<P> Like poetry, Greek prose had its origins in the archaic period, and the earliest writers of Greek philosophy, history, and medical literature all date to the sixth century BC . Prose first emerged as the writing style adopted by the presocratic philosophers Anaximander and Anaximenes--though Thales of Miletus, considered the first Greek philosopher, apparently wrote nothing . Prose as a genre reached maturity in the classical era, and the major Greek prose genres--philosophy, history, rhetoric, and dialogue--developed in this period . </P> <P> The Hellenistic period saw the literary epicentre of the Greek world move from Athens, where it had been in the classical period, to Alexandria . At the same time, other Hellenistic kings such as the Antigonids and the Attalids were patrons of scholarship and literature, turning Pella and Pergamon respectively into cultural centres . It was thanks to this cultural patronage by Hellenistic kings, and especially the Museum at Alexandria, which ensured that so much ancient Greek literature has survived . The Library of Alexandria, part of the Museum, had the previously - unenvisaged aim of collecting together copies of all known authors in Greek . Almost all of the surviving non-technical Hellenistic literature is poetry, and Hellenistic poetry tended to be highly intellectual, blending different genres and traditions, and avoiding linear narratives . The Hellenistic period also saw a shift in the ways literature was consumed--while in the archaic and classical periods literature had typically been experienced in public performance, in the Hellenistic period it was more commonly read privately . At the same time, Hellenistic poets began to write for private, rather than public, consumption . </P> <P> With Octavian's victory at Actium in 31 BC, Rome began to become a major centre of Greek literature, as important Greek authors such as Strabo and Dionysius of Halicarnassus came to Rome . The period of greatest innovation in Greek literature under Rome was the "long second century" from approximately AD 80 to around AD 230 . This innovation was especially marked in prose, with the development of the novel and a revival of prominence for display oratory both dating to this period . </P> <P> Music was present almost universally in Greek society, from marriages and funerals to religious ceremonies, theatre, folk music and the ballad - like reciting of epic poetry . There are significant fragments of actual Greek musical notation as well as many literary references to ancient Greek music . Greek art depicts musical instruments and dance . The word music derives from the name of the Muses, the daughters of Zeus who were patron goddesses of the arts . </P>

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