that so much ancient Greek literature has survived.<ref name="bulloch542">{{harvnb|Bulloch|1985|p=542}}</ref> The [[Library of Alexandria]], part of the Museum, had the previously unenvisaged aim of collecting together copies of all known authors in Greek. Almost all of the surviving non-technical Hellenistic literature is poetry,<ref name="bulloch542" /> and Hellenistic poetry tended to be highly intellectual,<ref>{{harvnb|Bulloch|1985|pp=542–43}}</ref> blending different genres and traditions, and avoiding linear narratives.<ref>{{harvnb|Mori|2016|p=99}}</ref> The Hellenistic period also saw a shift in the ways literature was consumed—while in the archaic and classical periods literature had typically been experienced in public performance, in the Hellenistic period it was more commonly read privately.<ref>{{harvnb|Mori|2016|p=98}}</ref> At the same time, Hellenistic poets began to write for private, rather than public, consumption.<ref>{{harvnb|Bulloch|1985|p=543}}</ref>

With Octavian's victory at Actium in 31 BC, Rome began to become a major centre of Greek literature, as important Greek authors such as [[Strabo]] and [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]] came to Rome.<ref>{{harvnb|Bowersock|1985|pp=642–43}}</ref> The period of greatest innovation in Greek literature under Rome was the "long second century" from approximately 80&nbsp;AD to around 230&nbsp;AD.<ref name="konig113">{{harvnb|König|2016|p=113}}</ref> This innovation was especially marked in prose, with the development of the novel and a revival of prominence for display oratory both dating to this period.<ref name="konig113" />