Classical Period Quiz and Flashcards (1200 BCE

Study Notes

The Classical Period (1200 BCE - 455 CE)

Greek legends, including Homer's The Iliad and The Odyssey, were passed down orally during the Homeric or Heroic Period (1200-800 BCE).
This period was marked by chaos, with warrior-princes, sea-traders, and pirates reigning.

Classical Greek Period (800-200 BCE)

Notable Greek writers, playwrights, and philosophers emerged, including Gorgias, Aesop, Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Euripides, and Sophocles.
The fifth century (499-400 BCE) is considered the Golden Age of Greece, with the rise of the polis and early democracy in Athens.
This era saw the birth of some of the world's finest art, poetry, drama, architecture, and philosophy.

Classical Roman Period (200 BCE-455 CE)

Rome conquered Greece in 146 BCE, and Roman power began to rise.
The Roman Republic was founded in 509 BCE, but initially, it was limited in size.
Playwrights like Plautus and Terence, philosophers like Ovid, Horace, and Virgil, and rhetoricians like Cicero and Quintilian emerged during this period.
Rome gradually transformed from a republic to a dictatorship under Julius Caesar and eventually into a monarchical empire under Caesar Augustus in 27 CE.

Patristic Period (C. 70 CE-455 CE)

Early Christian writers like Saint Augustine, Tertullian, Saint Cyprian, Saint Ambrose, and Saint Jerome flourished during this period.
Saint Jerome compiled the Bible, and Christianity spread across Europe, while the Roman Empire declined.

The Medieval Period (455 CE-1485 CE)

The Old English (Anglo-Saxon) Period (428-1066 CE)

The "Dark Ages" (455-799 CE) ensued after Rome fell, and barbarian tribes settled in Europe.
The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes migrated to Britain, displacing native Celts.
Early Old English poems like Beowulf, The Wanderer, and The Seafarer originated in this period.

The Middle English Period (C. 1066-1450 CE)

The Norman Conquest of England in 1066 CE marked the end of the Anglo-Saxon hierarchy and the emergence of the Twelfth Century Renaissance (c. 1100-1200 CE).
French chivalric romances and fables spread, while Abelard and other humanists produced significant scholastic and theological works.

Late or "High" Medieval Period (c. 1200-1485 CE)

This tumultuous period saw the rise of Middle English writers like Geoffrey Chaucer, the "Gawain" or "Pearl" Poet, the Wakefield Master, and William Langland.

The Renaissance and Reformation (1485-1660 CE)

Early Tudor Period (1485-1558)

The War of the Roses ended with Henry Tudor (Henry VII) claiming the throne in England.
Martin Luther's split with Rome led to the emergence of Protestantism, followed by Henry VIII's Anglican schism.

Elizabethan Period (1558-1603)

Queen Elizabeth I saved England from the Spanish invasion and internal disputes.

Description

Explore the literary periods in world literature, focusing on The Classical Period from 1200 BCE to 455 CE. This includes the Homeric or Heroic Period with the works of Homer, and the Classical Greek Period with influential writers, playwrights, and philosophers.