The development of Greek literature can be roughly divided into three stages: the transitional stage from clan to slave society, when myths and epics were produced; the classical period, the heyday of slavery, produced tragedies, comedies, and prose. and literary theory; during the Hellenistic period, literature advocated rhetorical skills and was poor in content. Its main achievement was the new comedy. After the second century AD, the areas affected by Greek influence were annexed by the Roman Empire. Although there were still Greek-speaking writers, ancient Greek literature had lost its independence. The development of Roman literature can be divided into four stages: the beginning period from the middle of the third century BC to the middle of the second century BC, when most of the works were lost, and the main achievements were comedies; the first and last stages, when great achievements were made in both prose and poetry. It is called the "Golden Age"; the first and second centuries AD, that is, the early days of the empire, are called the "Silver Age", with satirical poetry and history being more prominent; after the third century it is the decline stage. After that, Christian writers became the mainstream among writers writing in Latin. In addition, there was also dialect literature derived from Latin, and European literature also entered the Middle Ages.