'We have long needed an up-to-date survey of Greek literature as an expression of Greek culture, and Whitmarsh has provided us with an outstanding introduction. He covers a wide range of texts, and employs the latest methods of literary and cultural analysis. His mastery of these approaches is apparent on every page, as he elegantly discusses questions of class, gender, the public versus the private sphere, oral versus written traditions, and much else.' - David Konstan, Brown University 'Ancient Greek Literature is a scintillating discussion of the central issues and themes that cluster around literary texts. Whitmarsh's own literary style is aptly pungent, witty and probing, and his focus on texts as battlegrounds of power relationships or sites of social dispute will surely prove as provocative and challenging as it is intended to be. Among his many other original findings is his notion of the "archive": that is, the creation, from the fifth century BCE onwards, of a defined body of texts and set of institutions devoted to fostering the Greeks' sense of literature's central place in defining their identity. The chronological discussion is complemented by four thematic chapters that systematically explore the topics of cultural identity, the place allocated to women, gender issues and images of the subordinated classes of the poor and unfree.' - Paul Cartledge, University of Cambridge.