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 Oral literature, orature or folk literature is a genre of literature that is spoken or sung as opposed to that which is written, though much oral literature has been transcribed. There is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used vary ...

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 Sumerian or Sumerians may refer to: *Sumer, an ancient civilization **Sumerian language **Sumerian art **Sumerian architecture **Sumerian literature **Cuneiform script, used in Sumerian writing *Sumerian Records, an American record label based in ...

). The earliest literary author known by name is Enheduanna, 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'', which was recorded in the '' Papyrus of Ani'' around 1240 BC, but other versions of the book probably date from about the 18th century BC. * 2600: Sumerian texts from

Abu Salabikh The low tells at Abu Salabikh, around northwest of the site of ancient Nippur in Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq mark the site of a small Sumerian city state of the mid third millennium BCE, with cultural connections to the cities of Kish, ...

, 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 ...

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

Metjen Metjen (also read as Methen) was an ancient Egyptian high official at the transition time from 3rd Dynasty to 4th Dynasty. He is famous for his tomb inscription, which provide that he worked and lived under the kings (pharaohs) Huni and Sneferu. ...

'', from SaqqaraToby A. H. Wilkinson: ''Early Dynastic Egypt''. Routledge, London/New York 2001, . * 2500: Egyptian Diary of Merer (Oldest papyrus) * 2400: Egyptian '' Pyramid Texts'', including the '' Cannibal Hymn'' * 2400: Sumerian ''

Code of Urukagina Uru-ka-gina, Uru-inim-gina, or Iri-ka-gina ( sux, ; 24th century BC, middle chronology) was King of the city-states of Lagash and Girsu in Mesopotamia, and the last ruler of the 1st Dynasty of Lagash. He assumed the title of king, claiming to ...

'' * 2400: Egyptian '' Palermo stone'' * 2350: Egyptian '' The Maxims of Ptahhotep'' * 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'' * 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 A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, ...

'' * 2100: Sumerian '' Debate between Bird and Fish'' * 2050: Sumerian ''

Code of Ur-Nammu The Code of Ur-Nammu is the oldest known law code surviving today. It is from Mesopotamia and is written on tablets, in the Sumerian language c. 2100–2050 BCE. Discovery The first copy of the code, in two fragments found at Nippur, in what is ...

'' * 2000: Egyptian ''

Coffin Texts The Coffin Texts are a collection of ancient Egyptian funerary spells written on coffins beginning in the First Intermediate Period. They are partially derived from the earlier Pyramid Texts, reserved for royal use only, but contain substantial ...

'' * 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'' 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'' * 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'' * 1859-1840: Egyptian '' Story of Sinuhe'' (in

Hieratic Hieratic (; grc, ἱερατικά, hieratiká, priestly) is the name given to a cursive writing system used for Ancient Egyptian and the principal script used to write that language from its development in the third millennium BC until the ris ...

) * 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, 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'' * 1700: Akkadian '' Atra-Hasis epic'' * 1700: Egyptian '' Westcar Papyrus'' * 1700: Akkadian '' Epic of Gilgamesh'' * 1650: Egyptian '' Ipuwer Papyrus'' * 1600: Akkadian ''

Eridu Genesis The earliest record of a Sumerian creation myth, called The Eridu Genesis by historian Thorkild Jacobsen, is found on a single fragmentary clay tablet, tablet excavated in Nippur by the Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania in 1893, and firs ...

'' 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). C ...

'' * 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 The Hittite military oath (CTH 427) is a Hittite text on two cuneiform tablets. The first tablet is only preserved in fragments (KBo XXI 10, KUB XL 13, and minor fragments), the second tablet survives in three copies, and can be restituted almost ...

* 1500-1200: Ugaritic ''

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: '' Egyptian Book of the Dead'' * 1500: Akkadian '' Dynasty of Dunnum'' * 1400: Akkadian ''Marriage of

Nergal Nergal ( Sumerian: d''KIŠ.UNU'' or ; ; Aramaic: ܢܸܪܓܲܠ; la, Nirgal) was a Mesopotamian god worshiped through all periods of Mesopotamian history, from Early Dynastic to Neo-Babylonian times, with a few attestations under indicating hi ...

and

Ereshkigal In Mesopotamian mythology, Ereshkigal ( sux, , lit. "Queen of the Great Earth") was the goddess of Kur, the land of the dead or underworld in Sumerian religion, Sumerian mythology. In later myths, she was said to rule Irkalla alongside her husb ...

