The Most Significant [Top 10] Writers of Ancient Greece


Western civilization was born out of Ancient Greece. This statement and fact are well-known almost for all of us. The central role of culture and progress drove from Greece to the rest of the world played writers and philosophers. The number of those wise and absolutely smart people was quite significant in this ancient society. And lots of their original texts survived somehow to our days.

The overall impact of ancient Greek writing is hard to overestimate. Western society got lots of basic knowledge about the planet and the world from those materials. Their culture, science, theater, and lots of other stuff one way or another made our life as we perceive it today. There are lots of such interesting facts about ancient Greece and writers from Edu Birdie offer lots of them due to their job. And you as a wise person need to be aware of at least the most famous and valuable ancient Greece writers. Here is the top 10 list of the most significant authors of ancient Greek writing materials.

  • Homer [8th century BC]

Homer

Yes, yes, you’ve already heard that name in the Simpsons TV series. But the dullness of the main cartoon character makes, even more, sense and gets even more satirical as you find out who the real Homer was. This ancient writer is best known for two of his epic novels the Iliad and the Odyssey. Actually, the first one is known as the oldest literature work of the Western civilization. And Homer was a very esteemed person even in his times. Ancient Greeks could not consider themselves educated people till they read at least one of Homer’s writings. At the same time, the history of life of this person is totally unknown, and lots of experts think that Homer wasn’t a real person at all. This theory is also shared by Shakespeare experts.

 

  • Sophocles [496 – 406 BC]

If you wish to read some ancient drama or just to learn where everything began, you need to get familiar with Sophocles and his works. This tragedian writer created 123 plays. This number is known to us, but only seven of them survived to our days. It is as sad as the works by Sophocles. The most classical are about Oedipus the King, Ajax, Antigone, and Electra.

 

 

 

  • Herodotus [484 – 425 BC]

Herodotus

Herodotus is well-known for his talent concerning world history. If you ever though who came up with an idea to note all significant historical occasions, well, this is this guy with a beard. Herodotus is known as the father of history in early Western culture. Despite that, this person was also known as a good narrator. That is why his works are important and helpful for modern people.

 

 

 

  • Euripides [480 – 406 BC]

Euripides Greece

Here you have another great tragedian who did his best with Greek symbols. This man created almost one hundred plays, but time shared only 18 of them with us. Also, there are various fragments of his other works. Alcestis, Medea, and The Bacchus are his most popular works today. He did very realistic portraits of his contemporaries.

 

 

 

  • Hippocrates [460 – 370 BC]

Hippocrates Greece

Another founder of a whole branch of science we know today on our list. Hippocrates did his job as a physician and medic. This great man did a fantastic medicine job with his Hippocratic Corpus which is a large collection of medical writings on different topics. The biggest part of those works is made in a case study format. And, of course, the most well-known work by Hippocrates is his Hippocratic Oath which modern doctors appreciate and use even today. It is completely about doctoral ethics and is still relevant ages and ages after author’s death.

 

 

  • Aristophanes [446 – ca. 386 BC]

Aristophanes

At last, we got some comedy here! Aristophanes wrote comedies when it wasn’t mainstream. He created around forty different comic plays, and just eleven of them have survived to our days. Also, there are some fragments of other works. Contemporaries loved this playwright for his great sense of humor and talent to ridicule famous Athenians.

 

 

 

  • Plato [424 – 348 BC]

 

Plato Greece

 

The student of Socrates Plato did all the writing routine for his tutor. Socrates never wrote a word on his own about his philosophy, but Plato did the job. This writer was influenced by his teacher not just as a student but also as a person and friend. But Socrates was executed in front of Plato’s eyes when he was twenty nine (29).

 

 

  • Aristotle [384 – 322 BC]

Aristotle Greece

This name most of you, probably, know well. Aristotle was the student of Plato who as we already know, was the student of Socrates. But unlike his teacher, Aristotle didn’t shred the philosophy of his tutor as Plato did when he was young. Aristotle was the most famous critic of Plato. There are forty-seven works written by this man that survived to these days. Most of them are just lecture aids. Aristotle is the last in line of those great ancient Greek philosophers we all appreciate today.

 

 

  • Euclid [FL. 300 BC]

Euclid

Mathematics also got its start from the Ancient Greece. And Euclid did well as no one else in those times. In addition to his great mathematical skills, Euclid also played a prominent role as the father of geometry. As this man wrote more numbers than words, there is a little info about him survived to these days. Most of his works he created in the library of Alexandria. His main book The Elements is still widely used by the students and kids all over the world.

 

 

  • Archimedes [287 – 212 BC]

Archimedes greece

Archimedes is another great mathematician on our list. But this man is not just a guy with numbers. Archimedes is one of the most famous inventors, engineers, astronomers, and physicists who lived on Earth. The Archimedes’ Screw is one of his most important inventions that the modern society still uses today to move water. If you heard about the PI number, it was Archimedes who calculated its value. Do you want more? Well, this guy discovered that you might find out the volume of the object by just putting it into the water! Pretty interesting, right!