Aeschylus, Oresteia (458 B.C.E.), and other tragedies—This trilogy is the only surviving trilogy from the fifth century B.C.E.

Aristophanes, Acharnians (c. 425 B.C.E.)—Aristophanes' first play introduced the comedic genius of the young playwright. The plot of this Old Comedy revolves around a simple man who defies the Athenian government and makes a separate peace with the Spartans during the Peloponnesian War.

Aristotle, Poetics (c. 340 B.C.E.)—Aristotle's treatise is the first to treat poetic composition of all kinds as art, making Aristotle the first literary critic and theorist.

Cicero (Marcus Tullius), In Defense of Roscius the Comic Actor (c. 69 B.C.E.)—In this speech, Cicero defends the comic actor Roscius against a charge of fraud and in the process reveals important information about the profession of acting in the first century B.C.E...