Ancient literature comprises religious and scientific documents, tales, poetry and plays, royal edicts and declarations, and other forms of writing that were recorded on a variety of media, including stone, stone tablets, papyri, palm leaves, and metal. Before the spread of writing, oral literature did not always survive well, but some texts and fragments have persisted. One can conclude that an unknown number of written works too have likely not survived the ravages of time and are therefore lost.

Incomplete list of ancient texts

Bronze Age

Early Bronze Age: 3rd millennium BC (approximate dates shown). The earliest written literature dates from about 2600 BC (classical Sumerian). The earliest literary author known by name is

Enheduanna Enheduanna ( sux, , also transliterated as , , or variants) was the priestess of the moon god Nanna (Sīn) in the Sumerian city-state of Ur in the reign of her father, Sargon of Akkad. She was likely appointed by her father as the leader of t ...

, a Sumerian priestess and public figure dating to ca. 24th century BC. Certain literary texts are difficult to date, such as the ''

Egyptian Book of the Dead Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...

'', which was recorded in the ''

Papyrus of Ani The Papyrus of Ani is a papyrus manuscript in the form of a scroll with cursive hieroglyphs and color illustrations that was created c. 1250 BCE, during the Nineteenth Dynasty of the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt. Egyptians compiled an individu ...

'' around 1240 BC, but other versions of the book probably date from about the 18th century BC. * 2600: Sumerian texts from Abu Salabikh, including the ''

Instructions of Shuruppak __NOTOC__ The Instructions of Shuruppak (or, ''Instructions of Šuruppak son of Ubara-tutu'') are a significant example of Sumerian wisdom literature. Wisdom literature, intended to teach proper piety, inculcate virtue, and preserve community st ...

'' and the '' Kesh temple hymn'' * 2600: Egyptian ''The Life of Metjen'', from

Saqqara Saqqara ( ar, سقارة, ), also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English , is an Egyptian village in Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for the ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis ...

Toby A. H. Wilkinson: ''Early Dynastic Egypt''. Routledge, London/New York 2001, . * 2500: Egyptian

Diary of Merer The Diary of Merer (also known as ''Papyrus Jarf'') is the name for papyrus logbooks written over 4,500 years ago by Merer, a middle ranking official with the title ''inspector'' (''sHD''). They are the oldest known papyri with text, dating to the ...

(Oldest papyrus) * 2400: Egyptian ''

Pyramid Texts The Pyramid Texts are the oldest ancient Egyptian funerary texts, dating to the late Old Kingdom. They are the earliest known corpus of ancient Egyptian religious texts. Written in Old Egyptian, the pyramid texts were carved onto the subterrane ...

'', including the '' Cannibal Hymn'' * 2400: Sumerian '' Code of Urukagina'' * 2400: Egyptian '' Palermo stone'' * 2350: Egyptian ''

The Maxims of Ptahhotep ''The Maxims of Ptahhotep'' or ''Instruction of Ptahhotep'' is an ancient Egyptian literary composition composed by the Vizier Ptahhotep around 2375–2350 BC, during the rule of King Djedkare Isesi of the Fifth Dynasty. The text was discovered ...

'' * 2270: Sumerian '' Enheduanna's Hymns'' * 2250: Egyptian ''

Autobiography of Weni The Autobiography of Weni is a tomb inscription from ancient Egypt, which is significant to Egyptology studies. Weni the Elder, or Uni, was a court official of the 6th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. The Tomb of Weni was lost as a result of Auguste ...

'' * 2250-2000: Earliest Sumerian stories in the ''

Epic of Gilgamesh The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' () is an epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia, and is regarded as the earliest surviving notable literature and the second oldest religious text, after the Pyramid Texts. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with ...

'' * 2200: Egyptian ''

Autobiography of Harkhuf The Autobiography of Harkhuf is a private tomb inscription from ancient Egypt. It is significant in Egyptology as one of the two most important, and the most famous, autobiographical inscriptions of Old Kingdom officials. His name sometimes spel ...

'' * 2100: Sumerian '' Curse of Agade'' * 2100: Sumerian ''

Debate between Bird and Fish The "Debate between bird and fish" is an essay written in the Sumerian language on clay tablets, dating back to the mid to late 3rd millennium BC. Seven ''"debate"'' topics are known from Sumerian literature, falling in the category of 'disputati ...

'' * 2050: Sumerian '' Code of Ur-Nammu'' * 2000: Egyptian '' Coffin Texts'' * 2000: Sumerian ''

Lament for Ur The Lament for Ur, or Lamentation over the city of Ur is a Sumerian lament composed around the time of the fall of Ur to the Elamites and the end of the city's third dynasty (c. 2000 BC). Laments It contains one of five known Mesopotamian ...

'' * 2000: Sumerian ''

Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta ''Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta'' is a legendary Sumerian account, preserved in early post-Sumerian copies, composed in the Neo-Sumerian period (ca. 21st century BC). It is one of a series of accounts describing the conflicts between Enmerkar, ...

'' Middle Bronze Age: ca. 2000 to 1600 BC (approximate dates shown) * 2000-1900: Egyptian ''

Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor The "Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor" is a Middle Kingdom story of an Ancient Egyptian voyage to "the King's mines". Historical information At least one source states that the papyrus having the story written upon it is located within the Imp ...

'' * 1950: Akkadian ''

Laws of Eshnunna The Laws of Eshnunna (abrv. LE) are inscribed on two cuneiform tablets discovered in Tell Abū Harmal, Baghdad, Iraq. The Iraqi Directorate of Antiquities headed by Taha Baqir unearthed two parallel sets of tablets in 1945 and 1947. The two tablets ...

'' * 1900: Akkadian ''

Legend of Etana Etana (, ''E.TA.NA'') was the probably fictional thirteenth king of the first dynasty of Kish. He is listed in the '' Sumerian King List'' as the successor of Arwium, the son of Mashda, as king of Kish. The list also calls Etana "the shepherd, ...

'' * 1900: Sumerian '' Code of Lipit-Ishtar'' * 1859-1840: Egyptian ''

The Eloquent Peasant ''The Eloquent Peasant'' (, "a peasant good of speech") is an Ancient Egyptian story that was composed around 1850 BCE during the time of the Middle Kingdom in Egypt. It is one of the longest Egyptian tales that has survived completed. The tale i ...

'' * 1859-1840: Egyptian ''

Story of Sinuhe ''The Story of Sinuhe'' (also known as Sanehat) Retrieved November 6, 2018. is considered one of the finest works of ancient Egyptian literature. It is a narrative set in the aftermath of the death of Pharaoh Amenemhat I, founder of the 12th Dy ...

'' (in Hieratic) * 1859-1840: Egyptian ''

Dispute between a man and his Ba The Dispute between a man and his Ba or The Debate Between a Man and his Soul is an ancient Egyptian text dating to the Middle Kingdom. The text is considered to fall into the genre of Sebayt, a form of Egyptian wisdom literature. The text takes ...

'' * 1859-1813: Egyptian ''

Loyalist Teaching The Loyalist Teaching, or The Loyalist Instructions, is an ancient Egyptian text of the ''sebayt'' ('teaching') genre. It survives in part from a stela inscription of the mid Twelfth dynasty of Egypt.Cairo CG 20538. The whole text can be found i ...

'' * 1850: Akkadian '' Kultepe texts'' * 1800: Akkadian '' Enûma Eliš'' * 1780: Akkadian

Mari letters Mari (Cuneiform: , ''ma-riki'', modern Tell Hariri; ar, تل حريري) was an ancient Semitic city-state in modern-day Syria. Its remains form a tell 11 kilometers north-west of Abu Kamal on the Euphrates River western bank, some 120&nb ...

, including the '' Epic of Zimri-Lim'' * 1754: Akkadian ''

Code of Hammurabi The Code of Hammurabi is a Babylonian legal text composed 1755–1750 BC. It is the longest, best-organised, and best-preserved legal text from the ancient Near East. It is written in the Old Babylonian dialect of Akkadian, purportedly by Hamm ...

'' stele * 1750: Hittite ''

Anitta text Anitta, son of Pitḫana, reigned ca. 1740–1725 BC (middle chronology), and was a king of Kuššara, a city that has yet to be identified. He is the earliest known ruler to compose a text in the Hittite language. His high official, or ''rabi s ...

'' * 1700: Akkadian '' Atra-Hasis epic'' * 1700: Egyptian ''

Westcar Papyrus The Westcar Papyrus (inventory-designation: ''P. Berlin 3033'') is an ancient Egyptian text containing five stories about miracles performed by priests and magicians. In the papyrus text, each of these tales are told at the royal court of king K ...

'' * 1700: Akkadian ''

'' * 1650: Egyptian ''

Ipuwer Papyrus The Ipuwer Papyrus (officially Papyrus Leiden I 344 ''recto'') is an ancient Egyptian hieratic papyrus made during the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, and now held in the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Netherlands. It contains the ...

'' * 1600: Akkadian '' Eridu Genesis'' Late Bronze Age: ca. 1600 to 1200 BC (approximate dates shown) * 1600: Hittite ''

Code of the Nesilim The Hittite laws, also known as the Code of the Nesilim, constitute an ancient legal code dating from c. 1650 – 1500 BCE. They have been preserved on a number of Hittite cuneiform tablets found at Hattusa ( CTH 291-292, listing 200 laws). ...

'' * 1500: Akkadian ''

Poor Man of Nippur The Poor Man of Nippur is an Akkadian story dating from around 1500 BC. It is attested by only three texts, only one of which is more than a small fragment. There was a man, a citizen of Nippur, destitute and poor, Gimil-Ninurta was his name, a ...

'' * 1500: Hittite military oath * 1500-1200:

Ugaritic Ugaritic () is an extinct Northwest Semitic language, classified by some as a dialect of the Amorite language and so the only known Amorite dialect preserved in writing. It is known through the Ugaritic texts discovered by French archaeologist ...

Legend of Keret The Legend of Keret, also known as the Epic of Kirta, is an ancient Ugaritic epic poem, dated to Late Bronze Age, circa 1500 – 1200 BC. It recounts the myth of King Keret of Hubur. It is one of the Ugarit texts. History The epic story ...

'' * 1550: ''

'' * 1500: Akkadian ''

Dynasty of Dunnum The Dynasty of Dunnum, sometimes called the ''Theogony of Dunnum'' or ''Dunnu'' or the ''Harab Myth'', is an ancient Mesopotamian mythical tale of successive generations of gods who take power through parricide and live incestuously with their mo ...

'' * 1400: Akkadian ''Marriage of Nergal and Ereshkigal'' * 1400: Akkadian ''

Autobiography of Kurigalzu An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor (scholar), William Taylor in ...

'' * 1400: Akkadian

Amarna letters The Amarna letters (; sometimes referred to as the Amarna correspondence or Amarna tablets, and cited with the abbreviation EA, for "El Amarna") are an archive, written on clay tablets, primarily consisting of diplomatic correspondence between t ...

* 1330: Egyptian ''

Great Hymn to the Aten The Great Hymn to the Aten is the longest of a number of hymn-poems written to the sun-disk deity Aten. Composed in the middle of the 14th century BC, it is varyingly attributed to the 18th Dynasty Pharaoh Akhenaten or his courtiers, depending ...

'' * 1240: Egyptian ''

'', Book of the Dead * 1200-900: Akkadian version and younger stories in the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' * 1200: Akkadian '' Tukulti-Ninurta Epic'' * 1200: Egyptian ''

Tale of Two Brothers The "Tale of Two Brothers" is an ancient Egyptian story that dates from the reign of Seti II, who ruled from 1200 to 1194 BC during the 19th Dynasty of the New Kingdom. The story is preserved on the Papyrus D'Orbiney, which is currently held in t ...

Iron Age

Iron Age texts predating Classical Antiquity: 12th to 8th centuries BC * 1200–800: BC approximate date of the Vedic Sanskrit **

Yajurveda The ''Yajurveda'' ( sa, यजुर्वेद, ', from ' meaning "worship", and ''veda'' meaning "knowledge") is the Veda primarily of prose mantras for worship rituals.Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in ''The Blackwell C ...

