Famous Greek Writers

Vote for Your Favourite Greek Writers

Right IconThis ranking is based on an algorithm that combines various factors, including the votes of our users and search trends on the internet.

 1 
Homer
(Ancient Greek Author Who is Considered One of the Greatest and Most Influential Authors of All Time)
Homer
10
Birthdate: 0928 AD
Birthplace: Ionia, Greece
Homer, a legendary poet from the 8th century B.C., authored the Greek epics the Iliad and the Odyssey. However, the Homeric Question raises doubts regarding the existence of the poet. Some assume the epics were written by a single blind bard, while others believe they were created by multiple authors.
 2 
Aeschylus
(Ancient Greek Tragedian Who Known as the Father of Tragedy)
Aeschylus
11
Birthdate: 0525 AD
Birthplace: Eleusis, Greece
Died: 0456 AD
Aeschylus is credited with pioneering the trend of using multiple characters in theater, allowing them to interact among themselves, instead of the chorus. He is best remembered for his tragedies, most notably The Persians, the trilogy The Oresteia, and Prometheus Bound. His works were awarded at the City Dionysia.
 3 
Sophocles
(Ancient Greek Tragedian)
Sophocles
5
Birthdate: 0497 BC
Birthplace: Colonus, Athens, Greece
Died: 0406 BC

Sophocles was an ancient Greek writer. He is one among three tragedians from his era whose plays have survived. Sophocles was the most decorated and celebrated playwright for almost five decades, during which he won 24 out of 30 dramatic competitions, which took place in the city-state of Athens during the religious festivals of the Dionysia and the Lenaea.

Recommended Lists:
 4 
Sappho
(Archaic Greek Lyric Poet)
Sappho
4
Birthdate: 0630 AD
Birthplace: Lesbos, Greece
Died: 0570 AD
Sappho was a lyric poet from Lesbos, in the 6th-7th century B.C. Known as the “Tenth Muse,” she wrote the Ode to Aphrodite and the Tithonus poem. Though her sexuality is still debated, she gave rise to the terms “sapphic” and “lesbian,” used to denote love and desire between women. 
Recommended Lists:
 5 
Euripides
(One of the Most Famous Greek Tragedians)
Euripides
5
Birthdate: 0480 AD
Birthplace: Salamis, Greece
Died: 0406 AD

One of the three ancient Greek tragedians, together with Sophocles and Aeschylus, Euripides wrote around 92 plays, out of which 18 or 19 have survived intact. He is known for theatrical innovations that influenced modern drama as well. This particularly includes his representation of mythical heroes as common people in exceptional circumstances. His notable works include Hippolytus, Alcestis and Medea.

 6 
Aristophanes
( Comic Playwright of Ancient Athens and a Poet of Old Attic Comedy.)
Aristophanes
5
Birthdate: 0446 AD
Birthplace: Athens, Greece
Died: 0386 AD
Known widely as the Father of Comedy, Greek playwright Aristophanes had contributed to the Old Comedy genre. His works, peppered with satire, mirror the ancient Athenian life. He won the City Dionysia drama contest with his play The Babylonians. He was also in trouble for caricaturing Cleon in his plays.
 7 
Aesop
(Greek Fabulist and Storyteller)
Aesop
4
Birthdate: 0620 AD
Birthplace: Delphi, Greece
Died: 0564 AD

There is not a single child in the world who has not heard of Aesop’s Fables, but the legendary Greek fabulist Aesop, known for using animal characters to impart moral lessons, is believed to have never existed, by some historians. Aesop was perhaps a name concocted to unite references for age-old fables.

 8 
Nikos Kazantzakis
(One of the Most Important Figures of Modern Greek Literature, Best Known for His Work 'Zorba the Greek')
Nikos Kazantzakis
3
Birthdate: March 2, 1883
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Heraklion, Greece
Died: October 26, 1957

Nikos Kazantzakis was a Greek writer whose works earned him nine nominations for the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature. Regarded as a giant of modern Greek literature, Kazantzakis achieved international fame when his works, such as The Life And Times Of Alexis Zorba and The Last Temptation of Christ, were adapted into feature films. 

 9 
Hesiod
(Ancient Greek Poet and Philosopher)
Hesiod
4
Birthdate: 0750 AD
Birthplace: AliaÄŸa, Ä°zmir, Turkey

Hesiod was an ancient Greek poet who was credited by ancient authors with establishing Greek religious customs. Modern scholars often cite his work as an important source for early economic thought, Greek mythology, archaic Greek astronomy, farming techniques, and ancient time-keeping.