'' * 1400: Akkadian '' Autobiography of Kurigalzu'' * 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'' * 1240: Egyptian '' Papyrus of Ani'',

Book of the Dead The ''Book of the Dead'' ( egy, 𓂋𓏤𓈒𓈒𓈒𓏌𓏤𓉐𓂋𓏏𓂻𓅓𓉔𓂋𓅱𓇳𓏤, ''rw n(y)w prt m hrw(w)'') is an ancient Egyptian funerary text generally written on papyrus and used from the beginning of the New Kingdom ...

* 1200-900: Akkadian version and younger stories in the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' * 1200: Akkadian ''

Tukulti-Ninurta Epic Tukilti-Ninurta Epic is an Assyrian epic written in Akkadian describing and glorifying the wars and conquests of the Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta I against the Babylonian king Kashtiliash IV during the Kassite dynasty. Though in principle success ...

'' * 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 **

Atharvaveda The Atharva Veda (, ' from ' and ''veda'', meaning "knowledge") is the "knowledge storehouse of ''atharvāṇas'', the procedures for everyday life".Laurie Patton (2004), Veda and Upanishad, in ''The Hindu World'' (Editors: Sushil Mittal and G ...

Samaveda The Samaveda (, from ' "song" and ' "knowledge"), is the Veda of melodies and chants. It is an ancient Vedic Sanskrit text, and part of the scriptures of Hinduism. One of the four Vedas, it is a liturgical text which consists of 1,875 verses. A ...

* 1050: BC Egyptian ''

Story of Wenamun The Story of Wenamun (alternately known as the Report of Wenamun, The Misadventures of Wenamun, Voyage of Unamūn, or nformallyas just Wenamun) is a literary text written in hieratic in the Late Egyptian language. It is only known from one incomp ...

'' * 1050: BC Akkadian ''Sakikkū'' (SA.GIG) "Diagnostic Omens" by Esagil-kin-apli. * 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 edi ...

'' of Šaggil-kīnam-ubbib. * 1000: BC Chinese '' Classic of Poetry (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 Erra (sometimes called Irra) is an Akkadian plague god known from an 'epos' of the eighth century BCE. Erra is the god of mayhem and pestilence who is responsible for periods of political confusion. He was assimilated to Nergal at some point. E ...

'' * 900: BC Vedic Sanskrit '' Aranyaka''

Classical Antiquity

9th century BC

*'' Classic of Changes (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-call ...

, including the '' Iliad'' and the '' Odyssey'' * 800–500 BC: Vedic Sanskrit **

Brahmana The Brahmanas (; Sanskrit: , ''Brāhmaṇam'') are Vedic śruti works attached to the Samhitas (hymns and mantras) of the Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva Vedas. They are a secondary layer or classification of Sanskrit texts embedded within ea ...

s ** Brihadaranyaka Upanishad **

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 The ''Chandogya Upanishad'' (Sanskrit: , IAST: ''Chāndogyopaniṣad'') is a Sanskrit text embedded in the Chandogya Brahmana of the Sama Veda of Hinduism.Patrick Olivelle (2014), ''The Early Upanishads'', Oxford University Press; , pp. 166-16 ...

Aitareya Upanishad The Aitareya Upanishad (Sanskrit: ऐतरेय उपनिषद् IAST ') is a Mukhya Upanishad, associated with the Rigveda. It comprises the fourth, fifth and sixth chapters of the second book of Aitareya Aranyaka, which is one of the f ...

** Taittiriya Upanishad

7th century BC

* Vedic Sanskrit ** Shulba Sutra (containing geometry related to fire-altar construction) *** Manava Sulbasutra *** Baudhayana sutra ** Shatapatha Brahmana – Commentary on the Vedas ** Nirukta (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'' and '' Works and Days'' **

Archilochus Archilochus (; grc-gre, Ἀρχίλοχος ''Arkhilokhos''; c. 680 – c. 645 BC) was a Greek lyric poet of the Archaic period from the island of Paros. He is celebrated for his versatile and innovative use of poetic meters, and is the ea ...

Alcman Alcman (; grc-gre, Ἀλκμάν ''Alkmán''; fl. 7th century BC) was an Ancient Greek choral lyric poet from Sparta. He is the earliest representative of the Alexandrian canon of the Nine Lyric Poets. Biography Alcman's dates are u ...

** Semonides of Amorgos ** Solon **

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 * ''

Paleo-Hebrew alphabet The Paleo-Hebrew script ( he, הכתב העברי הקדום), also Palaeo-Hebrew, Proto-Hebrew or Old Hebrew, is the writing system found in Canaanite inscriptions from the region of biblical Israel and Judah. It is considered to be the script ...

