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Basil the Great was born into a family noted for piety. About 360 he founded a convent in Pontus and in 370 succeeded Eusebius in the archbishopric of Caesarea. His reform of monastic life in the east is the basis of modern Greek and Slavonic monasteries.

Unlike his predecessors, Epictetus (c. 50-120 CE), who grew up as a slave, taught Stoicism not for the select few but for the many. A student, the historian Arrian, recorded Epictetus's lectures and, in the Encheiridion, a handbook, summarized his thought.

In Fishing, Oppian of Cilicia, who flourished in the latter half of the second century CE, discusses fish and gives angling instructions. The Chase, on hunting, may be the work of a Syrian imitator. Colluthus and Tryphiodorus (properly Triphiodorus), epic poets of Egypt, wrote in the second half of the fifth century CE.

Florus (second century CE) wrote, in brief pointed rhetorical style, a two-book summary of Roman history (especially military) in order to show the greatness and decline of Roman morals. Based chiefly on Livy and perhaps planned to reach Florus' own times, the extant work ends with Augustus's reign (30 BCE-14 CE).

Basil the Great was born into a family noted for piety. About 360 he founded a convent in Pontus and in 370 succeeded Eusebius in the archbishopric of Caesarea. His reform of monastic life in the east is the basis of modern Greek and Slavonic monasteries.

Sixty-five descriptions, ostensibly of paintings in a gallery at Naples, are credited to an Elder Philostratus (born c. 190 CE); to a Younger Philostratus, apparently his grandson, seventeen similar descriptions. Fourteen descriptions of statues in stone or bronze attributed to Callistratus were probably written in the fourth century CE.

Valerius Flaccus flourished c. 70-90 BCE and composed an incomplete epic Argonautica in eight books, on the quest for the golden fleece. Valerius effectively rehandles the story already told by Apollonius Rhodius, recalls Virgilian language and thought, displays learning, and alludes to contemporary Rome.

The three surviving works by Sextus Empiricus (c. 160-210 CE) are Outlines of Pyrrhonism, Against the Dogmatists, and Against the Professors. Their value as a source for the history of thought is especially that they represent development and formulation of former sceptic doctrines.

In On Buildings the Byzantine historian Procopius (late fifth century to after 558 CE) describes the churches, public buildings, fortifications, and bridges Justinian erected throughout his empire, from the Church of St. Sophia in Constantinople to city walls at Carthage. The work is richly informative about architecture of the sixth century CE.

Fragments of ancient literature, from the seventh to the third century BCE, found on papyri in Egypt include examples of tragedy; satyr drama; Old, Middle, and New Comedy; mime; lyric, elegiac, iambic, and hexametric poetry.

Lucian (c. 120-190 CE), apprentice sculptor then travelling rhetorician, settled in Athens and developed an original brand of satire. Notable for the Attic purity and elegance of his Greek and for literary versatility, he is famous chiefly for the lively, cynical wit of the dialogues in which he satirizes human folly, superstition, and hypocrisy.

Cornelius Nepos (c. 99-c. 24 BCE)is the earliest biographer in Latin whose work we have. Extant are parts of his De Viris Illustribus, including biographies of mostly Greek military commanders and of two Latin historians, Cato and Atticus.

Quintus Curtius wrote a history of Alexander the Great in the first or second century CE. The first two of ten books have not survived and material is missing from books 5, 6, and 10. Curtius narrates exciting experiences, develops his hero's character, moralizes, and provides one of the five extant works that are evidence for Alexander's career.

In his epigrams, Martial (c. 40-c. 103 CE) is a keen, sharp-tongued observer of Roman scenes and events, including the new Colosseum, country life, a debauchee's banquet, and the eruption of Vesuvius. His poems are sometimes obscene, in the tradition of the genre, sometimes affectionate or amusing, and always pointed.

The major works of Josephus (c. 37-after 97 CE) are History of the Jewish War, from 170 BCE to his own time, and Jewish Antiquities, from creation to 66 CE. Also by him are an autobiographical Life and a treatise Against Apion.