 10 
Pindar
(Greek Lyric Poet)
Pindar
3
Birthdate: 0518 AD
Birthplace: Cynoscephalae, Boiotia
Died: 0438 AD
Pindar was an influential lyric poet from ancient Greece. Legend has it that when a fellow poet, Corinna, had advised Pindar to use less mythical elements in his poems, he had called her a pig. His “honey-like” verses were attributed to a bee's sting in his early days. 
 11 
Empedocles
(Greek Philosopher)
Empedocles
3
Birthdate: 0494 AD
Birthplace: Agrigento, Italy
Died: 0443 AD

Empedocles of Acragas was the man behind the proposition that there are four elements, or roots, that make up all structures of the world: air, water, earth, and fire. He also introduced the concepts of Love and Strife. His work has been summarized in the poems Purifications and On Nature.

 12 
Constantine P. Cavafy
(Greek Poet, Journalist and Civil Servant )
Constantine P. Cavafy
3
Birthdate: April 29, 1863
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Alexandria, Egypt
Died: April 29, 1933

Widely regarded as one of the most distinguished Greek poets of the 20th century, Constantine Peter Cavafy became known for his own individual style. During his lifetime, he preferred to share his work through local newspapers and magazines only. His first book was published two years after his death. He also worked as a journalist and a civil servant.

 13 
Anna Comnena
(Greek Princess & Scholar)
Anna Comnena
3
Birthdate: December 1, 1083
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Porphyra Chamber, Great Palace of Constantinople, Constantinople, Byzantine Empire
Died: 1153 AD
Daughter of Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus, Anna Komnene is best remembered for writing Alexiad, a genuine treatise of the life and times of her father. She had written the book while imprisoned at the Kecharitomene Monastery, after a failed attempt to depose her brother, John II Komnenos.
 14 
Thespis
(Ancient Greek Poet)
Thespis
3
Birthdate: 0501 AD
Birthplace: Icaria, Greece

Greek poet Thespis is not just believed to be the first actor of Greek drama but also the inventor of tragedy. He is also said to have introduced dialogues into choral tragedies and was the first to stage a Greek tragedy at the City Dionysia.

 15 
Diogenes Laertius
(Biographer)
Diogenes Laertius
3
Birthdate: 0180 AD
Birthplace: ancient Rome
Died: 0240 AD
 16 
Princess Marie Bonaparte
(Author)
Princess Marie Bonaparte
5
Birthdate: July 2, 1882
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Saint-Cloud, French Third Republic
Died: September 21, 1962
 17 
Menander
(Greek Dramatist)
Menander
3
Birthdate: 0342 AD
Birthplace: Athens
Died: 0290 AD
 18 
Isocrates
(Orator, writer)
Isocrates
3
Birthdate: 0436 BC
Birthplace: Athens
Died: 0338 BC
 19 
Nâzım Hikmet
(Poet)
Nâzım Hikmet
3
Birthdate: January 15, 1902
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Thessaloniki
Died: June 3, 1963

Turkish poet and author Nâzım Hikmet was chiefly known as a Romantic Communist. After being jailed in Turkey for his political activities, he spent the rest of his life in the Soviet Union and eastern Europe. He redefined Turkish literature with his free verse and poems such as Åžeyh Bedreddin destanı.

 20 
Archilochus
(Greek Lyric Poet)
Archilochus
3
Birthdate: 0680 AD
Birthplace: Paros
Died: 0645 AD

Archaic Greek poet Archilochus is remembered for his elegiac and lyric poetry. Fragments of his poetry that are still available offer significant descriptions of the solar eclipse of 648 BCE, the events leading to the Trojan war, and Lydian king Gyges’s riches. Some even compare him to Homer and Hesiod.

 21 
Simonides of Ceos
(Greek Poet)
Simonides of Ceos
3
Birthdate: 0556 AD
Birthplace: Ioulis, Greece
Died: 0468 AD

Known for his lyric poems, Simonides of Ceos is also known as the Greek Voltaire. Often compared to legends such as Pindar, Simonides served in the court of Peisistratids and was also later patronized by Scopas and other significant figures. His poetry often described battles, such as the Persian Wars.  

 22 
Theocritus
(Greek Poet)
Theocritus
3
Birthdate: 0300 AD
Birthplace: Syracuse, Italy
Died: 0260 AD

Best known for his idylls such as Thyrsis and Thalysia, Greek poet Theocritus hailed from Sicily. Remembered as the pioneer of pastoral poetry, he described realistic rural ways of life and inspired later pastoral poems and elegies by legends such as John Milton, P. B. Shelley, and Matthew Arnold.

 23 
George Seferis
(Greek Poet and Diplomat)
George Seferis
2
Birthdate: March 13, 1900
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Urla, Turkey
Died: September 20, 1971

George Seferis was a Greek diplomat and poet. A Nobel laureate, Seferis is widely regarded as one of the most prominent Greek poets of the 20th century. A well-known and respected diplomat, George Seferis served as the Ambassador to the UK from 1957 to 1962.