'' ** Ketef Hinnom amulets, the oldest found Biblical text (

amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word amuletum, which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects ...

s with the Priestly Blessing, which are recorded in the Book of Numbers) *'' Classic of Documents (Shūjīng)'' (authentic portions)

6th century BC

* ''Persian:'' **'' Cyrus Cylinder'' * Sanskrit: **

Sushruta Sushruta, or ''Suśruta'' (Sanskrit: सुश्रुत, IAST: , ) was an ancient Indian physician. The ''Sushruta Samhita'' (''Sushruta's Compendium''), a treatise ascribed to him, is one of the most important surviving ancient treatises on ...

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 Kapila ( sa, कपिल), also referred to as Cakradhanus, is a sage in Hindu tradition. According to Bhagavata Purana, he is the son of the sage Kardama and Devahuti, the daughter of the Svayambhuva Manu. Kardama had nine daughters, who wer ...

: Samkhya-sutra,

nyayabhasa, 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 Kanada ...

(Book on Atomism) ** ** Kashyapa Samhhita (Book on Medicine) ** Pratishakhyas * ''Greek:'' **

Sappho Sappho (; el, Σαπφώ ''Sapphō'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; c. 630 – c. 570 BC) was an Archaic Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her Greek lyric, lyric poetry, written to be sung while ...

** Ibycus ** Alcaeus of Mytilene ** Aesop's Fables

5th century BC

* Sanskrit: ** Pāṇini:'' Aṣṭādhyāyī'' **

Kenopanishad The Kena Upanishad () is a Vedic Sanskrit text classified as one of the primary or Mukhya Upanishads that is embedded inside the last section of the ''Talavakara Brahmanam'' of the Samaveda.Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1, M ...

** Apastamba'': Apastamba Dharmasutra'''', Apastambha Smriti'' * ''Avestan:'' '' Yasht'' * ''Chinese:'' ** '' Spring and Autumn Annals (Chūnqiū)'' (722–481 BC, chronicles of the state of Lu) ** Confucius: ''

Analects The ''Analects'' (; ; Old Chinese: '' ŋ(r)aʔ''; meaning "Selected Sayings"), also known as the ''Analects of Confucius'', the ''Sayings of Confucius'', or the ''Lun Yu'', is an ancient Chinese book composed of a large collection of sayings a ...

(Lúnyǔ)'' ** '' Classic of Rites (Lǐjì)'' ** '' Commentaries of Zuo (Zuǒzhuàn)'' **

Mozi Mozi (; ; Latinized as Micius ; – ), original name Mo Di (), was a Chinese philosopher who founded the school of Mohism during the Hundred Schools of Thought period (the early portion of the Warring States period, –221 BCE). The ancie ...

: '' Mozi (book) (Mòzǐ)'' ** Sun Tzu: '' The Art of War (Sūnzǐ Bīngfǎ)'' * ''Greek:'' ** Pindar: Odes ** Herodotus: '' The Histories of Herodotus'' ** Thucydides: '' History of the Peloponnesian War'' ** Aeschylus: ''The Suppliants'', '' The Persians'', '' Seven Against Thebes'', '' Oresteia'' ** Sophocles: ''

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'', ''Antigone'', ''

Electra Electra (; grc, Ήλέκτρα) is one of the most popular mythological characters in tragedies.Evans (1970), p. 79 She is the main character in two Greek tragedies, '' Electra'' by Sophocles and '' Electra'' by Euripides. She is also the centra ...

'' and other plays ** Euripides: ''Alcestis'', '' Medea'', '' Heracleidae'', '' Hippolytus'', '' Andromache'', '' Hecuba'', '' The Suppliants'', ''

'', '' Heracles'', '' Trojan Women'', ''

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 w ...

'', '' Ion'', ''

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'', '' Orestes'', '' Bacchae'', '' Iphigeneia at Aulis'', ''

Cyclops In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; el, Κύκλωπες, ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguish ...

'', '' Rhesus'' ** Aristophanes: '' The Acharnians'', ''

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 clas ...

'', '' The Clouds'', '' The Wasps'', '' Peace'', '' The Birds'', '' Lysistrata'', ''

Thesmophoriazusae ''Thesmophoriazusae'' ( grc-gre, Θεσμοφοριάζουσαι; ''Thesmophoriazousai'', meaning ''Women Celebrating the Festival of the Thesmophoria''), or ''Women at the Thesmophoria'' (sometimes also called ''The Poet and the Women''), is o ...

