Ancient literature comprises religious and scientific documents, tales,
poetry
Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
and plays, royal edicts and declarations, and other forms of writing that were recorded on a variety of media, including stone,
clay 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.
An unknown number of written works have 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). 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 BC: Sumerian texts from
Abu Salabikh, including the ''
Instructions of Shuruppak'' and the ''
Kesh temple hymn''
* 2600 BC: Egyptian ''The Life of
Metjen'' from
Saqqara[Toby A. H. Wilkinson: ''Early Dynastic Egypt''. Routledge, London/New York 2001, .]
* 2500 BC: Egyptian ''
Diary of Merer''
and
Instruction of Hardjedef
* 2500 BC: Sumerian ''
Hymn to Enlil'', ''
Enlil and Ninlil, and'' ''
Debate between sheep and grain''
* 2400 BC: Sumerian ''
Code of Urukagina''
* 2400 BC – 2300 BC: Egyptian ''
Pyramid Texts'', including the ''
Cannibal Hymn''
* 2375 BC: Egyptian ''
The Maxims of Ptahhotep''
* 2283 BC: Egyptian ''
Palermo Stone''
* 2270 BC: Sumerian ''
Enheduanna's Hymns''
* 2250 BC: Egyptian ''
Autobiography of Weni'' and ''
South Saqqara Stone''
* 2250 BC – 2000 BC: Earliest Sumerian stories in the ''
Epic of Gilgamesh
The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' () is an epic poetry, epic from ancient Mesopotamia. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with five Sumerian language, Sumerian poems about Gilgamesh (formerly read as Sumerian "Bilgames"), king of Uruk, some of ...
''
* 2200 BC: Egyptian ''
Autobiography of Harkhuf''
* 2125 BC: Sumerian ''
Building of Ningirsu's Temple''
* 2100 BC: Sumerian ''
Curse of Agade'', ''
Debate between bird and fish'', ''
Inanna's Descent into the Underworld'', ''
Self-praise of Shulgi'', ''
Code of Ur-Nammu'', and ''
Song of the hoe''
* 2084 BC: Sumerian ''
Sumerian King List''
* 2050 BC: Egyptian ''
The Satire of the Trades''
Middle Bronze Age: 2000 BC to 1601 BC (approximate dates shown)
* 2000 BC: Egyptian ''
Coffin Texts'' and ''
Teaching for King Merykara''
* 2000 BC: Sumerian ''
Lament for Ur'', ''
Lament for Sumer and Ur'', ''
Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta'', and ''
Debate between Winter and Summer''
* 2000 BC – 1900 BC: Egyptian ''
Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor'',
''
Prophecy of Neferti'', and the first of the
Harper's Songs
* 1950 BC: Akkadian ''
Laws of Eshnunna'' and ''
Hymn to Ištar''
* 1950 BC: Egyptian ''
Instructions of Amenemhat'', the
Akhmim wooden tablets, and the
Heqanakht papyri
* 1940 BC: Sumerian ''
Correspondence of the Kings of Ur''
* 1900 BC: Akkadian ''
Legend of Etana'', ''
Summa izbu'', ''
Šumma ālu,
Namburbi'', and ''
Iškar Zaqīqu''
* 1900 BC: Sumerian ''
Code of Lipit-Ishtar'' and ''The Legend of
Adapa''
* 1900 BC: Egyptian ''
Instructions of Kagemni''
[Parkinson (2002), pp. 46, 50, 313.]
* 1859 BC – 1840 BC: Egyptian ''
Dispute between a man and his Ba''
* 1859 BC – 1813 BC: Egyptian ''
Loyalist Teaching''
* 1850 BC: Egyptian ''
The Eloquent Peasant''
* 1850 BC: Akkadian ''
Kultepe texts'', ''
Bārûtu'', the ''
Counsels of Wisdom'', the ''
Cuthean Legend of Naram-Sin'', and the ''
Labbu Myth''
* 1800 BC: Akkadian earliest complete version of the ''
Epic of Gilgamesh
The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' () is an epic poetry, epic from ancient Mesopotamia. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with five Sumerian language, Sumerian poems about Gilgamesh (formerly read as Sumerian "Bilgames"), king of Uruk, some of ...
''
* 1800 BC: Egyptian
Berlin Papyrus 6619,
Moscow Mathematical Papyrus, and ''
Story of Sinuhe'' (in
Hieratic)
* 1780 BC: Akkadian
Mari letters, including the ''
Epic of Zimri-Lim''
* 1754 BC: Akkadian ''
Code of Hammurabi
The Code of Hammurabi is a Babylonian legal text composed during 1755–1750 BC. It is the longest, best-organized, and best-preserved legal text from the ancient Near East. It is written in the Old Babylonian dialect of Akkadian language, Akkadi ...
