The Acts of Paul and Thecla is an early Christian text. originally written in Greek during the second century A.D. It tells the story of a young woman who rejected a forced arranged marriage and devoted her life to the teaching and work of St. Paul. A copy of the work in English can be found at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf08.vii.xxvi.html?highlight=acts,of,paul,and,thecla#highlight

 The Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 6, which is a fragment of an ancient manuscript in Greek. It is a fragment of the Aprocryphal work The fragment is housed at Cambridge University Library.

Information about ancient Greek and Roman literature can be found at http://ancient-literature.com/greece.html.  The same web site also provides information about other ancient literary works. 

Aristotle (384 B.C. - 322 B.C.) Greek philosopher, student of Plato. He did not write any books in his lifetime, however his students compiled his works, the most popular being The Nicomachean Ethics. He founded his own school, the Lyceum, and he often walked around as he taught. This method of teaching became known as the Perpatelic School.

Cato (234 B.C. - 149 B.C.) Cato the Elder was a Roman historian, known for his opposition to Hellenization (the influence of Greek culture on other cultures).

Catellus (Gaius Valerius Catellus) (84 B.C. - 54 B.C.) Catellus was a Roman poet, whose poetry deals with personal life rather than with classical heroes.

Heraclitus (535 B.C. - 475 B.C. - Greek, called the "weeping philosopher"  because of his grim views and lifestyle 

Hesiod (app 750 B.C. - 650 B.C. - dates uncertain) Greek poet

 Homer (751 B.C. - 651 B.C.) Greek author of the Illiad and the Odyssey. The Illiad was written in the 8th century B.C. and describes the battles of the 10 year Trojan War. The Odyssey describes the journey of Odysseus home after the Trojan War, and the obstacles on his journey, causing the trip home to take 10 years and his struggle to return to his family after the trip home. 

Pythagoras (570 B.C. - 495 B. C. ) best known for the Pythagorean Theorem 

Plato (427 B.C. - 347 B. C.) was an ancient Greek philosopher, who foundated the Academy in Athens. His most known work is the Republic (containing his famous allegory of people trapped in a dark cave and their misperceptions of reality due to the darkness of the cave), written in 380 B.C., on the sujects of justice and the Greek city-state. Plato is also known as the student of Socrates and the teacher of Aristotle.

Pliny the Elder (23 A.D. - 79 A.D.) A Roman author and friend of Emperor Vespasian. He wrote Naturilis Historia (Natural Hisotry), which became a model for encyclopedias.

Socrates (470 B.C. - 399 B.C.) did not write down any of his teachings. Information about his work gained from works by Plato and Xenophon, these works are known as the Socratic Dialogues. Socrates was tried for "corrupting the minds of the youth and for impiety against the gods" , was found guilty and was condemned to death by being forced to drink poisoned hemlock. Socrates' death is described in Plato's Phaedo, although Plato was not present at the execution.

Sophocles (496 B.C. - 406 B.C.) Greek playwrite of tragedies, the most well known is Oedipus the King. He also wrote Ajax, about one of the Greeks who fought in the Trojan War. Ajax was the son of Telamon (king of Salamis) and was a friend of Hercules. 

Tertullian (160 A.D. - 220 A. D.) Tertullian is considered to be the founder of Latin language Christianity. His religious works include Ad Martyras (To the Martyrs), Ad Nationes (To the Nations), Ad Uxorem (To his Wife) and many other works.

Virgil (70 B.C. - 15 B. C.) was an ancient Roman poet known for the Aenid, an epic poem about the Trojan Aeneas who traveled to Rome and became an ancestor of the Romans.

Xenophon (430 B.C. - 354 B. C.) Xenophone was a student of Socrates. As a historian, he recorded the history of h is time. Works include Hellenica, about the Peloponnesian War (between the Delian League led by Athens and the Peloponnesian League, led by Sparta). His works also include writings of Socratic dialogues.

A web site with information about Rome and Roman literature and history can be found at http://www.romanpast.com/

Some Latin terms and expressions are:

ab hinc - from now on

ad hoc - for a specific purpose

ad nausam - to the point of nausea, excessiveness

cave canem - beware of dog

cogito, ergo sum - I think, therefore I am

de facto - in fact

de jure - according to law

e pluribus unum - out of many, one

ex libris - from the library of

ex post facto - from what was done later

in loco parentis - in the place of a parent

mea culpa - my fault

per annum - by year

per capita - by individuals

per centum - percent (by the hundred)

per bono publico - for the public good

per diem - per day

per se - in itself

post partum - after childbirth

prima facie - at first sight

pro bono publico - for the public good

pro rata - in proportion

quo vadis - where are you going

sub poena - under penalty

tempus fugit - time flies

versus - against

vice versa - the other way around

The oldest known Christmas carol is believed to be Jesus Refulsit Omnium (Jesus Light of All the Nations), written by St. Hilary of Poitier in the 4th century.

Some very early Christiani hymns were written in Greek.   Φῶς Ἱλαρόν (Phos Hilaron)  is the earliest known Christian hymn that is still in use in modern times. Its Latin title is Lumen Hilare and it is translated into English as O Gladsome Light. 

Another ancient Greek hymn, Shepherd of Tender Youth,  was written by St. Clement of Alexandria, in approximately 200 AD and was translated by Henry M. Dexter in 1846.