'', '' The Frogs'', '' Ecclesiazousae'', '' Plutus'' * ''Hebrew'': date of the extant text of the Torah

4th century BC

* Sanskrit: ** Katha Upanishad **

Prashnopanishad The Prashnopanishad ( sa, प्रश्नोपनिषद्, ) is an ancient Sanskrit text, embedded inside Atharva Veda, ascribed to ''Pippalada'' sakha of Vedic scholars. It is a Mukhya (primary) Upanishad, and is listed as number 4 in t ...

Mundaka Upanishad The Mundaka Upanishad ( sa, मुण्डक-उपनिषद्, ) is an ancient Sanskrit Vedic text, embedded inside Atharva Veda. It is a Mukhya (primary) Upanishad, and is listed as number 5 in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads of Hin ...

** Māṇḍūkya Upanishad **

Bhadrabahu Ācārya Bhadrabāhu (c. 367 - c. 298 BC) was, according to the ''Digambara'' sect of Jainism, the last '' Shruta Kevalin'' (all knowing by hearsay, that is indirectly) in Jainism . He was the last ''acharya'' of the undivided Jain ''sangha''. ...

: ''

Kalpa Sūtra The ''Kalpa Sūtra'' ( sa, कल्पसूत्र) is a Jain text containing the biographies of the Jain Tirthankaras, notably Parshvanatha and Mahavira. Traditionally ascribed to Bhadrabahu, which would place it in the 4th century BCE, i ...

'' ** Chankaya : ''Arthshastra'''', Chanakya Neeti'' ** Salihotra: ''Shalihotra Samhita'' (treatise on veterinary medicine) ** Vyasa'': Mahabharata,

Puranas Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...

, Brahma Sutras'' ** Jaimini: ''

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'' ** Valmiki : '' Ramayana'' ** Bhāsa : ''Svapnavāsavadattam'''', Pancarātra, Pratijna Yaugandharayaanam, Pratimanātaka, Abhishekanātaka, Bālacharita, Karnabhāram, Dūtaghaṭotkaca, Chārudatta, Madhyamavyayoga and Urubhanga.'' * '' Pali'': 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 * ''Chinese:'' **

Laozi Laozi (), also known by numerous other names, was a semilegendary ancient Chinese Taoist philosopher. Laozi ( zh, ) is a Chinese honorific, generally translated as "the Old Master". Traditional accounts say he was born as in the state ...

(or Lao Tzu): '' Tao Te Ching'' ** Zhuangzi: '' Zhuangzi (book)'' **

Mencius Mencius ( ); born Mèng Kē (); or Mèngzǐ (; 372–289 BC) was a Chinese Confucianism, Confucian Chinese philosophy, philosopher who has often been described as the "second Sage", that is, second to Confucius himself. He is part of Confuc ...

: ''

'' ** Shang Yang: ''

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 The DNa inscription (acronym for ) is a famous Achaemenid-era inscription located in Naqsh-e Rostam, Iran. It dates to , the time of Darius the Great, and appears in the top-left corner of the façade of his tomb. Content The inscription menti ...

* ''Greek:'' ** Xenophon: '' Anabasis'', '' Cyropaedia, Oeconomicus, Memorabilia'' ** Aristotle: ''

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, Organon, Physics, Historia Animalium, 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,

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,

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: '' Euthyphro'', ''

Apology Apology, The Apology, apologize/apologise, apologist, apologetics, or apologetic may refer to: Common uses * Apology (act), an expression of remorse or regret * Apologia, a formal defense of an opinion, position, or action Arts, entertainment, ...

'', '' Crito'', ''

Theaetetus Theaetetus (Θεαίτητος) is a Greek name which could refer to: * Theaetetus (mathematician) (c. 417 BC – 369 BC), Greek geometer * ''Theaetetus'' (dialogue), a dialogue by Plato, named after the geometer * Theaetetus (crater), a lunar imp ...

'', ''

Parmenides Parmenides of Elea (; grc-gre, Παρμενίδης ὁ Ἐλεάτης; ) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher from Elea in Magna Graecia. Parmenides was born in the Greek colony of Elea, from a wealthy and illustrious family. His dates a ...

'', ''

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 Phaedrus may refer to: People * Phaedrus (Athenian) (c. 444 BC – 393 BC), an Athenian aristocrat depicted in Plato's dialogues * Phaedrus (fabulist) (c. 15 BC – c. AD 50), a Roman fabulist * Phaedrus the Epicurean (138 BC – c. 70 BC), an Epic ...

'', ''

Protagoras Protagoras (; el, Πρωταγόρας; )Guthrie, p. 262–263. was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher and rhetorical theorist. He is numbered as one of the sophists by Plato. In his dialogue '' Protagoras'', Plato credits him with inventing the r ...