** Atharvaveda ** Samaveda * 1050: BC Egyptian '' Story of Wenamun'' * 1050: BC Akkadian ''Sakikkū'' (SA.GIG) "Diagnostic Omens" by

Esagil-kin-apli Esagil-kin-apli was the ''ummânū'', or chief scholar, of Babylonian king Adad-apla-iddina, 1067–1046 BCE, as he appears on the Uruk ''List of Sages and Scholars'' (165 BCE)W 20030,7 the Seleucid ''List of Sages and Scholars'', obverse line 16, r ...

. * 1050: BC The ''

Babylonian Theodicy "Babylonian Theodicy" is a poem written within ancient Babylonia. The poem is inscribed onto clay in the Middle-Babylonian language, which is a form of language dating to the period 1600 to 900 BC. (via identification of iThe Babylonian World ed ...

'' of Šaggil-kīnam-ubbib. * 1000: BC Chinese ''

Classic of Poetry The ''Classic of Poetry'', also ''Shijing'' or ''Shih-ching'', translated variously as the ''Book of Songs'', ''Book of Odes'', or simply known as the ''Odes'' or ''Poetry'' (; ''Shī''), is the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, c ...

(Shījīng)'' * 1000: BC Akkadian ''

Dialogue of Pessimism The Dialogue of Pessimism is an ancient Mesopotamian literary composition in the form of a dialogue between a master and his slave. Its interpretations have varied, but it is generally considered an unusual text which thematises the futility of huma ...

'' * 900: BC Akkadian '' Epic of Erra'' * 900: BC Vedic Sanskrit ''

Aranyaka The Aranyakas (; sa, आरण्यक; IAST: ' ) are the part of the ancient Indian Vedas concerned with the meaning of ritual sacrifice. They typically represent the later sections of the Vedas, and are one of many layers of the Vedic texts ...

Classical Antiquity

9th century BC

*''

Classic of Changes The ''I Ching'' or ''Yi Jing'' (, ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. Originally a divination manual in the Western Zhou ...

(I Ching)''

8th century BC

* Greek

Trojan War cycle The Epic Cycle ( grc, Ἐπικὸς Κύκλος, Epikòs Kýklos) was a collection of Ancient Greek epic poems, composed in dactylic hexameter and related to the story of the Trojan War, including the ''Cypria'', the '' Aethiopis'', the so-cal ...

, including the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Odys ...

'' and the ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...

'' * 800–500 BC:

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

** Brahmanas **

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad The ''Brihadaranyaka Upanishad'' ( sa, बृहदारण्यक उपनिषद्, ) is one of the Principal Upanishads and one of the first Upanishadic scriptures of Hinduism. A key scripture to various schools of Hinduism, the ''Br ...

Isha Upanishad The ''Isha Upanishad'' (Devanagari: ईशोपनिषद् IAST ') is one of the shortest Upanishads, embedded as the final chapter (''adhyāya'') of the Shukla Yajurveda. It is a ''Mukhya'' (primary, principal) Upanishad, and is known in ...

** Chandogya Upanishad ** Aitareya Upanishad **

Taittiriya Upanishad The Taittirīya Upanishad (Devanagari: तैत्तिरीय उपनिषद्) is a Vedic era Sanskrit text, embedded as three chapters (''adhyāya'') of the Yajurveda. It is a ''mukhya'' (primary, principal) Upanishad, and likely co ...

7th century BC

Vedic Sanskrit Vedic Sanskrit was an ancient language of the Indo-Aryan subgroup of the Indo-European language family. It is attested in the Vedas and related literature compiled over the period of the mid- 2nd to mid-1st millennium BCE. It was orally preser ...

Shulba Sutra The ''Shulva Sutras'' or ''Śulbasūtras'' (Sanskrit: शुल्बसूत्र; ': "string, cord, rope") are sutra texts belonging to the Śrauta ritual and containing geometry related to fire-altar construction. Purpose and origins The ...

(containing geometry related to fire-altar construction) *** Manava Sulbasutra *** Baudhayana sutra **

Shatapatha Brahmana The Shatapatha Brahmana ( sa, शतपथब्राह्मणम् , Śatapatha Brāhmaṇam, meaning 'Brāhmaṇa of one hundred paths', abbreviated to 'SB') is a commentary on the Śukla (white) Yajurveda. It is attributed to the Vedic ...

– Commentary on the Vedas **

Nirukta ''Nirukta'' ( sa, निरुक्त, , "explained, interpreted") is one of the six ancient Vedangas, or ancillary science connected with the Vedas – the scriptures of Hinduism.James Lochtefeld (2002), "Nirukta" in The Illustrated Encyclope ...

(technical treatise on etymology, lexical category and the semantics of Sanskrit words) ** Kausitaka Upanishad * ''Greek:'' **

Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...

: The ''

Theogony The ''Theogony'' (, , , i.e. "the genealogy or birth of the gods") is a poem by Hesiod (8th–7th century BC) describing the origins and genealogies of the Greek gods, composed . It is written in the Epic dialect of Ancient Greek and contain ...

'' and ''

Works and Days ''Works and Days'' ( grc, Ἔργα καὶ Ἡμέραι, Érga kaì Hēmérai)The ''Works and Days'' is sometimes called by the Latin translation of the title, ''Opera et Dies''. Common abbreviations are ''WD'' and ''Op''. for ''Opera''. is a ...

'' ** Archilochus ** Alcman **

Semonides of Amorgos Semonides of Amorgos (; grc-gre, Σημωνίδης ὁ Ἀμοργῖνος, variantly ; fl. 7th century BC) was a Greeks, Greek Iambus (genre), iambic and elegiac couplet, elegiac poet who is believed to have lived during the seventh century BC ...

Solon Solon ( grc-gre, Σόλων; BC) was an Athenian statesman, constitutional lawmaker and poet. He is remembered particularly for his efforts to legislate against political, economic and moral decline in Archaic Athens.Aristotle ''Politics'' ...

Mimnermus Mimnermus ( grc-gre, Μίμνερμος ''Mímnermos'') was a Greek elegiac poet from either Colophon or Smyrna in Ionia, who flourished about 632–629 BC (i.e. in the 37th Olympiad, according to Suda). He was strongly influenced by the examp ...

Stesichorus Stesichorus (; grc-gre, Στησίχορος, ''Stēsichoros''; c. 630 – 555 BC) was a Greek lyric poet native of today's Calabria (Southern Italy). He is best known for telling epic stories in lyric metres, and for some ancient traditions abo ...

* '' Paleo-Hebrew alphabet'' ** Ketef Hinnom amulets, the oldest found Biblical text ( amulets with the

Priestly Blessing The Priestly Blessing or priestly benediction, ( he, ברכת כהנים; translit. ''birkat kohanim''), also known in rabbinic literature as raising of the hands (Hebrew ''nesiat kapayim'') or rising to the platform (Hebrew ''aliyah ledukhan'') ...

, which are recorded in the

Book of Numbers The book of Numbers (from Greek Ἀριθμοί, ''Arithmoi''; he, בְּמִדְבַּר, ''Bəmīḏbar'', "In the desert f) is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah. The book has a long and c ...

) *'' Classic of Documents (Shūjīng)'' (authentic portions)

6th century BC

* ''Persian:'' **''

Cyrus Cylinder The Cyrus Cylinder is an ancient clay cylinder, now broken into several pieces, on which is written a declaration in Akkadian cuneiform script in the name of Persia's Achaemenid king Cyrus the Great. Kuhrt (2007), p. 70, 72 It dates from the 6th c ...

'' * Sanskrit: ** Sushruta:

Sushruta Samhita The ''Sushruta Samhita'' (सुश्रुतसंहिता, IAST: ''Suśrutasaṃhitā'', literally "Suśruta's Compendium") is an ancient Sanskrit text on medicine and surgery, and one of the most important such treatises on this subj ...

(Book on Surgery and Medicine) ** Kapila: Samkhya-sutra, Kapilanyayabhasa, Kapila Gita, Dṛṣṭantara Yoga **

Kanada Kanada may refer to: *Kanada (philosopher), the Hindu sage who founded the philosophy of Vaisheshika *Kanada (family of ragas), a group of ragas in Hindustani music *Kanada (surname) *Kanada Station, train station in Fukuoka, Japan *Kannada, one of ...

Vaiśeṣika Sūtra ''Vaiśeṣika Sūtra'' (Sanskrit: वैशेषिक सूत्र), also called ''Kanada sutra'', is an ancient Sanskrit text at the foundation of the Vaisheshika school of Hindu philosophy. The sutra was authored by the Hindu sage Kana ...

(Book on Atomism) ** ** Kashyapa Samhhita (Book on Medicine) **

Pratishakhyas Pratishakhya ( sa, प्रातिशाख्य '), also known as Parsada ('), are Vedic-era manuals devoted to the precise and consistent pronunciation of words. These works were critical to the preservation of the Vedic texts, as well as ...

* ''Greek:'' ** Sappho **

Ibycus Ibycus (; grc-gre, Ἴβυκος; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet, a citizen of Rhegium in Magna Graecia, probably active at Samos during the reign of the tyrant Polycrates and numbered by the scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria in the cano ...

Alcaeus of Mytilene Alcaeus of Mytilene (; grc, Ἀλκαῖος ὁ Μυτιληναῖος, ''Alkaios ho Mutilēnaios''; – BC) was a lyric poet from the Greek island of Lesbos who is credited with inventing the Alcaic stanza. He was included in the canonical ...

Aesop's Fables Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. Of diverse origins, the stories associated with his name have descended to ...

5th century BC

* Sanskrit: **

Pāṇini , era = ;;6th–5th century BCE , region = Indian philosophy , main_interests = Grammar, linguistics , notable_works = ' (Sanskrit#Classical Sanskrit, Classical Sanskrit) , influenced= , notable_ideas=Descript ...

:''

Aṣṭādhyāyī The (Devanagari अष्टाध्यायी) is a grammar that describes a form of an early Indo-Aryan language: Sanskrit. Authored by Sanskrit philologist and scholar Pāṇini and dated to around 500 BCE, it describes the language as cu ...

'' ** Kenopanishad ** Apastamba'': Apastamba Dharmasutra'''', Apastambha Smriti'' * ''Avestan:'' ''

Yasht The Yashts are a collection of twenty-one hymns in the Younger Avestan language. Each of these hymns invokes a specific Zoroastrian divinity or concept. ''Yasht'' chapter and verse pointers are traditionally abbreviated as ''Yt.'' Overview The wor ...

'' * ''Chinese:'' ** ''

Spring and Autumn Annals The ''Spring and Autumn Annals'' () is an ancient Chinese chronicle that has been one of the core Chinese classics since ancient times. The ''Annals'' is the official chronicle of the State of Lu, and covers a 241-year period from 722 to 481 ...

(Chūnqiū)'' (722–481 BC, chronicles of the state of Lu) **

Confucius Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...

: '' Analects (Lúnyǔ)'' ** ''

Classic of Rites The ''Book of Rites'', also known as the ''Liji'', is a collection of texts describing the social forms, administration, and ceremonial rites of the Zhou dynasty as they were understood in the Warring States and the early Han periods. The ''Book ...

(Lǐjì)'' ** '' Commentaries of Zuo (Zuǒzhuàn)'' ** Mozi: ''

Mozi (book) The ''Mozi'' (), also called the ''Mojing'' () or the ''Mohist canon'', is an ancient Chinese text from the Warring States period (476–221) that expounds the philosophy of Mohism. It propounds such Mohist ideas as impartiality, meritocratic ...

(Mòzǐ)'' **

Sun Tzu Sun Tzu ( ; zh, t=孫子, s=孙子, first= t, p=Sūnzǐ) was a Chinese military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer who lived during the Eastern Zhou period of 771 to 256 BCE. Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of '' The ...

