It is therefore almost certain that some sort of literature and also good poets must have existed before the academic era; but nothing can at present be asserted about it in the absence of any literary or other records.
The Academic Period: The real history of Tamil literature begins with the Tamil academies which lasted from B. C. 500 to A. D. 500. This millennium might perhaps appear to be a very long period; but during the first half of it none of the extant Tamil works, probably with the exception of Tolkapyam and one or two others, were written. Further, when we consider the abnormally long period of 12,000 years allotted by native traditions to the three academies, the above is almost a trifle. Of the three academies the second was more or less continuous with the first, and both probably existed sometime between the fifth century B. C. and second century A. D.; while the third, and the most important of them all seems to have lasted till A. D. 500. Whether the three academies really existed whether they did any useful work in the cause of Tamil literature, how long they lasted, and what poets flourished during this period — all these are questions which we have reserved for consideration in a subsequent essay.
To understand aright the general spirit of the literary productions of this period it is desirable that there should be some previous acquaintance with the