'', ''

Gorgias Gorgias (; grc-gre, Γοργίας; 483–375 BC) was an ancient Greek sophist, pre-Socratic philosopher, and rhetorician who was a native of Leontinoi in Sicily. Along with Protagoras, he forms the first generation of Sophists. Several doxogr ...

'', '' Meno'', ''

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, Critias, Laws,

Menexenus Menexenus (; el, Μενέξενоς) was one of the three sons of Socrates and Xanthippe. His two brothers were Lamprocles and Sophroniscus. Menexenus is not to be confused with the character of the same name who appears in Plato's dialogues ''M ...

, Phaedo,

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,

Minos In Greek mythology, Minos (; grc-gre, Μίνως, ) was a King of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. Every nine years, he made King Aegeus pick seven young boys and seven young girls to be sent to Daedalus's creation, the labyrinth, to be eaten ...

, Hipparchus'' ** Euclid: ''

Elements Element or elements may refer to: Science * Chemical element, a pure substance of one type of atom * Heating element, a device that generates heat by electrical resistance * Orbital elements, parameters required to identify a specific orbit of ...

'' **

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: '' Enquiry into Plants''

3rd century BC

* ''Avestan'': '' Avesta'' * ''

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 **Etruscan ...

:'' ''

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: ''

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 A ( sa, वार्त्तिककार, , ''Commentator''), in Indian linguistics and philosophy, is a person who wrote a critical commentary or a gloss on a given grammatical or philosophical work. Monier Williams Dictionary defines Vārtt ...

Śulbasūtras 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 ...

'' ** Vishnu Sharma: ''

Panchatantra The ''Panchatantra'' (IAST: Pañcatantra, ISO: Pañcatantra, sa, पञ्चतन्त्र, "Five Treatises") is an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in Sanskrit verse and prose, arranged within a frame story.

'' ** Vedanga Jyotisha **

Bharata Muni Bharata Muni (Hindi: भरत मुनि) was an ancient sage who the musical treatise '' Natya Shastra'' is traditionally attributed to. The work covers ancient Indian dramaturgy and histrionics, especially Sanskrit theatre. Bharata is con ...

Natya Shastra The ''Nāṭya Śāstra'' (, ''Nāṭyaśāstra'') is a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts. The text is attributed to sage Bharata Muni, and its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates vary ...

(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 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, nati ...

:'' ** 3rd century BC to 3rd century AD: '' Sangam poems'' ** '' Tolkāppiyam'' (grammar book) ** Korakkar(3rd century BC),Siddhar, Physician, Philosopher ** Bogar(3rd century BC)Siddhar, Physician, Yogi **'' Agattiyam'' ** * ''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: '' Argonautica'' ** Callimachus (310/305-240 B.C.), lyric poet **

Manetho 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 ...

: '' Aegyptiaca'' ** Theocritus, lyric poet * '' Latin'': ** Lucius

Livius Andronicus Lucius Livius Andronicus (; el, Λούκιος Λίβιος Ανδρόνικος; c. 284 – c. 204 BC) was a Greco-Roman dramatist and epic poet of the Old Latin period during the Roman Republic. He began as an educator in the service of a n ...

( — ), translator, founder of Roman drama **

Gnaeus Naevius Gnaeus Naevius (; c. 270 – c. 201 BC) was a Roman epic poet and dramatist of the Old Latin period. He had a notable literary career at Rome until his satiric comments delivered in comedy angered the Metellus family, one of whom was consul. A ...

( — 201 BC), dramatist, epic poet ** Titus Maccius Plautus ( — 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 (3rd century BC), historian **

Lucius Cincius Alimentus Lucius Cincius Alimentus (200BC) was a celebrated ancient Rome, Roman annalists, 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 ...

(3rd century BC), military historian and antiquarian

2nd century BC

* ''Sanskrit'' **

Patanjali Patanjali ( sa, पतञ्जलि, Patañjali), also called Gonardiya or Gonikaputra, was a Hindu author, mystic and philosopher. Very little is known about him, and while no one knows exactly when he lived; from analysis of his works it i ...

(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):'' Brahma Sutras'' **Manu:'' Manusmriti(''Laws of Manu'')'' ** * ''Avestan:'' '' Vendidad'' * ''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 (Shǐjì)'' * ''Aramaic'': Book of Daniel * ''Hebrew'': Sirach * ''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 ** Septuagint * ''Latin'': ** Terence (195/185 BC — 159 BC), comic dramatist: '' The Brothers'', '' The Girl from Andros'', '' Eunuchus'', '' The Self-Tormentor'' ** Quintus Ennius (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 positi ...