: ''

The Art of War ''The Art of War'' () is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the Late Spring and Autumn Period (roughly 5th century BC). The work, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu ("Master Sun"), is com ...

(Sūnzǐ Bīngfǎ)'' * ''Greek:'' **

Pindar Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar ...

Ode An ode (from grc, ᾠδή, ōdḗ) is a type of lyric poetry. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structured in three majo ...

s **

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...

: ''

The Histories of Herodotus The ''Histories'' ( el, Ἱστορίαι, ; also known as ''The History'') of Herodotus is considered the founding work of history in Western literature. Written around 430 BC in the Ionic dialect of classical Greek, ''The Histories'' serve ...

'' **

Thucydides Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of "scientifi ...

: ''

History of the Peloponnesian War The ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' is a historical account of the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), which was fought between the Peloponnesian League (led by Sparta) and the Delian League (led by Athens). It was written by Thucydides, an ...

'' **

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek ...

: ''The Suppliants'', ''

The Persians ''The Persians'' ( grc, Πέρσαι, ''Persai'', Latinised as ''Persae'') is an Greek tragedy, ancient Greek tragedy written during the Classical Greece, Classical period of Ancient Greece by the Greek tragedian Aeschylus. It is the second and on ...

'', ''

Seven Against Thebes The Seven against Thebes were seven champions in Greek mythology who made war on Thebes. They were chosen by Adrastus, the king of Argos, to be the captains of an Argive army whose purpose was to restore Oedipus' son Polynices to the Theban th ...

'', ''

Oresteia The ''Oresteia'' ( grc, Ὀρέστεια) is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus in the 5th century BCE, concerning the murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra, the murder of Clytemnestra by Orestes, the trial of Orestes, the end o ...

'' **

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or co ...

: ''

Oedipus Rex ''Oedipus Rex'', also known by its Greek title, ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' ( grc, Οἰδίπους Τύραννος, ), or ''Oedipus the King'', is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed around 429 BC. Originally, to the ancient Gr ...

'', ''

Oedipus at Colonus ''Oedipus at Colonus'' (also ''Oedipus Coloneus''; grc, Οἰδίπους ἐπὶ Κολωνῷ, ''Oidipous epi Kolōnōi'') is the last of the three Theban plays of the Athenian tragedian Sophocles. It was written shortly before Sophocles's ...

'', ''Antigone'', '' Electra'' and other plays **

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful e ...

: ''Alcestis'', ''

Medea In Greek mythology, Medea (; grc, Μήδεια, ''Mēdeia'', perhaps implying "planner / schemer") is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, a niece of Circe and the granddaughter of the sun god Helios. Medea figures in the myth of Jason an ...

'', ''

Heracleidae The Heracleidae (; grc, Ἡρακλεῖδαι) or Heraclids were the numerous descendants of Heracles (Hercules), especially applied in a narrower sense to the descendants of Hyllus, the eldest of his four sons by Deianira (Hyllus was also ...

'', '' Hippolytus'', ''

Andromache In Greek mythology, Andromache (; grc, Ἀνδρομάχη, ) was the wife of Hector, daughter of Eetion, and sister to Podes. She was born and raised in the city of Cilician Thebe, over which her father ruled. The name means 'man battler ...

'', ''

Hecuba Hecuba (; also Hecabe; grc, Ἑκάβη, Hekábē, ) was a queen in Greek mythology, the wife of King Priam of Troy during the Trojan War. Description Hecuba was described by the chronicler Malalas in his account of the ''Chronography'' as "da ...

'', '' The Suppliants'', '' Electra'', ''

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...

'', ''

Trojan Women ''The Trojan Women'' ( grc, Τρῳάδες, translit=Trōiades), also translated as ''The Women of Troy'', and also known by its transliterated Greek title ''Troades'', is a tragedy by the Greek playwright Euripides. Produced in 415 BC during ...

'', ''

Iphigeneia in Tauris ''Iphigenia in Tauris'' ( grc, Ἰφιγένεια ἐν Ταύροις, ''Iphigeneia en Taurois'') is a drama by the playwright Euripides, written between 414 BC and 412 BC. It has much in common with another of Euripides's plays, '' Helen'', as ...

'', ''

Ion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conve ...

'', ''

Helen Helen may refer to: People * Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world * Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress * Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Places * Helen, ...

'', ''

Phoenician Women ''The Phoenician Women'' ( grc, Φοίνισσαι, ''Phoinissai'') is a tragedy by Euripides, based on the same story as Aeschylus' play ''Seven Against Thebes''. It was presented along with the tragedies ''Hypsipyle'' and '' Antiope.'' With this ...

'', ''

Orestes In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; grc-gre, Ὀρέστης ) was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, and the brother of Electra. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness an ...

'', ''

Bacchae ''The Bacchae'' (; grc-gre, Βάκχαι, ''Bakchai''; also known as ''The Bacchantes'' ) is an ancient Greek tragedy, written by the Athenian playwright Euripides during his final years in Macedonia, at the court of Archelaus I of Macedon. ...

'', ''

Iphigeneia at Aulis ''Iphigenia in Aulis'' or ''Iphigenia at Aulis'' ( grc, Ἰφιγένεια ἐν Αὐλίδι, Īphigéneia en Aulídi; variously translated, including the Latin ''Iphigenia in Aulide'') is the last of the extant works by the playwright Euripide ...

'', '' Cyclops'', '' Rhesus'' **

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states ...

: ''

The Acharnians ''The Acharnians'' or ''Acharnians'' (Ancient Greek: ''Akharneîs''; Attic: ) is the third play — and the earliest of the eleven surviving plays — by the Athenian playwright Aristophanes. It was produced in 425 BC on behalf of the young drama ...

'', ''

The Knights ''The Knights'' ( grc, Ἱππεῖς ''Hippeîs''; Attic: ) was the fourth play written by Aristophanes, who is considered the master of an ancient form of drama known as Old Comedy. The play is a satire on the social and political life of cla ...

'', ''

The Clouds ''The Clouds'' ( grc, Νεφέλαι ''Nephelai'') is a Greek comedy play written by the playwright Aristophanes. A lampooning of intellectual fashions in classical Athens, it was originally produced at the City Dionysia in 423BC and was not ...

'', ''

The Wasps ''The Wasps'' ( grc-x-classical, Σφῆκες, translit=Sphēkes) is the fourth in chronological order of the eleven surviving plays by Aristophanes. It was produced at the Lenaia festival in 422 BC, during Athens' short-lived respite from the ...

'', ''

Peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

'', '' The Birds'', ''

Lysistrata ''Lysistrata'' ( or ; Attic Greek: , ''Lysistrátē'', "Army Disbander") is an ancient Greek comedy by Aristophanes, originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC. It is a comic account of a woman's extraordinary mission to end the Peloponne ...

'', '' Thesmophoriazusae'', ''

The Frogs ''The Frogs'' ( grc-gre, Βάτραχοι, Bátrakhoi, Frogs; la, Ranae, often abbreviated ''Ran.'' or ''Ra.'') is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed at the Lenaia, one of the Festivals of Dionysus in ...

'', '' Ecclesiazousae'', ''

Plutus In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Plutus (; grc-gre, Πλοῦτος, Ploûtos, wealth) is the god and the personification of wealth, and the son of the goddess of agriculture Demeter and the mortal Iasion. Family Plutus is most common ...

'' * ''Hebrew'': date of the extant text of the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

4th century BC

* Sanskrit: **

Katha Upanishad The ''Katha Upanishad'' (Sanskrit: कठोपनिषद् or कठ उपनिषद्) (') is one of the ''mukhya'' (primary) Upanishads, embedded in the last eight short sections of the ' school of the Krishna Yajurveda.Paul Deussen. ...

Prashnopanishad The Prashnopanishad ( sa, प्रश्नोपनिषद्, ) is an ancient Sanskrit text, embedded inside Atharvaveda, Atharva Veda, ascribed to ''Pippalada'' sakha of Vedic scholars. It is a Mukhya (primary) Upanishad, and is listed as ...

** Mundaka Upanishad ** Māṇḍūkya Upanishad ** Bhadrabahu: '' Kalpa Sūtra'' ** Chankaya : ''Arthshastra'''', Chanakya Neeti'' ** Salihotra: ''Shalihotra Samhita'' (treatise on veterinary medicine) **

Vyasa Krishna Dvaipayana ( sa, कृष्णद्वैपायन, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana), better known as Vyasa (; sa, व्यासः, Vyāsaḥ, compiler) or Vedavyasa (वेदव्यासः, ''Veda-vyāsaḥ'', "the one who cl ...

'':

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

, Puranas,

Brahma Sutras The ''Brahma Sūtras'' ( sa, ब्रह्मसूत्राणि) is a Sanskrit text, attributed to the sage bādarāyaṇa or sage Vyāsa, estimated to have been completed in its surviving form in approx. 400–450 CE,, Quote: "...we c ...

'' **

Jaimini Sage Jaimini was an ancient Indian scholar who founded the Mīmāṃsā school of Hindu philosophy. He is considered to be a disciple of Rishi/Sage Veda Vyasa, the son of Parāśara Rishi. Traditionally attributed to be the author of the ''Mi ...

: ''

Mimamsa Sutras The Mimamsa Sutra ( sa, मीमांसा सूत्र, ) or the Purva Mimamsa Sutras (ca. 300–200 BCE), written by Rishi Jaimini is one of the most important ancient Hindu philosophical texts. It forms the basis of Mimamsa, the earlie ...

Jaimini Sutras Jaimini Sutras, also known as Upadesa Sutras is an ancient Sanskrit text on the predictive part of Hindu astrology, attributed to the sage Jaimini, the founder of the Purva Mimamsa branch of Hindu philosophy, a disciple of Vyasa and grandson of ...

Ashvamedhika Parva Ashvamedhika Parva ( sa, अश्वमेध पर्व), is the fourteenth of eighteen books of the Indian Epic Mahabharata. It traditionally has 2 parts and 96 chapters.Ganguli, K.M. (1883-1896)Aswamedha Parva in ''The Mahabharata of Krish ...

'' **

Valmiki Valmiki (; Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, ) is celebrated as the harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic ''Ramayana'', dated variously from the 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him, based on the attributio ...

: ''

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

'' **

Bhāsa Bhāsa is one of the earliest and most celebrated Indian playwrights in Sanskrit, predating Kalidasa. His name was already well-known by the 1st century BCE and he belongs to the late-Mauryan (322-184 BCE) period at the earliest, but the thirt ...

: ''Svapnavāsavadattam'''', Pancarātra, Pratijna Yaugandharayaanam, Pratimanātaka, Abhishekanātaka, Bālacharita, Karnabhāram, Dūtaghaṭotkaca, Chārudatta,

Madhyamavyayoga '' Madhyamavyayoga'' or ''Madhyama Vyāyoga'' (Hindi: मध्यमव्यायोग), (''The Middle One'') is a Sanskrit play attributed to Bhāsa, a famous Sanskrit poet. There is no consensus regarding when the play was written, and it ...

and

Urubhanga ''Urubhanga'' or ''Urubhangam'', ( Devanagari: ऊरुभङ्गम्), ( en, The Breaking of the Thighs, italic=yes) is a Sanskrit play written by Bhasa in the 2nd or 3rd century CE. Based on the well-known epic, the ''Mahābhārata'', by ...

.'' * ''

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...

'': Tipitaka * ''Hebrew:''

Book of Job The Book of Job (; hbo, אִיּוֹב, ʾIyyōḇ), or simply Job, is a book found in the Ketuvim ("Writings") section of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), and is the first of the Poetic Books in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. Scholars ar ...

, beginning of Hebrew

wisdom literature Wisdom literature is a genre of literature common in the ancient Near East. It consists of statements by sages and the wise that offer teachings about divinity and virtue. Although this genre uses techniques of traditional oral storytelling, it w ...