'' stele
* 1750 BC: Akkadian ''
Agushaya Hymn''
* Late 18th century BC: Hittite ''
Anitta text''
* 1700 BC: Akkadian ''
Atra-Hasis''
* 1700 BC: Egyptian ''
Westcar Papyrus''
* 1650 BC: Egyptian ''
Ipuwer Papyrus''
* 1650 BC: Sumerian ''
Dialogue between a Man and His God''
Late Bronze Age: 1600 BC to 1201 BC (approximate dates shown)
* 1600 BC: Hittite ''
Code of the Nesilim''
* 1600 BC: Akkadian ''
Ḫulbazizi,
Eridu Genesis and
Enuma Anu Enlil''
* 1600 BC: Egyptian
Edwin Smith Papyrus
* 1550 BC: Egyptian ''
Book of the Dead'', ''
Instruction of Any'', ''
King Neferkare and General Sasenet'', the ''
Tale of the Doomed Prince'', the ''
Litany of Re'',
Rhind Mathematical Papyrus,
and the
Ebers Papyrus
* 1550 BC: Akkadian ''
Bullussa-rabi's Hymn to Gula''
* 1550 BC: Babylonian
Venus tablet of Ammisaduqa
The Venus tablet of Ammisaduqa (''Enuma Anu Enlil'' Tablet 63) is the record of astronomical positions for Venus, as preserved in numerous cuneiform clay tablet, tablets dating from the first millennium BC. Scholars believe that this astronomical ...
* 1500 BC: Akkadian ''
Poor Man of Nippur''
* 1500 BC:
Hittite military oath
* 1500 BC – 1300 BC:
Ugaritic
Ugaritic () is an extinct Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language known through the Ugaritic texts discovered by French archaeology, archaeologists in 1928 at Ugarit, including several major literary texts, notably the Baal cycl ...
''
Baal Cycle''
* 1500 BC – 1200 BC: Ugaritic ''
Legend of Keret''
* 1500 BC – 1000 BC: Sanskrit ''
Rig Veda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from wikt:ऋच्, ऋच्, "praise" and wikt:वेद, वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian Miscellany, collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canoni ...
''
* 1500 BC: Akkadian ''
Dynasty of Dunnum'' and ''
Chronicle of Early Kings''
* 1450 BC: Egyptian ''
The Taking of Joppa''
* 1450 BC: Akkadian ''
Assyrian law[ (E-book edition)]''
* 1425 BC: Egyptian ''
Amduat''
* 1400 BC: Akkadian ''Marriage of
Nergal and
Ereshkigal'', ''
Autobiography of Kurigalzu'', and
Amarna letters
* Mid 14th century BC: Egyptian ''
Great Hymn to the Aten''
* 1350 BC: Ugaritic ''
Tale of Aqhat''
* 1350 BC: Akkadian ''
Šurpu''
* 1300 BC: Egyptian ''
Instruction of Amenemope'', ''
Papyrus Anastasi I''
* 1300 BC: Akkadian ''
Ludlul bēl nēmeqi'', the ''
Dream of Kurigalzu'', ''
The Hemerology for Nazi-Maruttaš'', ''
Iqqur Ipuš'', and ''
Summa izbu''
* 1274 BC: Akkadian ''
Adad-nārāri Epic''
* 1240 BC: Egyptian ''
Papyrus of Ani'',
Book of the Dead
* 1200 BC – 900 BC: Akkadian version and younger stories in the ''Epic of Gilgamesh''
* 1200 BC: Akkadian ''
Tukulti-Ninurta Epic''
* 1200 BC: Egyptian ''
Tale of Two Brothers''
Iron Age
Iron Age texts predating Classical Antiquity: 12th to 8th centuries BC
* 1200 BC: The ''
Yajurveda'', ''
Atharvaveda'', and ''
Samaveda''
* 1100 BC: Akkadian ''
Šumma sinništu qaqqada rabāt''
* 1050 BC: Egyptian ''
Story of Wenamun''
* 1050 BC: Akkadian
''Sakikkū'' (SA.GIG) "Diagnostic Omens" by
Esagil-kin-apli.
* 1050 BC: Akkadian ''
Alamdimmû''
* 1050 BC: The ''
Babylonian Theodicy'' of Šaggil-kīnam-ubbib.