( — 130 BC), tragic dramatist, poet **

Statius Caecilius Statius Caecilius, also known as Caecilius Statius (; c. 220 BC – c. 166 BC), was a Roman comic poet. Life and work A contemporary and intimate friend of Ennius, according to tradition he was born in the territory of the Insubrian Ga ...

(220 BC — 168/166 BC), comic dramatist ** Marcius Porcius Cato (234 BC — 149 BC), generalist, topical writer ** Gaius Acilius (2nd century BC), historian **

Lucius Accius Lucius Accius (; 170 – c. 86 BC), or Lucius Attius, was a Roman tragic poet and literary scholar. Accius was born in 170 BC at Pisaurum, a town founded in the Ager Gallicus in 184 BC. He was the son of a freedman and a freedwoman, probably from ...

(170 BC — ), tragic dramatist, philologist ** Gaius Lucilius ( — 103/2 BC), satirist ** Quintus Lutatius Catulus (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 (2nd century BC), historian **

Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi may refer to: * Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi (consul 133 BC), Roman annalist and politician * Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi Licinianus Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi Licinianus (38 – 15 January 69) was a Roman nobleman ...

(2nd century BC), historian ** Manius Manilius (2nd century BC), public officer, jurist ** Lucius Coelius Antipater (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 (2nd century BC), jurist ** Lucius Afranius (2nd & 1st centuries BC), comic dramatist ** Titus Albucius (2nd & 1st centuries BC), orator ** Publius Rutilius Rufus (158 BC — after 78 BC), jurist ** Quintus Lutatius Catulus (2nd & 1st centuries BC), public officer, poet ** Lucius Aelius Stilo Praeconinus (154 BC — 74 BC), philologist ** Quintus Claudius Quadrigarius (2nd & 1st centuries BC), historian ** Valerius Antias (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: '' Catiline Orations'', ''

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'' **

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'', '' Civil War'' ** Virgil: '' Eclogues'', '' Georgics'' and '' Aeneid'' ** Lucretius: ''

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: '' History of Rome (Ab Urbe Condita)''

1st century AD

* ''Sanskrit'' ** Śabara:S''ābara-bhāṣyam'' **Gunadhara:''Kasayapahuda'' **Aśvaghoṣa:''

Buddhacharita ''Buddhacharita'' (; ) is an epic poem in the Sanskrit ''mahakavya'' style on the life of Gautama Buddha by of Sāketa (modern Ayodhya), composed in the early second century CE. The author has prepared an account of the Buddha's life and teach ...

'' (Acts of the Buddha),''Saundarananda, Sutralankara'' * ''Chinese:''

Ban Gu Ban Gu (AD32–92) was a Chinese historian, politician, and poet best known for his part in compiling the ''Book of Han'', the second of China's 24 dynastic histories. He also wrote a number of '' fu'', a major literary form, part prose ...

: '' Book of Han (Hànshū)'' * ''Greek:'' ** Plutarch: '' Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'' ** Josephus: '' The Jewish War'', ''

Antiquities of the Jews ''Antiquities of the Jews'' ( la, Antiquitates Iudaicae; el, Ἰουδαϊκὴ ἀρχαιολογία, ''Ioudaikē archaiologia'') is a 20-volume historiographical work, written in Greek, by historian Flavius Josephus in the 13th year of the re ...

'', '' Against Apion'' ** The books of the New Testament of the Christian Bible and the ''

Didache The ''Didache'' (; ), also known as The Lord's Teaching Through the Twelve Apostles to the Nations (Διδαχὴ Κυρίου διὰ τῶν δώδεκα ἀποστόλων τοῖς ἔθνεσιν), is a brief anonymous early Christian tr ...

'' * ''Latin:'' see Classical Latin ** Tacitus: ''

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: '' Metamorphoses''; also '' Tristia'' 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. The ...

'' written during his exile ** Pliny the Elder: '' Natural History'' **

Petronius Gaius Petronius Arbiter"Gaius Petronius Arbiter"
Satyricon'' ** Seneca the Younger: ''

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: '' Thebaid''; also '' Silvae'' and unfinished '' Achilleid''

2nd century

* ''Sanskrit:'' Aśvaghoṣa: ''

(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'' ** ''

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 Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; la, Lucius Flavius Arrianus; ) was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander and philosopher of the Roman period. ''The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best ...

: ''

Anabasis Alexandri ''The Anabasis of Alexander'' ( grc-gre, Ἀλεξάνδρου Ἀνάβασις, ''Alexándrou Anábasis''; la, Anabasis Alexandri) was composed by Arrian of Nicomedia in the second century AD, most probably during the reign of Hadrian. The ...