* ''Chinese:'' ** Laozi (or Lao Tzu): ''

Tao Te Ching The ''Tao Te Ching'' (, ; ) is a Chinese classic text written around 400 BC and traditionally credited to the sage Laozi, though the text's authorship, date of composition and date of compilation are debated. The oldest excavated portion d ...

'' **

Zhuangzi Zhuangzi may refer to: * ''Zhuangzi'' (book) (莊子), an ancient Chinese collection of anecdotes and fables, one of the foundational texts of Daoism **Zhuang Zhou Zhuang Zhou (), commonly known as Zhuangzi (; ; literally "Master Zhuang"; als ...

: ''

Zhuangzi (book) The ''Zhuangzi'' ( Chinese: , historically romanized ''Chuang Tzŭ'') is an ancient Chinese text from the late Warring States period (476221) which contains stories and anecdotes that exemplify the carefree nature of the ideal Taoist sage. Na ...

'' ** Mencius: '' Mencius'' **

Shang Yang Shang Yang (; c. 390 – 338 BC), also known as Wei Yang () and originally surnamed Gongsun, was a Chinese jurist, philosopher, and politician.Antonio S. Cua (ed.), 2003, p. 362, ''Encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy'"The fifth important legali ...

: ''

The Book of Lord Shang The ''Book of Lord Shang'' () is an ancient Chinese text from the 3rd century BC, regarded as a foundational work of "Chinese Legalism". The earliest surviving of such texts (the second being the Han Feizi), it is named for and to some extent att ...

(Shāng jūn shū)'' * ''Persian:'' ** DNa inscription * ''Greek:'' **

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; grc, wikt:Ξενοφῶν, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Anci ...

: ''

Anabasis Anabasis (from Greek ''ana'' = "upward", ''bainein'' = "to step or march") is an expedition from a coastline into the interior of a country. Anabase and Anabasis may also refer to: History * ''Anabasis Alexandri'' (''Anabasis of Alexander''), a ...

'', ''

Cyropaedia The ''Cyropaedia'', sometimes spelled ''Cyropedia'', is a partly fictional biography of Cyrus the Great, the founder of Persia's Achaemenid Empire. It was written around 370 BC by Xenophon, the Athenian-born soldier, historian, and student of Soc ...

Oeconomicus The ''Oeconomicus'' ( grc-gre, Οἰκονομικός) by Xenophon is a Socratic dialogue principally about household management and agriculture. ''Oeconomicus'' comes from the Ancient Greek words ''oikos'' for home or house and ''nemein'' w ...

Memorabilia A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a m ...

'' **

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

: ''

Nicomachean Ethics The ''Nicomachean Ethics'' (; ; grc, Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια, ) is Aristotle's best-known work on ethics, the science of the good for human life, which is the goal or end at which all our actions aim. (I§2) The aim of the inquiry is ...

Metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

Organon The ''Organon'' ( grc, Ὄργανον, meaning "instrument, tool, organ") is the standard collection of Aristotle's six works on logical analysis and dialectic. The name ''Organon'' was given by Aristotle's followers, the Peripatetics. The six ...

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

Historia Animalium ''History of Animals'' ( grc-gre, Τῶν περὶ τὰ ζῷα ἱστοριῶν, ''Ton peri ta zoia historion'', "Inquiries on Animals"; la, Historia Animalium, "History of Animals") is one of the major texts on biology by the ancient Gr ...

, De Partibus Animalium, De Motu Animalium,

De Mundo ''On the Universe'' ( el, Περὶ Κόσμου; la, De Mundo) is a theological and scientific treatise included in the Corpus Aristotelicum but usually regarded as spurious. It was likely published between and the . The work discusses cosmol ...

De Caelo ''On the Heavens'' (Greek: ''Περὶ οὐρανοῦ''; Latin: ''De Caelo'' or ''De Caelo et Mundo'') is Aristotle's chief cosmological treatise: written in 350 BC, it contains his astronomical theory and his ideas on the concrete workings ...

Poetics Poetics is the theory of structure, form, and discourse within literature, and, in particular, within poetry. History The term ''poetics'' derives from the Ancient Greek ποιητικός ''poietikos'' "pertaining to poetry"; also "creative" an ...

Politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

Magna Moralia The ''Magna Moralia'' (Latin for "Great Ethics") is a treatise on ethics traditionally attributed to Aristotle, though the consensus now is that it represents an epitome of his ethical thought by a later, if sympathetic, writer. Several scholars ...

'' **

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

: ''

Euthyphro ''Euthyphro'' (; grc, Εὐθύφρων, translit=Euthyphrōn; c. 399–395 BC), by Plato, is a Socratic dialogue whose events occur in the weeks before the trial of Socrates (399 BC), between Socrates and Euthyphro. The dialogue covers sub ...

'', '' Apology'', ''

Crito ''Crito'' ( or ; grc, Κρίτων ) is a dialogue that was written by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. It depicts a conversation between Socrates and his wealthy friend Crito of Alopece regarding justice (''δικαιοσύνη''), inj ...

'', '' Theaetetus'', '' Parmenides'', ''

Symposium In ancient Greece, the symposium ( grc-gre, συμπόσιον ''symposion'' or ''symposio'', from συμπίνειν ''sympinein'', "to drink together") was a part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was acc ...

'', '' Phaedrus'', '' Protagoras'', '' Gorgias'', ''

Meno ''Meno'' (; grc-gre, Μένων, ''Ménōn'') is a Socratic dialogue by Plato. Meno begins the dialogue by asking Socrates whether virtue is taught, acquired by practice, or comes by nature. In order to determine whether virtue is teachabl ...

'', ''

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

'', ''

Timaeus Timaeus (or Timaios) is a Greek name. It may refer to: * ''Timaeus'' (dialogue), a Socratic dialogue by Plato *Timaeus of Locri, 5th-century BC Pythagorean philosopher, appearing in Plato's dialogue *Timaeus (historian) (c. 345 BC-c. 250 BC), Greek ...

Critias Critias (; grc-gre, Κριτίας, ''Kritias''; c. 460 – 403 BC) was an ancient Athenian political figure and author. Born in Athens, Critias was the son of Callaeschrus and a first cousin of Plato's mother Perictione. He became a leading ...

Laws Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...

, Menexenus,

Phaedo ''Phædo'' or ''Phaedo'' (; el, Φαίδων, ''Phaidōn'' ), also known to ancient readers as ''On The Soul'', is one of the best-known dialogues of Plato's middle period, along with the ''Republic'' and the ''Symposium.'' The philosophical ...

Lysis Lysis ( ) is the breaking down of the membrane of a cell, often by viral, enzymic, or osmotic (that is, "lytic" ) mechanisms that compromise its integrity. A fluid containing the contents of lysed cells is called a ''lysate''. In molecular bio ...

Alcibiades I The ''First Alcibiades'', also referred to as ''Alcibiades Major'' and abbreviated as ''Alcibiades I'' ( el, Ἀλκιβιάδης αʹ), is a dialogue depicting Socrates in conversation with Alcibiades. It is ascribed to Plato, although scholar ...

, Alcibiades II, Hippias minor,

Epinomis The ''Epinomis'' ( Greek: ) is a dialogue attributed to Plato. Some sources in antiquity began attributing its authorship to Philip of Opus, and many modern scholars consider it spurious. The dialogue continues the discussion undertaken in Pl ...

, Minos,

Hipparchus Hipparchus (; el, Ἵππαρχος, ''Hipparkhos''; BC) was a Greek astronomer, geographer, and mathematician. He is considered the founder of trigonometry, but is most famous for his incidental discovery of the precession of the equi ...

'' **

Euclid Euclid (; grc-gre, Εὐκλείδης; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the '' Elements'' treatise, which established the foundations of ...

: '' Elements'' **

Menander Menander (; grc-gre, Μένανδρος ''Menandros''; c. 342/41 – c. 290 BC) was a Greek dramatist and the best-known representative of Athenian New Comedy. He wrote 108 comedies and took the prize at the Lenaia festival eight times. His rec ...

: ''

Dyskolos ''Dyskolos'' ( el, , , translated as ''The Grouch'', ''The Misanthrope'', ''The Curmudgeon'', ''The Bad-tempered Man'' or ''Old Cantankerous'') is an Ancient Greek comedy by Menander, the only one of his plays, and of the whole New Comedy, tha ...

'' **

Theophrastus Theophrastus (; grc-gre, Θεόφραστος ; c. 371c. 287 BC), a Greek philosopher and the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He was a native of Eresos in Lesbos.Gavin Hardy and Laurence Totelin, ''Ancient Botany'', Routledge ...

: ''

Enquiry into Plants Theophrastus's ''Enquiry into Plants'' or ''Historia Plantarum'' ( grc-gre, Περὶ φυτῶν ἱστορία, ''Peri phyton historia'') was, along with his mentor Aristotle's ''History of Animals'', Pliny the Elder's '' Natural History'' a ...

3rd century BC

* ''Avestan'': ''

Avesta The Avesta () is the primary collection of religious texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language. The Avesta texts fall into several different categories, arranged either by dialect, or by usage. The principal text in the lit ...

'' * ''

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities ** Etrusca ...

:'' ''

Liber Linteus Zagrabiensis The (Latin language, Latin for "Linen Book of Zagreb", also rarely known as , "Book of Agram (Croatia), Agram") is the longest Etruscan language, Etruscan text and the only extant linen book, dated to the 3rd century BCE. (The second longest, ...

(Linen Book of Zagreb)'' * ''Sanskrit'': **

Pingala Acharya Pingala ('; c. 3rd2nd century BCE) was an ancient Indian poet and mathematician, and the author of the ' (also called the ''Pingala-sutras''), the earliest known treatise on Sanskrit prosody. The ' is a work of eight chapters in the la ...

: ''

Chandaḥśāstra Acharya Pingala ('; c. 3rd2nd century BCE) was an ancient Indian poet and mathematician, and the author of the ' (also called the ''Pingala-sutras''), the earliest known treatise on Sanskrit prosody. The ' is a work of eight chapters in the late ...

'' **

Moggaliputta-Tissa Moggaliputtatissa (ca. 327–247 BCE), was a Buddhist monk and scholar who was born in Pataliputra, Magadha (now Patna, India) and lived in the 3rd century BCE. He is associated with the Third Buddhist council, the emperor Ashoka and the B ...

: ''Kathāvatthu'' **Kātyāyana: '' Vārttikakāra, Śulbasūtras'' **

Vishnu Sharma Sharma (Sanskrit: विष्णुशर्मन् / विष्णुशर्मा) was an Indian scholar and author who wrote the '' Panchatantra'', a collection of fables. Works Panchatantra is one of the most widely translated non-r ...

: '' Panchatantra'' **

Vedanga Jyotisha Vedanga Jyotisha (), or Jyotishavedanga (), is one of earliest known Indian texts on astrology (''Jyotisha''). The extant text is dated to the final centuries BCE, but it may be based on a tradition reaching back to about 700-600 BCE. The text ...

** Bharata Muni: Natya Shastra (A theoretical treatise on classical Indian dance and drama) ** * ''

Sinhalese Sinhala may refer to: * Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people * Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka * Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language ** Sinha ...

'' (''

Elu Eḷu, also Hela or Helu, is a hypothesized language Middle Indo-Aryan language or Prakrit of the 3rd century BCE. It is ancestral to the Sinhalese and Dhivehi languages. R. C. Childers, in the ''Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society'', states ...

''): Sīhalattakathā or Hela Atuwā (''Pali'' commentaries of Buddhist teachings that were translated into

after the introduction of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

to Sri Lanka) *''

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

:'' ** 3rd century BC to 3rd century AD: '' Sangam poems'' ** ''

Tolkāppiyam ''Tolkāppiyam'', also romanised as ''Tholkaappiyam'' ( ta, தொல்காப்பியம், ''lit.'' "ancient poem"), is the most ancient extant Tamil grammar text and the oldest extant long work of Tamil literature. The surviving manus ...

