2. Timeline of Latin Literature
Preliterary Period
Until 240 BC
Only some inscriptions survive
Oldest inscriptions from 6th and 7th Century BC
Corresponds to time until First Punic War

4. 2. Archaic Period ( BC)
From Livius Andronicus to Cicero
Highly developed language
Simpler grammar and structures
Development of new Latin works

5. Roman Comedy Plautus and Terence

6. 3. Golden Age 81 BC- 14 AD Cicero to death of Augustus
Stylistic perfection and technicality
Period of development of vocabulary
Archaisms used to evoke earlier times

7. 4. Silver Age
14 AD- 180 AD
death of Augustus to death of Marcus Aurelius
Reaction against rigid precision and standardization
Flourishing of idioms and colloquial expressions

8. 5. Archaizing Period Overlaps with Silver Age
Imitation of Archaic Period
Style adapted by certain authors

9. 6. Declining Period 180 AD- 6th Century
Rapid and radical alterations to the language
Introduction of local idioms and peculiarities
New words introduced from local languages as Latin transforms into Romance languages

10. 7. After the 6th Century
Colloquial idiom- develops into the Romance languages
Literary Language- used in courts, by scholars, and in Catholic Church