'' ** Marcus Aurelius: '' Meditations'' ** Epictetus and Arrian: '' Enchiridion'' ** Ptolemy: ''

Almagest The ''Almagest'' is a 2nd-century Greek-language mathematical and astronomical treatise on the apparent motions of the stars and planetary paths, written by Claudius Ptolemy ( ). One of the most influential scientific texts in history, it canoni ...

'' ** Athenaeus: '' The Banquet of the Learned'' ** Pausanias: '' Description of Greece'' **

Longus Longus, sometimes Longos ( el, Λόγγος), was the author of an ancient Greek novel or romance, ''Daphnis and Chloe''. Nothing is known of his life; it is assumed that he lived on the isle of Lesbos (setting for ''Daphnis and Chloe'') during ...

: '' Daphnis and Chloe'' **

Lucian Lucian of Samosata, '; la, Lucianus Samosatensis ( 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer Pamphleteer is a historical term for someone who creates or distributes pamphlets, unbound (and therefore ...

: ''

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 sa ...

'' ** '' The Shepherd of Hermas'' * ''Latin:'' see Classical Latin ** Apuleius: '' The Golden Ass'' ** 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 o ...

'' **

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'' ** Tertullian: '' Apologeticus''

3rd century

* ''Avestan'': '' Khordeh Avesta'' (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'' (

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: '' Records of Three Kingdoms (Sānguó Zhì)'' ** Zhang Hua: ''

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: '' Enneads'' * ''Latin:'' see Late Latin **

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 *''Pali'' (Sri Lanka)'': Dīpavaṃsa''

Late Antiquity

4th century

* ''Latin:'' see Late Latin **

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: '' Cento Vergilianus de laudibus Christi'' ("A Virgilian Cento Concerning the Glory of Christ") ** '' Apicius'' (''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 Asaṅga (, ; Romaji: ''Mujaku'') ( fl. 4th century C.E.) was "one of the most important spiritual figures" of Mahayana Buddhism and the "founder of the Yogachara school".Engle, Artemus (translator), Asanga, ''The Bodhisattva Path to Unsurpassed ...

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 (Summary of the Great Vehicle)'' ** Vasubandhu:'' 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 cr ...

:''

Pramāṇa-samuccaya The ''Pramāṇa-samuccaya'' () is a philosophical treatise by Dignāga, an Indian Buddhist logician and epistemologist Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is con ...

'' (''Compendium of Valid Cognition''),''

Hetucakra ''Hetucakra'' or ''Wheel of Reasons'' is a Sanskrit text on logic written by Dignaga (c 480–540 CE). It concerns the application of his 'three modes’ ( trairūpya), conditions or aspects of the middle term called ''hetu'' ("reason" for a conc ...

'' (''The wheel of reason'') ** Haribhadra:''Anekāntajayapatākā''

he ''Victory Banner of Anekantavada (Relativism'') He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

'' Dhūrtākhyāna'' (''The Rogue's Stories''),'' Yogadṛṣṭisamuccaya'' (''An Array of Views on Yoga''),'' Ṣaḍdarśanasamuccaya (''Compendium of Six Philosophies'')'' * ''Syriac:'' Aphrahat,

Ephrem the Syrian Ephrem the Syrian ( syc, ܡܪܝ ܐܦܪܝܡ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ, Mār ʾAp̄rêm Sūryāyā, ; grc-koi, Ἐφραὶμ ὁ Σῦρος, Efrém o Sýros; la, Ephraem Syrus; am, ቅዱስ ኤፍሬም ሶርያዊ; ), also known as Saint Ephrem, Saint ...

* ''Aramaic:'' Jerusalem Talmud *''Pali'' (Sri Lanka)'': Mahāvaṃsa''

5th century

* ''Armenian:'' ** Movses Khorenatsi (historian): ''

History of Armenia The history of Armenia covers the topics related to the history of the Armenia, Republic of Armenia, as well as the Armenians, Armenian people, the Armenian language, and the regions historically and Armenian Highlands, geographically consid ...

'' * ''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 The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Later ...

'' (後漢書, ''Hòuhànshū'') * ''Sanskrit:'' **

Kālidāsa Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and t ...

(speculated): '' Abhijñānaśākuntalam'' (अभिज्ञान शाकुन्तलम्, "The Recognition of Shakuntala"), '' Meghadūta'' (मेघदूत, "Cloud Messenger"), '' Vikramōrvaśīyam'' (विक्रमोर्वशीयम्, "Urvashi Won by Valour", play) ** Pujyapada:'' Iṣṭopadeśa (Divine Sermons), Sarvārthasiddhi (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:

Aryabhatiya ''Aryabhatiya'' (IAST: ') or ''Aryabhatiyam'' ('), a Sanskrit astronomical treatise, is the ''magnum opus'' and only known surviving work of the 5th century Indian mathematician Aryabhata. Philosopher of astronomy Roger Billard estimates that th ...