 24 
Cleopatra the Alchemist
(FGreek Philosopher)
Cleopatra the Alchemist
3
Birthplace: Unknown
 25 
Epimenides
(Greek Philosopher)
Epimenides
3
Birthplace: Knossos, Greece

Epimenides of Cnossos was a 7th-6th century BC semi-mythical Greek seer, a philosopher and an author of various religious and poetical work including a Theogony and Cretica. It is said that he fell asleep for 57 years and also lived up to an advanced age of 300. He is also given the credit for the invention of the Epimenides paradox.

 26 
Critias
(Ancient Athenian Leading Role in the Pro-Spartan Govt.)
Critias
2
Birthdate: 0460 AD
Birthplace: Athens, Greece
Died: 0403 AD

Critias was an ancient Athenian author and political figure. He is best remembered as one of the leading members of the infamous pro-Spartan oligarchy, The Thirty Tyrants. As an author, Critias is remembered for his prose works, elegies, and tragedies.

 27 
Savitri Devi
(Spy Who Served the Axis Powers by Committing Acts of Espionage Against the ‘Allied Forces in India')
Savitri Devi
0
Birthdate: September 30, 1905
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Lyon, France
Died: October 22, 1982

Born in Lyon, Frenchwoman Maximiani Julia Portas later changed her name to Savitri Devi and adopted Nazism. The ardent cat lover earned a PhD in philosophy and later acquired Greek nationality and served as an Axis spy. She claimed Adolf Hitler was an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu.

 28 
Alcaeus of Mytilene
(Greek Lyric Poet)
Alcaeus of Mytilene
2
Birthdate: 0620 AD
Birthplace: Mitilini, Greece
Died: 0580 AD

Alcaeus, also known as Alcaeus of Mytilene, was an important lyric poet from the island of Lesbos in Greece. Alcaeus is remembered for his invention of the Alcaic stanza, a lyrical meter. Alcaeus was named among nine lyric poets included in the canonical list by the scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria. Alcaeus' work has influenced the works of poets like Horace.

 29 
Anacreon
(Poet)
Anacreon
2
Birthdate: 0582 BC
Birthplace: Teos, Greek
Died: 0485 BC
 30 
Odysseas Elytis
(Greek Poet and Essayist)
Odysseas Elytis
2
Birthdate: November 2, 1911
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Heraklion, Greece
Died: March 18, 1996

Odysseas Elytis was a Greek poet, translator, and essayist. He is widely regarded as one of the most popular and important exponents of romantic modernism of his generation. He is also one of the most celebrated poets of the latter half of the 20th century. Odysseas Elytis was honored with the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature in 1979.

 31 
Arion
(Greek Poet)
Arion
3
Birthplace: Greece

Often considered a mythical figure, Arion was a Greek poet and musician from Lesbos, and is considered to be the inventor of the dithyrambic form of poetry. Mythical versions state he was the son of Cyclon, or of Poseidon, and was saved from drowning by dolphins who were mesmerized by his music.

 32 
Christos Papadimitriou
(Writer, Mathematician, Computer scientist, University teacher)
Christos Papadimitriou
3
Birthdate: August 16, 1949
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Athens

One of the world’s most prominent computer science theorists, Christos Papadimitriou is also a professor at Columbia University. Best known for his research on computational complexity, he has also contributed to areas such as the theory of evolution, game theory, robotics, and economics. He has taught at Harvard, Stanford, and MIT, too.

 33 
Aratus
(Poet)
Aratus
2
Birthdate: 0315 BC
Birthplace: Soli
Died: 0240 BC

Aratus was a Greek didactic poet whose major works have not survived, although some remain like his impressive hexameter poem Phenomena. Aratus, who described constellations and celestial phenomena in his work, was hugely popular in the Roman and Greek world. His works attracted younger writers, who in turn produced a large number of translations and commentaries based on Aratus' work.

 34 
Flavius Philostratus
(Greek author)
Flavius Philostratus
2
Birthdate: 0170 AD
Birthplace: Lemnos
Died: 0250 AD
 35 
Rigas Feraios
(Greek Writer, Revolutionary and a Pioneer of the Greek War of Independence)
Rigas Feraios
2
Birthdate: 1757 AD
Birthplace: Velestino, Greece
Died: June 24, 1798

Rigas Feraios was a Greek writer, revolutionary, and political thinker. A front runner of the Greek War of Independence, Feraios is revered as one of the most important national heroes in Greece. Rigas Feraios is also credited with kindling the Greeks' love of freedom.

