Ancient Romans claimed descent from Greeks, in fact the Great Roman poet Virgil wrote an epic poem entitled Aeneid where he tells that Romans come from Aeneas line who escaped from the Trojan fire to save his royal descent. He landed at Italy where married a princess named Lavinia. That means you have to consider Roman literature as an evolution of Greek literature: Romans learn from Greek but progress. Greek and Roman literature is wide and it includes: tragedies, comedies, poems, epics etc. You can’t compare these forms of literature all together but one by one.
So I want to compare for you the Greek Tragedy and The Roman Tragedy The best tragedian in Greece were Aeschylus; Sophocles and Euripides. Their tragedies were mythological stories. The Roman tragedies instead showed Roman historical characters. Plays, in Rome, were free and people of all ranks and classes were admitted to the theater including women and slaves, the same thing appended in Athens, the only exception was women were excluded from the theater. What remains today of the all tragic Latin works is only a few fragments of Livius Andronicus, Nevio,
Ennio, Pacuvio and Accio. The Roman tragedy inherited from Greek tragedy masks and costumes and a musical-rhythmic structure. That means the actors’ performance was varied. Some parts were simply recited, other parts were accompanied by flute and other parts were sung by the actors or by the choir. The Greek tragedy talked about conflicts involving religious, moral and political issues. Roman tragedies talked about tyrannical characters and showed bloody scenes.
The only myth that Romans loved was the Trojan War and that for two reasons: because they were descendants of the Trojans and because the Trojan War offered them the opportunity to enhance the virtus (courage), which is best expressed in war, and the pietas (religious respect) towards the homeland and family.
Both (virtus and pietas) are the basics of the Roman morals. much of greek literature dealt with myths of days long ago while the roman literature spoke of the triumphs of the very recent past and the current triumphs. Greek literature refers to writings composed in areas of Greek influence, throughout the whole period in which theGreek-speaking people have existed.
Ancient Greek literature refers was written from the fifth century AD and the rise of the Byzantine Empire. At the beginning of Greek literature are works of Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey. In theclassical period many of the genres of western literature became more prominent. The two major lyrical poets wereSappho and Pindar. The Classical era also saw the dawn of drama. Two of the most influential historians wereHerodotus and Thucydides. In the 4th century BCE, three philosophers are notable: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
Later Greek poetry flourished primarily in the 3rd century BC. During the Roman era, the physician Galen, in the history of ancient science, is the most significant person in medicine after Hippocrates. Byzantine literature refers to literature of the Byzantine Empire written in Atticizing, Medieval and early Modern Greek. Chronicles, distinct from historic, arose in this period. Encyclopedias also flourished in this period. Modern Greek literature refers to literature written in common Modern Greek, emerging from late Byzantine times in the 11th century AD. The Cretan.
Renaissance poem Erotokritos is the masterpiece of this early period of modern Greek literature. Much later, Diafotismos was an ideological, philological, linguistic and philosophical movement among 18th century Greeks that translate the ideas and values of European Enlightenment into the Greek world. Adamantios Korais and Rigas Feraios are two of the most notable figures. The years before the Greek Independence, the Ionian islands became the center of the Heptanese School (literature). Notable representatives were Andreas Laskaratos, Andreas Kalvos,Aristotelis Valaoritis and Dionysios Solomos.
Later the intellectual center was transferred in Athens. A major figure of this new era was Kostis Palamas (1859 – 1943), considered “national poet” of Greece. Modern Greek literature is usually (but not exclusively) written in polytonicorthography. Modern Greek literature is represented by many writers, poets and novelists. George Seferis andOdysseas Elytis have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Greek Gods and their Roman Counterparts Greek God (English name) Roman Counterpart Domain Aphrodite Venus Goddess of Love Apollo Phoebus Apollo God of Light Ares Mars God of war.
Artemis Diana Virgin goddess of the hunt, wilderness, wild animals, childbirth and plague. In later times she became associated with the moon. Athena Minerva Goddess of wisdom Demeter Ceres Goddess of grain/crops Dionysus Bacchus God of wine Eros Cupid God of love Hades Pluto God of underworld Hecate Trivia Goddess of witchcraft, crossroads, and justice Helios Sol The sun God Hephaestus Vulcan God of fire Hera Juno Queen of the Gods Hermes Mercury Messenger of the Gods Nike Victoria Goddess of victory Pan Faunus God of woods and pastures Poseidon Neptune God of the sea Zeus Jupiter King of Gods.