'' (grammar book) **

Korakkar Korakkar is originally a Tamil Siddhar, and one of the 18 celebrated siddhars of Tamilnadu. He is none other than Gorakhnath, the Siddha as he is venerated throughout India. He was a student of the Siddhars Agathiyar and Bogar, and is mentioned var ...

(3rd century BC),Siddhar, Physician, Philosopher **

Bogar Bogar, Bhogar, or Boganathar was a Tamil Shaivite Siddhar who lived sometime between 550 and 300 BC. He was a disciple of Kalangi Nathar. He was born in Vaigavur near Palani Hills. He received his education from his mother and his grand father ...

(3rd century BC)Siddhar, Physician, Yogi **''

Agattiyam __NOTOC__ ''Agattiyam'' ( ta, அகத்தியம்), also spelled as ''Akattiyam'', according to Tamil tradition, was the earliest book on Tamil grammar. It is a non-extant text, traditionally believed to have been compiled and taught in ...

'' ** * ''Hebrew'':

Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes (; hbo, קֹהֶלֶת, Qōheleṯ, grc, Ἐκκλησιαστής, Ekklēsiastēs) is one of the Ketuvim ("Writings") of the Hebrew Bible and part of the Wisdom literature of the Christian Old Testament. The title commonly use ...

* ''Greek'': **

Apollonius of Rhodes Apollonius of Rhodes ( grc, Ἀπολλώνιος Ῥόδιος ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; la, Apollonius Rhodius; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek author, best known for the ''Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and t ...

: ''

Argonautica The ''Argonautica'' ( el, Ἀργοναυτικά , translit=Argonautika) is a Greek epic poem written by Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BC. The only surviving Hellenistic epic, the ''Argonautica'' tells the myth of the voyage of Jason a ...

'' **

Callimachus Callimachus (; ) was an ancient Greek poet, scholar and librarian who was active in Alexandria during the 3rd century BC. A representative of Ancient Greek literature of the Hellenistic period, he wrote over 800 literary works in a wide varie ...

(310/305-240 B.C.), lyric poet ** Manetho: ''

Aegyptiaca Manetho (; grc-koi, Μανέθων ''Manéthōn'', ''gen''.: Μανέθωνος) is believed to have been an Egyptian priest from Sebennytos ( cop, Ϫⲉⲙⲛⲟⲩϯ, translit=Čemnouti) who lived in the Ptolemaic Kingdom in the early third ...

'' **

Theocritus Theocritus (; grc-gre, Θεόκριτος, ''Theokritos''; born c. 300 BC, died after 260 BC) was a Greek poet from Sicily and the creator of Ancient Greek pastoral poetry. Life Little is known of Theocritus beyond what can be inferred from h ...

, lyric poet * ''

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

'': ** Lucius Livius Andronicus ( — ), translator, founder of Roman drama ** Gnaeus Naevius ( — 201 BC), dramatist, epic poet ** Titus Maccius

Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the gen ...

( — 184 BC), dramatist, composer of comedies: ''

Poenulus ''Poenulus'', also called ''The Little Carthaginian'' or ''The Little Punic Man'', is a Latin comedic play for the early Roman theatre by Titus Maccius Plautus, probably written between 195 and 189 BC. The play is noteworthy for containing text ...

'', ''Miles Gloriosus'', and other plays **

Quintus Fabius Pictor Quintus Fabius Pictor (born BC, BC) was the earliest known Roman historian. His history, written in Greek and now mostly lost besides some surviving fragments, was highly influential on ancient writers and certainly participated in introducing Gree ...

(3rd century BC), historian **

Lucius Cincius Alimentus Lucius Cincius Alimentus (200BC) was a celebrated Roman annalist, jurist, and provincial official. He is principally remembered as one of the founders of Roman historiography, although his ''Annals'' has been lost and is only known from fragment ...

(3rd century BC), military historian and antiquarian

2nd century BC

* ''Sanskrit'' ** Patanjali(Founder of Yoga School of Philosophy):''

Mahābhāṣya ''Mahabhashya'' ( sa, महाभाष्य, IAST: '','' , "great commentary"), attributed to Patañjali, is a commentary on selected rules of Sanskrit grammar from Pāṇini's treatise, the ''Aṣṭādhyāyī'', as well as Kātyāyana's ''V� ...

(Treatise on grammar and linguistics),Patanjalatantra(medical text),

Yoga sūtras The ''Yoga Sutras of Patañjali'' is a collection of Sanskrit sutras (aphorisms) on the theory and practice of yoga – 195 sutras (according to Vyasa, Vyāsa and Krishnamacharya) and 196 sutras (according to others, including BKS Iyengar). ...

'' **Badrayana(Founder of Vedanta School of Philosophy):''

'' **Manu:''

Manusmriti The ''Manusmṛiti'' ( sa, मनुस्मृति), also known as the ''Mānava-Dharmaśāstra'' or Laws of Manu, is one of the many legal texts and constitution among the many ' of Hinduism. In ancient India, the sages often wrote thei ...

(''Laws of Manu'')'' ** * ''Avestan:'' ''

Vendidad The Vendidad /ˈvendi'dæd/ or Videvdat or Videvdad is a collection of texts within the greater compendium of the Avesta. However, unlike the other texts of the Avesta, the ''Vendidad'' is an ecclesiastical code, not a liturgical manual. Name ...

'' * ''Chinese:''

Sima Qian Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years b ...

: ''

Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese hist ...

(Shǐjì)'' * ''Aramaic'':

Book of Daniel The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th century BC setting. Ostensibly "an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon", it combines a prophecy of history with an eschatology ...

* ''Hebrew'':

Sirach The Book of Sirach () or Ecclesiasticus (; abbreviated Ecclus.) is a Jewish work, originally in Hebrew, of ethical teachings, from approximately 200 to 175 BC, written by the Judahite scribe Ben Sira of Jerusalem, on the inspiration of his fa ...

* ''Greek'' **

Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...

: '' The Histories'' **

Book of Wisdom The Book of Wisdom, or the Wisdom of Solomon, is a Jewish work written in Greek and most likely composed in Alexandria, Egypt. Generally dated to the mid-first century BCE, the central theme of the work is "wisdom" itself, appearing under two ...

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond th ...

* ''Latin'': **

Terence Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a Roman African playwright during the Roman Republic. His comedies were performed for the first time around 166–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought ...

(195/185 BC — 159 BC), comic dramatist: '' The Brothers'', '' The Girl from Andros'', ''

Eunuchus ''Eunuchus'' (''The Eunuch'') is a comedy written by the 2nd century BC Roman playwright Terence featuring a complex plot of rape and reconciliation. It was Terence's most successful play during his lifetime. Suetonius notes how the play was stage ...

'', '' The Self-Tormentor'' ** Quintus

Ennius Quintus Ennius (; c. 239 – c. 169 BC) was a writer and poet who lived during the Roman Republic. He is often considered the father of Roman poetry. He was born in the small town of Rudiae, located near modern Lecce, Apulia, (Ancient Calabria ...

(239 BC — ), poet ** Marcus

Pacuvius Marcus Pacuvius (; 220 – c. 130 BC) was an ancient Roman tragic poet. He is regarded as the greatest of their tragedians prior to Lucius Accius. Biography He was the nephew and pupil of Ennius, by whom Roman tragedy was first raised to a posi ...

( — 130 BC), tragic dramatist, poet ** Statius Caecilius (220 BC — 168/166 BC), comic dramatist ** Marcius Porcius Cato (234 BC — 149 BC), generalist, topical writer **

Gaius Acilius Gaius Acilius ( 155 BC) was a senator and historian of ancient Rome. He knew Greek, and in 155 BC interpreted for Carneades, Diogenes, and Critolaus, who had come to the Roman Senate on an embassy from Athens.Alexander Hugh McDonald, "Aciliu ...

(2nd century BC), historian ** Lucius Accius (170 BC — ), tragic dramatist, philologist **

Gaius Lucilius Gaius Lucilius (180, 168 or 148 BC – 103 BC) was the earliest Roman satirist, of whose writings only fragments remain. A Roman citizen of the equestrian class, he was born at Suessa Aurunca in Campania, and was a member of the Scipio ...

( — 103/2 BC), satirist **

Quintus Lutatius Catulus Quintus Lutatius Catulus (149–87 BC) was a consul of the Roman Republic in 102 BC. His consular colleague was Gaius Marius. During their consulship the Cimbri and Teutones marched south again and threatened the Republic. While Marius marched ag ...

(2nd century BC), public officer, epigrammatist **

Aulus Furius Antias Furius Antias was an ancient Roman poet, born in Antium.Yvette Julien, edition of Aulu-Gelle (Gellius), ''Les nuits attiques'' (''Noctes Atticae''), t. 4, Books 16 to 20, Paris, Les Belles Lettres, 2002, p. 185. Following William Smith, ''Dictiona ...

(2nd century BC), poet **

Gaius Julius Caesar Strabo Vopiscus Gaius Julius Caesar Strabo "Vopiscus" (c. 131 – 87 BC) was the younger son of Lucius Julius Caesar and his wife Popillia, and younger brother of Lucius Julius Caesar, consul in 90 BC. His cognomen 'Strabo' indicates he was possibly cross-eyed, ...

(130 BC — 87 BC), public officer, tragic dramatist **

Lucius Pomponius Lucius Pomponius (fl. c. 90 BC or earlier) was a Roman dramatist. Called ''Bononiensis'' (“native of Bononia” (i.e. Bologna), Pomponius was a writer of Atellanae Fabulae (Atellan Fables), and a near contemporary of Quintus Novius. Pomponius ...

Bononiensis (2nd century BC), comic dramatist, satirist **

Lucius Cassius Hemina Lucius Cassius Hemina (2nd centuryBC) was a Roman historian. Life Little is known of his life. He apparently composed his annals in the period between the death of Terence and the revolution of the Gracchi. Work L. Cassius Hemina is principall ...

(2nd century BC), historian ** Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi (2nd century BC), historian **

Manius Manilius Manius Manilius (fl. 155149 BC) was a Roman Republican orator and distinguished jurist who also had a long military career. It is unclear if he was related to the Manius Manilius who was degraded by Cato the Censor for embracing his wife in broad d ...

(2nd century BC), public officer, jurist **

Lucius Coelius Antipater Lucius Coelius Antipater was a Roman jurist and historian. He is not to be confused with Coelius Sabinus, the Coelius of the Digest. He was a contemporary of C. Gracchus (b. c. 123); L. Crassus, the orator, was his pupil. Style He was the first ...

(2nd century BC), jurist, historian ** Publius

Sempronius Asellio Sempronius Asellio (flourished BC c. 91BC) was an early Roman historian and one of the first writers of historiographic work in Latin. He was a military tribune of P. Scipio Aemilianus Africanus at the siege of Numantia in Hispania in 134BC. Later ...

(158 BC — after 91 BC), military officer, historian **

Gaius Sempronius Tuditanus Gaius Sempronius Tuditanus was a politician and historian of the Roman Republic. He was consul in 129 BC. Biography Early life Gaius Sempronius Tuditanus was a member of the plebeian gens Sempronia. His father had the same name and was senator ...

(2nd century BC), jurist ** Lucius Afranius (2nd & 1st centuries BC), comic dramatist **

Titus Albucius Titus Albucius (praetor c. 105 BC) was a noted orator of the late Roman Republic. He finished his studies at Athens at the latter end of the 2nd century BC, and belonged to the Epicurean sect. He was well acquainted with Greek literature, or rathe ...

(2nd & 1st centuries BC), orator **

Publius Rutilius Rufus Publius Rutilius Rufus (158 BCafter 78 BC) was a Roman statesman, soldier, orator and historian of the Rutilia ''gens'', as well as a great-uncle of Gaius Julius Caesar (through his sister Rutilia, Caesar's maternal grandmother). He achieved the ...