 36 
Dio Chrysostom
(Orator)
Dio Chrysostom
2
Birthdate: 0040 AD
Birthplace: Bursa, Turkey
Died: 0115 AD

Greek orator and philosopher Dio Chrysostom is best remembered for his political discourses. Exiled from Bithynia and Italy for political differences, he lived the life of a vagrant for 14 years, and got back to be a philosopher after emperor Domitian’s murder. His works contain orations for Trajan and essays on slavery.

 37 
Tyrtaeus
(Poet)
Tyrtaeus
2
Birthplace: Athens

Tyrtaeus was a Greek elegiac poet best remembered for his works written during a time of crises in the city of Sparta: a civic unrest—which he later mentioned in his poem Eunomia—and the Second Messenian War, which saw him play a crucial role in successfully egging on Spartans to fight for their city until their death.

 38 
Sanchuniathon
(Writer)
Sanchuniathon
2
Birthplace: Phoenice
Died: 0150 AD
 39 
Apollodorus of Athens
(Greek Scholar, Historian, and Writer Known for His Chronika of Greek History)
Apollodorus of Athens
2
Birthdate: 0180 AD
Birthplace: Classical Athens
Died: 0120 AD

Apollodorus of Athens was a Greek scholar from the 2nd century B.C. Best remembered for his chronicle of Greek history, titled Chronika, he also penned a 24-volume prose work known as On the Gods, which was later lost. He also wrote volumes on mythology, philology, and geography.

 40 
Corinna
(Greek Poet)
Corinna
2
Birthplace: Tanagra, Greece

Corinna was a Greek lyric poet whose work has led scholars like Herbert Weir Smyth to praise her by calling her the second-most popular ancient Greek woman poet in history after Sappho. Corinna seems to have enjoyed a lot of attention and popularity among the people of ancient Tanagra and ancient Rome. Corinna's poetry has also fascinated feminist literary historians.

 41 
Lysias
(Orator, logographer)
Lysias
2
Birthdate: 0445 AD
Birthplace: Athens, Greece
Died: 0380 AD
 42 
Agathon
(Tragedy writer)
Agathon
2
Birthdate: 0448 BC
Birthplace: Athens, Greece
Died: 0401 BC
 43 
Theognis of Megara
(Poet)
Theognis of Megara
2
Birthdate: 0570 AD
Birthplace: Megara, Greece
Died: 0485 AD

Theognis of Megara was a Greek lyric poet best remembered for his gnomic poetry featuring practical advice about life and ethical maxims. He was the first known Greek poet to worry about the eventual fate and existence of his own work. Theognis of Megara's work has attracted and influenced several modern-day scientists and scholars like Charles Darwin and Friedrich Nietzsche.

 44 
Livius Andronicus
(Writer, Playwright and Epic Poet, Considered the Father of Roman Drama and Latin Literature)
Livius Andronicus
2
Birthdate: 0284 BC
Birthplace: Taranto, Italy
Died: 0204 BC

Greco-Roman writer, playwright and epic poet of the Old Latin Livius Andronicus is considered as the father of Roman drama as also of Latin literature. The tragedies and comedies he wrote for the stage are regarded as the first dramatic works written in the Latin language. One of his notable works includes the Latin translation of Homer’s Greek epic-poem Odyssey.

 45 
Aristoxenus
(Philosopher)
Aristoxenus
2
Birthdate: 0360 AD
Birthplace: Taranto, Italy
Died: 0300 AD
 46 
Phaedrus
(Fabulist)
Phaedrus
2
Birthdate: 0015 AD
Birthplace: Pydna
 47 
Nonnus
(Greek Poet)
Nonnus
2
Birthplace: Akhmīm, Egypt

Nonnus, also known as Nonnus of Panopolis, was a Greek epic poet considered the most important of them all from the Imperial Roman era. Nonnus is credited with composing the epic poem Dionysiaca, which is one of the longest surviving works from Greco-Roman antiquity. His works seems to have greatly influenced the poets of Late Antiquity like Musaeus and Colluthus.

 48 
Bacchylides
(Greek Lyric Poet)
Bacchylides
2
Birthdate: 0518 BC
Birthplace: Ioulis, Greece
Died: 0451 BC

Bacchylides was a Greek lyric poet whose elegant and polished lyrics led scholars of future generations to characterize them as superficial charm. Bacchylides is widely regarded as one of the last major poets to represent the more ancient tradition of lyric poetry.

 49 
Erinna
(Greek Poet)
Erinna
2
Birthplace: Tilos, Greece

Erinna was an ancient Greek poet who is most recognised for her poem The Distaff, a 300-line hexameter poem of lament for her childhood friend Baucis. Other than this, Erinna is also known for three epigrams which are preserved in the Greek Anthology. She is believed to have lived in the fourth century BC, most likely, on the Greek Island of Telos.

 50 
Vassilis Vassilikos
(Writer)
Vassilis Vassilikos
2
Birthdate: November 18, 1934
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Kavala, Greece