** Kamandaka'': Nitisara''(The Elements of Polity) **

Bodhidharma Bodhidharma was a semi-legendary Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century CE. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China, and regarded as its first Chinese patriarch. According to a 17th century apo ...

:'' Two Entrances and Four Practices, Treatise on Realizing the Nature, Refuting Signs Treatise'' ** Bhartṛhari:'' Vākyapadīya(Treatise on Sanskrit grammar and linguistic philosophy), Śatakatraya(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(Text on Jain Cosmology) ** * ''Tamil:'' **'' Tirukkural (Sacred verses)'' ** '' Silappatikaram (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 ''Frahang-i Oīm-Ēwak'' is an old Avestan-Middle Persian Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasania ...

'' (Pahlavi-Avestan dictionary) * ''Pali'' (Sri Lanka) **

Buddhaghosa Buddhaghosa was a 5th-century Indian Theravada Buddhist commentator, translator and philosopher. He worked in the Great Monastery (''Mahāvihāra'') at Anurādhapura, Sri Lanka and saw himself as being part of the Vibhajjavāda school and in t ...

: ''

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 syst ...

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

Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus Publius (or Flavius) Vegetius Renatus, known as Vegetius (), was a writer of the Later Roman Empire (late 4th century). Nothing is known of his life or station beyond what is contained in his two surviving works: ''Epitoma rei militaris'' (also re ...

: ''

De Re Militari ''De re militari'' (Latin "Concerning Military Matters"), also ''Epitoma rei militaris'', is a treatise by the Late Latin writer Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus about Roman warfare and military principles as a presentation of the methods and pr ...

'' **

: '' The City of God'' ** Paulus Orosius: ''Seven Books of History Against the Pagans'' ** Jerome: '' Vulgate'' ** Prudentius: '' Psychomachia'' **

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'' or ...

: '' De Coelesti Hierarchia'' (Περὶ τῆς Οὐρανίας Ἱεραρχίας, "On the Celestial Hierarchy"), ''Mystical Theology'' ** Socrates of Constantinople: ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' * ''Greek:'' ** Nonnus: ''

Dionysiaca The ''Dionysiaca'' {{IPAc-en, ˌ, d, aɪ, ., ə, ., n, ᵻ, ˈ, z, aɪ, ., ə, ., k, ə ( grc-gre, Διονυσιακά, ''Dionysiaká'') is an ancient Greek epic poem and the principal work of Nonnus. It is an epic in 48 books, the longest survi ...

6th century

* Latin: Boethius, ''

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 placed Boethius the "last of the Romans and first of the Scholastics" among the doctors in his Paradise (see '' The Divine Comedy''). * ''Aramaic:'' Babylonian Talmud *Sanskrit: ** Varāhamihira:'' Pañcasiddhāntikā'' (" reatiseon the Five stronomical Canons"), Brihat-Samhita(Great Compilation)Encyclopedic Work ** Yativṛṣabha:

Tiloya Panatti ''Tiloya Panatti'' or ''Trilokaprajnapati'' is one of the earlier Prakrit texts on Jain cosmology composed by Acharya Yativrshabha. The subject matter Jain cosmology has a unique perception of the Universe. It perceives different solar and ...

(Book on Cosmology and Mathematics) ** Virahanka ** Prabhākara:''

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

Mandukya Karika 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 ...

* ''Sinhalese'': ** Wansaththppakāsinī (''Sinhalese'' translation of the ''Pali'' Mahāvaṃsa) ** Sigiriya Poems ( Poems written by visitors to the citadel of Sigiriya) *''Pali'' (Sri Lanka): ''

Cūḷavaṃsa The ''Cūḷavaṃsa'' or ''Chulavamsa'' (Pāli: "Lesser Chronicle") is a historical record, written in the Pali language, of the monarchs of Sri Lanka. It covers the period from the 4th century to 1815. The ''Cūḷavaṃsa'' was compiled over ...

'' * ''Irish'': Early Irish literature **

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 Amra is the name of certain ancient Irish elegies or panegyrics on native saints. The best known is ''Amra Coluimb Chille'' (the song of Columbkille). ''Amra Coluim Chille'' According to the traditional account the ''Amra Coluim Chille'' was comp ...

'' (life of St

Columba Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is toda ...

)

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