What do we know about ancient literature that disappeared?

Earlier this year, news of a study that analyzed how much medieval European literature has been lost made the media rounds.

It's back in the news (in the Guardian, to be specific), with more interpretations of the findings.

For example, academics noted that we can't assume that plays that survived to this day survived because they were popular and/or better; we can only state that they survived.

The reverse, in fact, seems more accurate — that we call a work great because it survived to influence later writers.

See what else academics have to say about literature that disappeared over the centuries in the Guardian.

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