Covering ten centuries, this fascinating introduction to the key Greek and Roman authors begins with writers like Homer and Sappho and concludes at the onset of the Late Antique period with the likes of Lucian and Cassius Dio. Set in within a chronological framework, this brilliant collection aims to tell the story of classical literature: how it developed, flourished, and changed throughout the ages. The individual essays, which constitute the main body of the book, give for each of the fifty authors a substantial introduction to the author's life, works, and cultural and social positions. The essays collectively create an overall sense of the main periods of the flowering classical culture, and of the significance of historical events which affected it. The reader sees firsthand how ancient literature was bound up in its historical, political, and social context. Genre tables, timelines, and useful appendices makes this book an ideal resource for the both the undergraduate student and the general reader of the classics.