Definition. Time limits. Periods. Criteria for division into periods and evaluation of the various schemes. Sources for the history of Latin literature. The influence of Greek literature in each period. Patronage and elitism in the process of producing and disseminating literary works. The contribution of literature in the development of Roman national consciousness in late 3rd century BCE. Literature as a means of obtaining social prestige and achieving personal expression and fulfilment in the Late Republic. Literature at the service of Augustan and imperial ideology. Christianity as a source for new literary developments.