(158 BC — after 78 BC), jurist **

(2nd & 1st centuries BC), public officer, poet **

Lucius Aelius Stilo Praeconinus __NOTOC__ Lucius Aelius Stilo Praeconinus (, ; c. 154 – 74 BC), of Lanuvium, was the earliest known philologist of the Roman Republic. He came from a distinguished family and belonged to the equestrian order. He was called Stilo (from Latin , "p ...

(154 BC — 74 BC), philologist **

Quintus Claudius Quadrigarius Quintus Claudius Quadrigarius was a Roman historian. Little is known of Q. Claudius Quadrigarius's life, but he probably lived in the . Work Quadrigarius's annals spanned at least 23 books. They began with the conquest of Rome by the Gauls (BC), re ...

(2nd & 1st centuries BC), historian **

Valerius Antias Valerius Antias ( century BC) was an ancient Roman annalist whom Livy mentions as a source. No complete works of his survive but from the sixty-five fragments said to be his in the works of other authors it has been deduced that he wrote a chroni ...

(2nd & 1st centuries BC), historian **

Lucius Cornelius Sisenna Lucius Cornelius Sisenna (c. 120 – 67 BC) was a Roman soldier, historian, and annalist. Life Little is known of Sisenna's life or family. The first Cornelius Sisenna (perhaps Lucius' grandfather or great-grandfather) appears as urban prae ...

(121 BC — 67 BC), soldier, historian **

Quintus Cornificius Quintus Cornificius (died 42 BC) was an ancient Roman of senatorial rank from the '' gens'' Cornificia. He was a general, orator and poet, a friend of Catullus and a correspondent of Cicero. He was also an augur. He wrote a now lost epyllion titl ...

(2nd & 1st centuries BC), rhetorician

1st century BC

* ''Pali'' (Sri Lanka)'': Pāli Tripiṭaka'' (Written under the patronage of King Vattagamani of Anuradhapura in Aluhihare, Matale) * ''Latin:'' **

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

: ''

Catiline Orations The Catilinarian Orations (; also simply the ''Catilinarians'') are a set of speeches to the Roman Senate given in 63 BC by Marcus Tullius Cicero, one of the year's consuls, accusing a senator, Lucius Sergius Catilina (Catiline), of leading a ...

'', ''

Pro Caelio ''Pro Caelio'' is a speech given on 4 April 56 BC, by the famed Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero in defence of Marcus Caelius Rufus, who had once been Cicero's student but more recently was a political rival. Cicero's reasons for defending Cael ...

'', ''

Dream of Scipio A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

'' **

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

: ''

Gallic Wars The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland). Gallic, Germanic, and British tribes fought to defend their homel ...

'', ''

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

'' **

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

: ''

Eclogues The ''Eclogues'' (; ), also called the ''Bucolics'', is the first of the three major works of the Latin poet Virgil. Background Taking as his generic model the Greek bucolic poetry of Theocritus, Virgil created a Roman version partly by offer ...

'', ''

Georgics The ''Georgics'' ( ; ) is a poem by Latin poet Virgil, likely published in 29 BCE. As the name suggests (from the Greek word , ''geōrgika'', i.e. "agricultural (things)") the subject of the poem is agriculture; but far from being an example ...

'' and ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...

'' **

Lucretius Titus Lucretius Carus ( , ; – ) was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is the philosophical poem ''De rerum natura'', a didactic work about the tenets and philosophy of Epicureanism, and which usually is translated into En ...

: ''

On the Nature of Things ''De rerum natura'' (; ''On the Nature of Things'') is a first-century BC didactic poem by the Roman poet and philosopher Lucretius ( – c. 55 BC) with the goal of explaining Epicurean philosophy to a Roman audience. The poem, written in some 7 ...

'' **

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...

: ''

History of Rome The history of Rome includes the history of the city of Rome as well as the civilisation of ancient Rome. Roman history has been influential on the modern world, especially in the history of the Catholic Church, and Roman law has influenced m ...

(Ab Urbe Condita)''

1st century AD

* ''Sanskrit'' ** Śabara:S''ābara-bhāṣyam'' **Gunadhara:''Kasayapahuda'' **Aśvaghoṣa:'' Buddhacharita'' (Acts of the Buddha),''Saundarananda, Sutralankara'' * ''Chinese:'' Ban Gu: ''

Book of Han The ''Book of Han'' or ''History of the Former Han'' (Qián Hàn Shū,《前汉书》) is a history of China finished in 111AD, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. ...

(Hànshū)'' * ''Greek:'' **

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...

: ''

Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans Plutarch's ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'', commonly called ''Parallel Lives'' or ''Plutarch's Lives'', is a series of 48 biographies of famous men, arranged in pairs to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings, probably writt ...

'' **

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...

: ''

The Jewish War ''The Jewish War'' or ''Judean War'' (in full ''Flavius Josephus' Books of the History of the Jewish War against the Romans'', el, Φλαυίου Ἰωσήπου ἱστορία Ἰουδαϊκοῦ πολέμου πρὸς Ῥωμαίους ...

'', '' Antiquities of the Jews'', ''

Against Apion ''Against Apion'' ( el, Φλαΐου Ἰωσήπου περὶ ἀρχαιότητος Ἰουδαίων λόγος α and ; Latin ''Contra Apionem'' or ''In Apionem'') is a polemical work written by Flavius Josephus as a defense of Judaism as a ...

'' ** The books of the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

of the Christian Bible and the '' Didache'' * ''Latin:'' see

Classical Latin Classical Latin is the form of Literary Latin recognized as a literary standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It was used from 75 BC to the 3rd century AD, when it developed into Late Latin. In some later periods ...

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his t ...

: ''

Germania Germania ( ; ), also called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman province of the same name, was a large historical region in north- ...

'' **

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

: ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the wo ...

''; also ''

Tristia The ''Tristia'' ("Sorrows" or "Lamentations") is a collection of letters written in elegiac couplets by the Augustan poet Ovid during his exile from Rome. Despite five books of his copious bewailing of his fate, the immediate cause of August ...

'' and ''

Epistulae ex Ponto ''Epistulae ex Ponto'' (''Letters from the Black Sea'') is a work of Ovid, in four books. It is a collection of letters describing Ovid's exile in Tomis (modern-day Constanța) written in elegiac couplets and addressed to his wife and friends. T ...

'' written during his exile **

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...

: '' Natural History'' ** Petronius: ''

Satyricon The ''Satyricon'', ''Satyricon'' ''liber'' (''The Book of Satyrlike Adventures''), or ''Satyrica'', is a Latin work of fiction believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as Titus Petr ...

'' **

Seneca the Younger Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (; 65 AD), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, dramatist, and, in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. Seneca was born in ...

: ''

Phaedra Phaedra may refer to: Mythology * Phaedra (mythology), Cretan princess, daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë, wife of Theseus Arts and entertainment * ''Phaedra'' (Alexandre Cabanel), an 1880 painting Film * ''Phaedra'' (film), a 1962 film by ...

'', Dialogues **

Statius Publius Papinius Statius ( Greek: Πόπλιος Παπίνιος Στάτιος; ; ) was a Greco-Roman poet of the 1st century CE. His surviving Latin poetry includes an epic in twelve books, the ''Thebaid''; a collection of occasional poetry, ...

: ''

Thebaid The Thebaid or Thebais ( grc-gre, Θηβαΐς, ''Thēbaïs'') was a region in ancient Egypt, comprising the 13 southernmost nomes of Upper Egypt, from Abydos to Aswan. Pharaonic history The Thebaid acquired its name from its proximity to ...

''; also ''

Silvae The is a collection of Latin occasional poetry in hexameters, hendecasyllables, and lyric meters by Publius Papinius Statius (c. 45 – c. 96 CE). There are 32 poems in the collection, divided into five books. Each book contains a prose prefa ...

'' and unfinished ''

Achilleid The ''Achilleid'' ( la, Achilleis) is an unfinished epic poem by Publius Papinius Statius that was intended to present the life of Achilles from his youth to his death at Troy. Only about one and a half books (1,127 dactylic hexameters) were co ...

2nd century

* ''Sanskrit:''

Aśvaghoṣa , also transliterated Ashvaghosha, (, अश्वघोष; lit. "Having a Horse-Voice"; ; Chinese 馬鳴菩薩 pinyin: Mǎmíng púsà, litt.: 'Bodhisattva with a Horse-Voice') CE) was a Sarvāstivāda or Mahasanghika Buddhist philosopher, ...

: '' Buddhacharita (Acts of the Buddha)'' * ''Pahlavi:'' ** ''

Yadegar-e Zariran ''Ayādgār ī Zarērān'' (and other approximations of ambiguous Book Pahlavi ''ʾbyʾtkʾr y zlyln''), meaning "Memorial of Zarēr", is a Zoroastrian Middle Persian heroic poem that, in its surviving manuscript form, represents one of the earlie ...

(Memorial of Zarēr)'' ** ''

Visperad Visperad or Visprad is either a particular Zoroastrian religious ceremony or the name given to a passage collection within the greater Avesta compendium of texts. Overview The Visperad ceremony "consists of the rituals of the Yasna, virtually unch ...

'' ** ''

Drakht-i Asurig ''Draxt ī Āsūrīg'' (meaning "The Assyrian Tree" or "The Babylonian Tree") is a Parthian-language poem consisting of about 120 verses and written in Book Pahlavi script. The language shows influences from Middle Persian. It is one of the oldest ...

(The Babylonian Tree)'' * ''Greek'': ** Arrian: '' Anabasis Alexandri'' **

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...

: ''

Meditations ''Meditations'' () is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from AD 161 to 180, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy. Marcus Aurelius wrote the 12 books of the ''Meditations'' in Koine ...

'' **

Epictetus Epictetus (; grc-gre, Ἐπίκτητος, ''Epíktētos''; 50 135 AD) was a Greek Stoic philosopher. He was born into slavery at Hierapolis, Phrygia (present-day Pamukkale, in western Turkey) and lived in Rome until his banishment, when ...

and Arrian: ''

Enchiridion Enchiridion is a small manual or handbook. It can refer more specifically to: * '' Enchiridion of Epictetus'', a short manual of Stoic ethical advice * The ''Enchiridion de metris'' of Hephaestion, an ancient treatise on poetic meters * ''Enchiri ...

'' **

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

: '' Almagest'' **

Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (; grc, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; la, Athenaeus Naucratita) was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of th ...

: '' The Banquet of the Learned'' **

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...

: ''

Description of Greece Pausanias ( /pɔːˈseɪniəs/; grc-gre, Παυσανίας; c. 110 – c. 180) was a Greek traveler and geographer of the second century AD. He is famous for his ''Description of Greece'' (, ), a lengthy work that describes ancient Greece ...

'' ** Longus: ''

Daphnis and Chloe ''Daphnis and Chloe'' ( el, Δάφνις καὶ Χλόη, ''Daphnis kai Chloē'') is an ancient Greek novel written in the Roman Empire, the only known work of the second-century AD Greek novelist and Hellenistic romance, romance writer Longus ...

'' ** Lucian: ''

True History ''A True Story'' ( grc, Ἀληθῆ διηγήματα, ''Alēthē diēgēmata''; or ), also translated as True History, is a long novella or short novel written in the second century AD by the Greek author Lucian of Samosata. The novel is a ...

'' ** ''

The Shepherd of Hermas ''The Shepherd of Hermas'' ( el, Ποιμὴν τοῦ Ἑρμᾶ, ''Poimēn tou Herma''; la, Pastor Hermae), sometimes just called ''The Shepherd'', is a Christian literary work of the late first half of the second century, considered a valuab ...

'' * ''Latin:'' see

Apuleius Apuleius (; also called Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis; c. 124 – after 170) was a Numidian Latin-language prose writer, Platonist philosopher and rhetorician. He lived in the Roman province of Numidia, in the Berber city of Madauros, modern- ...

