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Ancient Greek prose literature is commonly believed to have originated late in the Archaic period in the imposing shadow of Greek poetry, primitive and derivative in form and accordingly bereft of authority. Why, then, would Greeks in the sixth century BCE compose prose? If it were entirely lacking in style and status, how could it be used by Pherecydes and Anaximander to stake claims to wisdom and to knowledge of the history and structure of the cosmos? With a novel approach to prose a new view of Archaic literary culture emerges, one in which prose is more abundant, artful and authoritative than previously recognized. In addition to providing a secure foundation for the history of Greek prose literature, the book also traces for the first time the emergence of the concept of prose, which is considered quintessentially modern but is shown here to be deeply rooted in antiquity.