The Anabasis by Xenophon (c. 430-c. 354 BCE) is an eyewitness account of Greek mercenaries' challenging 'March Up-Country' from Babylon back to the coast of Asia Minor under Xenophon's guidance in 401 BCE, after their leader Cyrus the Younger fell in a failed campaign against his brother.

The comedies of Plautus, who brilliantly adapted Greek plays for Roman audiences c. 205-184 BCE, are the earliest Latin works to survive complete and cornerstones of the European theatrical tradition from Shakespeare and Moliere to modern times. Twenty-one of his plays are extant.

Pausanias (fl. 150 CE), one of the Roman world's great travelers, sketches in Description of Greece the history, geography, landmarks, legends, and religious cults of all the important Greek cities. He shares his enthusiasm for great sites, describing them with care and an accuracy confirmed by comparison with monuments that still stand today.

Silius Italicus (25-101 CE) composed an epic Punica in 17 books on the Second Punic War (218-202 BCE). Silius' poem relies largely on Livy's prose for facts. It also echoes poets, especially Virgil, and employs techniques traditional in Latin epic.

Dithyrambic poets of the new school were active from the mid-fifth to mid-fourth century BCE. Anonymous poems include drinking songs, children's ditties, and cult hymns.

The six plays by Terence (died 159 BCE), all extant, imaginatively reformulate Greek New Comedy in realistic scenes and refined Latin. They include Phormio, a comedy of intrigue and trickery; The Brothers, which explores parental education of sons; and The Eunuch, which presents the most sympathetically drawn courtesan in Roman comedy.

On Architecture, completed by Vitruvius sometime before 27 CE and the only work of its kind to survive antiquity, serves not professionals but readers who want to understand architecture. Topics include town planning, building materials, temples, the architectural orders, houses, pavements, mosaics, water supply, measurements, and machines.

History of the Wars by the Byzantine historian Procopius (late fifth century to after 558 CE) consists largely of sixth century CE military history, with much information about peoples, places, and special events. Powerful description complements careful narration. Procopius is just to the empire's enemies and boldly criticises emperor Justinian.

In 124 epistles Seneca (c. 4-65 CE) writes to Lucilius, occasionally about technical problems of philosophy, but more often in a relaxed style about moral and ethical questions, relating them to personal experiences. He thus presents a Stoic philosopher's thoughts about the good life in a contemporary context.

Aulus Gellius (c. 123-170 CE) offers in Attic Nights (Gellius began to write these pieces during stays in Athens) a collection of short chapters about notable events, words and questions of literary style, lives of historical figures, legal points, and philosophical issues that served as instructive light reading for cultivated Romans.

The major works of Josephus (c. 37-after 97 CE) are History of the Jewish War, from 170 BCE to his own time, and Jewish Antiquities, from creation to 66 CE. Also by him are an autobiographical Life and a treatise Against Apion.

Seneca (c. 4-65 CE) devotes most of Naturales Quaestiones to celestial phenomena. In Book 1 he discusses fires in the atmosphere; in 2, lightning and thunder; in 3, bodies of water. Seneca's method is to survey the theories of major authorities on the subject at hand, so his work is a guide to Greek and Roman thinking about the heavens.

In his Life of Apollonius Philostratus (second to third century CE) portrays a first-century CE teacher, religious reformer, and perceived rival to Jesus. Apollonius's letters, ancient reports about him, and a letter by Eusebius (fourth century CE) that is now central to the history of Philostratus's work add to the portrait.

Enriched by anecdotes, gossip, and details of character and personal appearance, Lives of the Caesars by Suetonius (born c. 70 CE) is a valuable and colourful source of information about the first twelve Roman emperors, Roman imperial politics, and Roman imperial socity. Part of Suetonius' Lives of Illustrious Men (of letters) also survives.

Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea from about 315 CE, was the most important writer in the age of Constantine. His history of the Christian church from the ministry of Jesus to 324 CE is a treasury of information, especially on the Eastern centers.