: ''

The Golden Ass The ''Metamorphoses'' of Apuleius, which Augustine of Hippo referred to as ''The Golden Ass'' (''Asinus aureus''), is the only ancient Roman novel in Latin to survive in its entirety. The protagonist of the novel is Lucius. At the end of the no ...

'' ** Lucius Ampelius: ''

Liber Memorialis The ''Liber Memorialis'' is an ancient book in Latin featuring an extremely concise summary—a kind of index—of universal history from earliest times to the reign of Trajan. It was written by Lucius Ampelius, who was possibly a tutor or ...

'' **

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies ...

: ''

Lives of the Twelve Caesars ''De vita Caesarum'' (Latin; "About the Life of the Caesars"), commonly known as ''The Twelve Caesars'', is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire written by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus. The g ...

'' **

Tertullian Tertullian (; la, Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus; 155 AD – 220 AD) was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of L ...

: ''

Apologeticus ''Apologeticus'' ( la, Apologeticum or ''Apologeticus'') is a text attributed to Tertullian, consisting of apologetic and polemic. In this work Tertullian defends Christianity, demanding legal toleration and that Christians be treated as all other ...

3rd century

* ''Avestan'': ''

Khordeh Avesta Khordeh Avesta, meaning 'little, or lesser, or small Avesta', is the name given to two different collections of Zoroastrian religious texts. One of the two collections includes the other and takes its name from it. * In a narrow sense, the term ...

'' (Zoroastrian prayer book) * ''Pahlavi:''

Mani Mani may refer to: Geography * Maní, Casanare, a town and municipality in Casanare Department, Colombia * Mani, Chad, a town and sub-prefecture in Chad * Mani, Evros, a village in northeastern Greece * Mani, Karnataka, a village in Dakshi ...

: ''

Shabuhragan The ''Shabuhragan'' ( fa, شاپورگان ''Shāpuragān''), which means "dedicated to Šābuhr", also translated in Chinese as the Chronology of Ancient Nations; ed. and trans. by A. Brinkmann; Leipzig, 1895 was a sacred book of Manichaeism, w ...

'' (

Manichaean Manichaeism (; in New Persian ; ) is a former major religionR. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 founded in the 3rd century AD by the Parthian Empire, Parthian ...

holy book) * ''Chinese:'' **

Chen Shou Chen Shou (; 233–297), courtesy name Chengzuo (), was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer who lived during the Three Kingdoms period and Jin dynasty of China. Chen Shou is most known for his most celebrated work, the '' Records of ...

: ''

Records of Three Kingdoms The ''Records or History of the Three Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese name as the Sanguo Zhi, is a Chinese historical text which covers the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220� ...

(Sānguó Zhì)'' **

Zhang Hua Zhang Hua (232–7 May 300According to Sima Zhong's biography in ''Book of Jin'', Zhang Hua was killed on the ''guisi'' day of the 4th month of the 1st year of the ''Yongkang'' era of his reign. This corresponds to 7 May 300 永康元年夏四 ...

: ''

Bowuzhi ''Bowuzhi'' (博物志; "Records of Diverse Matters") by Zhang Hua (c. 290 CE) was a compendium of Chinese stories about natural wonders and marvelous phenomena. It quotes from many early Chinese classics, and diversely includes subject matter fr ...

'' * ''Greek:''

Plotinus Plotinus (; grc-gre, Πλωτῖνος, ''Plōtînos''; – 270 CE) was a philosopher in the Hellenistic philosophy, Hellenistic tradition, born and raised in Roman Egypt. Plotinus is regarded by modern scholarship as the founder of Neop ...

: ''

Enneads The ''Enneads'' ( grc-gre, Ἐννεάδες), fully ''The Six Enneads'', is the collection of writings of the philosopher Plotinus, edited and compiled by his student Porphyry (270). Plotinus was a student of Ammonius Saccas, and together th ...

'' * ''Latin:'' see

Late Latin Late Latin ( la, Latinitas serior) is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the , and continuing into the 7th century in t ...

Distichs of Cato The ''Distichs of Cato'' (Latin: ''Catonis Disticha'', most famously known simply as Cato), is a Latin collection of proverbial wisdom and morality by an unknown author from the 3rd or 4th century AD. The ''Cato'' was the most popular medieval sc ...

* ''Hebrew:''

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...

*''Pali'' (Sri Lanka)'':

Dīpavaṃsa The ''Dīpavaṃsa'' ( sa, दीपवंस, , "Chronicle of the Island") is the oldest historical record of Sri Lanka. The chronicle is believed to be compiled from Atthakatha and other sources around the 3rd to 4th century CE. Together with ...

Late Antiquity

4th century

* ''Latin:'' see

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...

: '' Confessions'', '' On Christian Doctrine'' **

Faltonia Betitia Proba Faltonia Betitia Proba (c. AD 306/315 – c. 353/366) was a Latin Roman Christian poet, perhaps the earliest female Christian poet whose work survives. A member of one of the most influential aristocratic families, she composed the '' Cento Ver ...

: '' Cento Vergilianus de laudibus Christi'' ("A Virgilian

Cento The Middle East Treaty Organization (METO), also known as the Baghdad Pact and subsequently known as the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), was a military alliance of the Cold War. It was formed in 24 February 1955 by Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Tur ...

Concerning the Glory of Christ") ** ''

Apicius ''Apicius'', also known as ''De re culinaria'' or ''De re coquinaria'' (''On the Subject of Cooking'') is a collection of Roman cookery recipes. It is thought to have been compiled in the fifth century AD. Its language is in many ways closer ...

'' (''De re coquinaria'', "On the Subject of Cooking") ** ''

Pervigilium Veneris ''Pervigilium Veneris'' (or ''The Vigil of Venus'') is a Latin poem of uncertain date, variously assigned to the 2nd, 4th or 5th centuries. It is sometimes thought to have been by the poet Tiberianus, because of strong similarities with his po ...

'' ("Vigil of Venus") * ''Sanskrit'' **'' Asanga:

Dharma-dharmata-vibhaga Dharma-dharmatā-vibhāga ( zh, t=辨法法性論, p=Biàn fǎ fǎ xìng lùn; ''Distinguishing Phenomena and Pure Being'') is a short Yogācāra work, attributed to Maitreya-nātha, which discusses the distinction and correlation (''vibhāga'') b ...

(Distinguishing Phenomena and Pure Being),

Mahāyānasaṃgraha The Mahāyānasaṃgraha (MSg) (Sanskrit; zh, t=攝大乘論, p=Shè dàchéng lùn, Tibetan: ''theg pa chen po bsdus pa''), or the Mahāyāna Compendium/Summary, is a key work of the Yogācāra school of Mahāyāna Buddhist philosophy, attrib ...

(Summary of the Great Vehicle)'' **

Vasubandhu Vasubandhu (; Tibetan: དབྱིག་གཉེན་ ; fl. 4th to 5th century CE) was an influential Buddhist monk and scholar from ''Puruṣapura'' in ancient India, modern day Peshawar, Pakistan. He was a philosopher who wrote commentary ...

:'' Verses on the Treasury of the Abhidharma, Pañcaskandhaprakaraṇa (Explanation of the Five Aggregates), Pañcaskandhaprakaraṇa (Explanation of the Five Aggregates),Vyākhyāyukti ("Proper Mode of Exposition"), Vādavidhi ("Rules for Debate"), Dharmadharmatāvibhāgavṛtti (Commentary on Distinguishing Elements from Reality), Madhyāntavibhāgabhāṣya (Commentary on Distinguishing the Middle from the Extremes), Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkārabhāṣya (Commentary on the Ornament to the Great Vehicle Discourses)'' **

Dignāga Dignāga (a.k.a. ''Diṅnāga'', c. 480 – c. 540 CE) was an Indian Buddhist scholar and one of the Buddhist founders of Indian logic (''hetu vidyā''). Dignāga's work laid the groundwork for the development of deductive logic in India and ...

:'' Pramāṇa-samuccaya'' (''Compendium of Valid Cognition''),'' Hetucakra'' (''The wheel of reason'') ** Haribhadra:''Anekāntajayapatākā'' he ''Victory Banner of Anekantavada (Relativism'')'' Dhūrtākhyāna'' (''The Rogue's Stories''),''

Yogadṛṣṭisamuccaya Yogadṛṣṭisamuccaya ("Compendium of Yoga views") is a 228 verse Sanskrit work on Yoga by the Jain Svetambara philosopher Acharya Haribhadrasuri yakini putra (floruit 8th century). It is a particularly informative work of comparative religi ...

'' (''An Array of Views on Yoga''),'' Ṣaḍdarśanasamuccaya (''Compendium of Six Philosophies'')'' * ''Syriac:''

Aphrahat Aphrahat (c. 280–c. 345; syr, ܐܦܪܗܛ ''Ap̄rahaṭ'', ar, أفراهاط الحكيم, , grc, Ἀφραάτης, and Latin ''Aphraates'') was a Syriac Christian author of the third century from the Persian / Sasanian Empire who composed ...

, Ephrem the Syrian * ''Aramaic:''

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...

*''Pali'' (Sri Lanka)'':

Mahāvaṃsa The ''Mahāvaṃsa'' (, Sinhala: මහාවංශය, Pali: ''මහාවංස (Mahāvaṃsa)'' – written in the 5th century CE) is the meticulously kept historical chronicle of Sri Lanka written in the style of an epic poem written in t ...

5th century

* ''Armenian:'' ** Movses Khorenatsi (historian): '' History of Armenia'' * ''Chinese:'' **

Bao Zhao Bao Zhao (; c. 414September 466) was a Chinese poet, writer, and official known for his ''shi'' poetry, ''fu'' rhapsodies, and parallel prose who lived during the Liu Song dynasty (420–479). Bao's best known surviving work is his "''Fu'' on ...

: '' Fu on the Ruined City'' (蕪城賦, ''Wú chéng fù'') ** Fan Ye: '' Book of the Later Han'' (後漢書, ''Hòuhànshū'') * ''Sanskrit:'' ** Kālidāsa (speculated): ''

Abhijñānaśākuntalam ''Abhijnanashakuntalam'' (Devanagari: अभिज्ञानशाकुन्तलम्, IAST: ''Abhijñānaśākuntalam''), also known as ''Shakuntala'', ''The Recognition of Shakuntala'', ''The Sign of Shakuntala'', and many other variant ...

'' (अभिज्ञान शाकुन्तलम्, "The Recognition of Shakuntala"), ''

Meghadūta } ''Meghadūta'' ( sa, मेघदूत literally ''Cloud Messenger'') is a lyric poem written by Kālidāsa (c. 4th–5th century CE), considered to be one of the greatest Sanskrit poets. It describes how a '' yakṣa'' (or nature spirit), wh ...

'' (मेघदूत, "Cloud Messenger"), ''

Vikramōrvaśīyam ''Vikramōrvaśīyam'' (Devanagari विक्रमोर्वशीयम्), meaning ''Ūrvaśī Won by Valour'') is a five-act Sanskrit play by ancient Indian poet Kālidāsa, who lived in the 4th or 5th Century CE, on the Vedic love story ...

'' (विक्रमोर्वशीयम्, "Urvashi Won by Valour", play) **

Pujyapada Acharya Pujyapada or Pūjyapāda (464–524 CE) was a renowned grammarian and ''acharya'' (philosopher monk) belonging to the Digambara tradition of Jains. It was believed that he was worshiped by demigods on the account of his vast scholarship ...

:'' Iṣṭopadeśa (Divine Sermons),

Sarvārthasiddhi ''Sarvārthasiddhi'' is a famous Jain text authored by '' Ācārya Pujyapada''. It is the oldest extan commentary on ''Ācārya Umaswami's Tattvārthasūtra'' (another famous Jain text). Traditionally though, the oldest commentary on the Tatt ...

(Attainment of Higher Goals), Jainendra Vyākaraṇa (Jainendra Grammar), Samādhitantra (Method of SelfContemplation), Daśabhaktyādisangraha (Collection of Ten Adorations) ,Śabdāvatāranyāsa (Arrangement of Words and their Forms)'' **

Aryabhata Aryabhata ( ISO: ) or Aryabhata I (476–550 CE) was an Indian mathematician and astronomer of the classical age of Indian mathematics and Indian astronomy. He flourished in the Gupta Era and produced works such as the ''Aryabhatiya'' (which ...

: Aryabhatiya ** Kamandaka'':

Nitisara Nitisara () or the Nitisara of Kamandaki, is an ancient Indian treatise on politics and statecraft. It was authored by Kamandaka, also known as Kamandaki or Kamandakiya, who was a disciple of Chanakya. It is traditionally dated to the 4th-3rd ce ...

''(The Elements of Polity) ** Bodhidharma:'' Two Entrances and Four Practices, Treatise on Realizing the Nature, Refuting Signs Treatise'' **

Bhartṛhari Bhartṛhari (Devanagari: ; also romanised as Bhartrihari; fl. c. 5th century CE) was a Hindu linguistic philosopher to whom are normally ascribed two influential Sanskrit texts: * the ''Vākyapadīya'', on Sanskrit grammar and linguistic philo ...

:'' Vākyapadīya(Treatise on

Sanskrit grammar The grammar of the Sanskrit language has a complex verbal system, rich nominal declension, and extensive use of compound nouns. It was studied and codified by Sanskrit grammarians from the later Vedic period (roughly 8th century BCE), culminati ...

and linguistic philosophy),

Śatakatraya The ''Śatakatraya'' ( sa, शतकत्रय, lit=The Three Satakas), (also known as , ) refers to three Indian collections of Sanskrit poetry, containing a hundred verses each. The three '' śataka's are known as the , , and , and are attribu ...

(The three hundred poems of moral values)'' **

Siddhasena Siddhasēna Divākara ( pka, सिद्धसेन दिवाकर) was a ''jain monk'' in the fifth century CE who wrote works on Jain philosophy and epistemology. He was like the illuminator of the Jain order and therefore came to be kno ...

:''Nyāyāvatāra'''', Sanmati sutra, Kalyan Mandir stotra'' ** Sarvanandi:

Lokavibhaga The ''Lokavibhāga'' is a Jain cosmological text originally composed in Prakrit by a Digambara monk Digambara Sādhu (also ''muni'', ''sādhu'') is a Sādhu in the Digambar tradition of Jainism, and as such an occupant of the highest l ...

(Text on Jain Cosmology) ** * ''Tamil:'' **''

Tirukkural The ''Tirukkuṟaḷ'' ( ta, திருக்குறள், lit=sacred verses), or shortly the ''Kural'' ( ta, குறள்), is a classic Tamil language text consisting of 1,330 short couplets, or kurals, of seven words each. The tex ...

(Sacred verses)'' ** ''

Silappatikaram ''Cilappatikāram'' ( ta, சிலப்பதிகாரம் ml, ചിലപ്പതികാരം,IPA: ʧiləppət̪ikɑːrəm, ''lit.'' "the Tale of an Anklet"), also referred to as ''Silappathikaram'' or ''Silappatikaram'', is the e ...

(The Tale of the Anklet)'' * ''Pahlavi:'' ** ''

Matigan-i Hazar Datistan The Matigan-i Hazar Datistan was the judicial code of the Magistan (Megisthanes), the imperial parliament of the Arsacid Empire (150 BCE–226 CE) and, for a while, of the Sassanid Empire (226–650 CE). The ''Matigan-i Hazar Datistan'' was a co ...

(The Thousand Laws of the Magistan)'' ** '' Frahang-i Oim-evak'' (Pahlavi-Avestan dictionary) * ''Pali'' (Sri Lanka) ** Buddhaghosa: ''

Visuddhimagga The ''Visuddhimagga'' (Pali; English: ''The Path of Purification''), is the 'great treatise' on Buddhist practice and Theravāda Abhidhamma written by Buddhaghosa approximately in the 5th century in Sri Lanka. It is a manual condensing and sys ...

(The Path of Purification)'' * ''Latin:'' see

** Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus: '' De Re Militari'' **

: ''

The City of God ''On the City of God Against the Pagans'' ( la, De civitate Dei contra paganos), often called ''The City of God'', is a book of Christian philosophy written in Latin by Augustine of Hippo in the early 5th century AD. The book was in response ...

'' **

Paulus Orosius Paulus Orosius (; born 375/385 – 420 AD), less often Paul Orosius in English, was a Roman priest, historian and theologian, and a student of Augustine of Hippo. It is possible that he was born in ''Bracara Augusta'' (now Braga, Portugal), th ...

: ''Seven Books of History Against the Pagans'' **

Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, th ...

: ''

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...

'' **

Prudentius Aurelius Prudentius Clemens () was a Roman Christian poet, born in the Roman province of Tarraconensis (now Northern Spain) in 348.H. J. Rose, ''A Handbook of Classical Literature'' (1967) p. 508 He probably died in the Iberian Peninsula some ti ...

: ''

Psychomachia The ''Psychomachia'' (''Battle of Spirits'' or ''Soul War'') is a poem by the Late Antique Latin poet Prudentius, from the early fifth century AD. It has been considered to be the first and most influential "pure" medieval allegory, the first ...

'' **

Consentius __NOTOC__ Publius Consentius was a 5th-century Latin grammarian and the author of two treatises, which are perhaps the fragments of a complete grammar: one entitled, ''Ars de Duabus Partibus Orationis, Nomine et Verbo'', on the noun and the verb, ...

's grammar **

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (or Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite) was a Greek author, Christian theologian and Neoplatonic philosopher of the late 5th to early 6th century, who wrote a set of works known as the ''Corpus Areopagiticum'' o ...

: ''

De Coelesti Hierarchia ''De Coelesti Hierarchia'' ( grc-gre, Περὶ τῆς Οὐρανίας Ἱεραρχίας, "On the Celestial Hierarchy") is a Pseudo-Dionysian work on angelology, written in Greek and dated to ca. AD the 5th century; it exerted great influen ...

'' (Περὶ τῆς Οὐρανίας Ἱεραρχίας, "On the Celestial Hierarchy"), ''Mystical Theology'' **

Socrates of Constantinople Socrates of Constantinople ( 380 – after 439), also known as Socrates Scholasticus ( grc-gre, Σωκράτης ὁ Σχολαστικός), was a 5th-century Greek Christian church historian, a contemporary of Sozomen and Theodoret. He is the ...

: ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' * ''Greek:'' **

Nonnus Nonnus of Panopolis ( grc-gre, Νόννος ὁ Πανοπολίτης, ''Nónnos ho Panopolítēs'', 5th century CE) was the most notable Greek epic poet of the Imperial Roman era. He was a native of Panopolis (Akhmim) in the Egyptian Theb ...

: '' Dionysiaca''

6th century

* Latin:

Boethius Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480 – 524 AD), was a Roman senator, consul, ''magister officiorum'', historian, and philosopher of the Early Middle Ages. He was a central figure in the tr ...

, ''

De consolatione philosophiae ''On the Consolation of Philosophy'' ('' la, De consolatione philosophiae'')'','' often titled as ''The Consolation of Philosophy'' or simply the ''Consolation,'' is a philosophical work by the Roman statesman Boethius. Written in 523 while he ...

'' ("The Consolation of Philosophy", 524), widely considered to be the last work of classical philosophy

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

placed Boethius the "last of the Romans and first of the Scholastics" among the doctors in his Paradise (see ''

The Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature an ...

''). * ''Aramaic:''

Babylonian Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

*Sanskrit: **

Varāhamihira Varāhamihira ( 505 – 587), also called Varāha or Mihira, was an ancient Indian astrologer, astronomer, and polymath who lived in Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh, India). He was born at Kapitba in a Brahmin family, in the Avanti region, roughly co ...

:'' Pañcasiddhāntikā'' (" reatiseon the Five stronomical Canons"), Brihat-Samhita(Great Compilation)Encyclopedic Work **

Yativṛṣabha Yativṛṣabha (Yativrishabha), also known as Jadivasaha, was a mathematician and Jain monk. He is believed to have lived during the 6th century, probably during 500–570. He studied under Arya Manksu and Nagahastin. He lived and worked betwe ...

: Tiloya Panatti(Book on Cosmology and Mathematics) **

Virahanka Virahanka (Devanagari: विरहाङ्क) was an Indian prosodist who is also known for his work on mathematics. He may have lived in the 6th century, but it is also possible that he worked as late as the 8th century. His work on prosody ...

Prabhākara Prabhākara (active c. 6th century) was an Indian philosopher-grammarian in the Mīmāṃsā tradition of Kerala. Probable date Hariswamin's commentary on Shatapatha Brahmana which dates to 638 CE discusses the doctrine of Prabhākara's fol ...

:''

Triputipratyaksavada Tripuṭi-pratyakṣavāda , this term refers to Prabhakara’s ''Theory of Knowledge'', more precisely to his Doctrine of Triple Perception. Prabhakara advocates the theory of simultaneous revelation of knower, known and knowledge (''Tripuṭ ...

'' ("Doctrine of Triple Perception") **

Dharmakirti Dharmakīrti (fl. c. 6th or 7th century; Tibetan: ཆོས་ཀྱི་གྲགས་པ་; Wylie: ''chos kyi grags pa''), was an influential Indian Buddhist philosopher who worked at Nālandā.Tom Tillemans (2011)Dharmakirti Stanford ...

:'' Saṃbandhaparikṣhāvrtti'' (Analysis of Relations),'' Pramāṇaviniścaya'' (Ascertainment of Valid Cognition),'' Nyāyabinduprakaraṇa'' (Drop of Logic),'' Hetubindunāmaprakaraṇa'' (Drop of Reason),'' Saṃtānāntarasiddhināmaprakaraṇa'' (Proof of Others' Mindstreams) ,''Vādanyāyanāmaprakaraṇa'' (Reasoning for Debate) ** Praśastapāda :'' Padārtha-dharma-saṅgraha'' (Collection of Properties of Matter) **

Bhāviveka Bhāviveka, also called Bhāvaviveka (; ), and Bhavya was a sixth-century (c. 500 – c. 570) madhyamaka Buddhist philosopher.Qvarnström 1989 p. 14. Alternative names for this figure also include Bhavyaviveka, Bhāvin, Bhāviviveka, Bhagavadviv ...

:'' Heart of the Middle, Wisdom Lamp'' ** Udyotakara:''Nyāyavārttika''''(Work on logic)'' **

Gaudapada Gauḍapāda (Sanskrit: गौडपाद; ), also referred as Gauḍapādācārya ("Gauḍapāda the Teacher"), was an early medieval era Hindu philosopher and scholar of the ''Advaita'' Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy. While details o ...

: Mandukya Karika * ''Sinhalese'': ** Wansaththppakāsinī (''Sinhalese'' translation of the ''Pali''

) ** Sigiriya Poems ( Poems written by visitors to the citadel of Sigiriya) *''Pali'' (Sri Lanka): '' Cūḷavaṃsa'' * ''Irish'':

Early Irish literature Early Irish literature is one of the oldest vernacular literatures in Western Europe, though inscriptions utilising Irish and Latin are found on Ogham stones dating from the 4th century, indicating simultaneous usage of both languages by this p ...

Dallán Forgaill Eochaid mac Colla ( 560 – 640), better known as Saint Dallán or Dallán Forgaill ( sga, Dallán Forchella; la, Dallanus Forcellius; Primitive Irish: ''Dallagnas Worgēllas''), was an early Christian Irish poet and saint known as the writer of ...

: '' Amra'' (life of St Columba)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ancient Literature 01

Incomplete list of ancient texts

Bronze Age

Iron Age

Classical Antiquity

9th century BC

8th century BC

7th century BC

6th century BC

5th century BC

4th century BC

3rd century BC

2nd century BC

1st century BC

1st century AD

2nd century

3rd century

Late Antiquity

4th century

5th century

6th century

See also

References