[
* 1010 BC: Akkadian '' Royal Inscription of Simbar-Šipak''
* 1000 BC: Chinese '' Classic of Poetry (Shījīng)''
* 1000 BC: Akkadian '' Dialogue of Pessimism'', '' Chronicle P'', '' Maglû'', '' Bīt rimki'', '' Zu-buru-dabbeda'', '' Advice to a Prince'', '' Asakkū marsūtu'', the '' Great Prayer to Šamaš'', the '' MUL.APIN'', the '' Sag-gig-ga-meš'', and '' Šēp lemutti''
* 900 BC: Akkadian '' Epic of Erra''
* 900 BC: Vedic Sanskrit '' Aranyaka''
]
Classical Antiquity
9th century BC
* Chinese:
** '' Classic of Changes'' (''I Ching'')
* Akkadian:
** '' Ninurta-Pāqidāt's Dog Bite''
** '' Enûma Eliš''
8th century BC
* Greek:
** Trojan War cycle, including the ''Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) 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 ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...
'' and the '' Odyssey''
* Sanskrit:
** Brahmanas
** Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
The ''Brihadaranyaka Upanishad'' (, ) is one of the Mukhya Upanishads, Principal Upanishads and one of the first Upanishadic scriptures of Hinduism. A key scripture to various schools of Hinduism, the ''Brihadaranyaka Upanisad'' is tenth in the ...
** Isha Upanishad
** Chandogya Upanishad
** Aitareya Upanishad
** Taittiriya Upanishad
* Akkadian:
** '' Chronicle of the Market Prices''
** '' Hymn to Ninurta as Savior''
** '' Mîs-pî''
7th century BC
* Vedic Sanskrit
Vedic Sanskrit, also simply referred as the Vedic language, is the most ancient known precursor to Sanskrit, a language in the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan subgroup of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is atteste ...
:
** 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: '' Theogony'' and '' Works and Days''
** Archilochus
** Alcman
** Semonides of Amorgos
** Solon
** Mimnermus
** Stesichorus
* Paleo-Hebrew alphabet:
** 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 , which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a perso ...
s with the Priestly Blessing, which are recorded in the Book of Numbers)
* Chinese:
** '' Classic of Documents'' (''Shūjīng'') (authentic portions)
* Akkadian:
** '' Dynastic Chronicle''
** '' Eclectic Chronicle''
** '' Marduk Prophecy''
6th century BC
* Sanskrit:
** Sushruta: '' Sushruta Samhita'' (''Book on Surgery and Medicine'')
** Kapila: Samkhya-sutra, ''Kapilanyayabhasa'', ''Kapila Gita'', ''Dṛṣṭantara Yoga''
** Kanada: '' Vaiśeṣika Sūtra'' (''Book on Atomism'')
** '' Kashyapa Samhhita'' (''Book on Medicine'')
** '' Pratishakhyas''
* Greek:
** Sappho
** Ibycus
** Alcaeus of Mytilene
** Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a Slavery in ancient Greece, slave and storyteller who lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 Before the Common Era, BCE. Of varied and unclear origins, the stor ...
* Akkadian:
** '' The Autobiography of Adad-guppi''
** '' Abnu šikinšu''
** '' Nabonidus Chronicle''
** '' Verse Account of Nabonidus''
** Cyrus Cylinder
5th century BC
* Sanskrit:
** Pāṇini:'' Aṣṭādhyāyī''
** Kenopanishad
** '' Apastamba Dharmasutra'', '' Apastambha Smriti''
* Avestan: '' Yasht''
* Chinese:
** '' Spring and Autumn Annals'' (''Chūnqiū'') (722–481 BC, chronicles of the state of Lu)
** Confucius
Confucius (; pinyin: ; ; ), born Kong Qiu (), was a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Much of the shared cultural heritage of the Sinosphere originates in the phil ...
: '' Analects'' (''Lúnyǔ'')
** '' Classic of Rites'' (''Lǐjì'')
** '' Commentaries of Zuo'' (''Zuǒ Zhuàn'')
** Mozi: '' Mozi''
** Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu (; zh, t=孫子, s=孙子, first= t, p=Sūnzǐ) may have been a Chinese General, military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer who lived during the Eastern Zhou period (771–256 BC). Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the au ...
: '' The Art of War'' (''Sūnzǐ Bīngfǎ'')
** Guoyu: '' Discourses of the States''
** Yanzi Chunqiu: ''Annals of Master Yan''
** Wenzi: ''Book of Master Wen''
* Greek:
** Pindar
Pindar (; ; ; ) was an Greek lyric, Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes, Greece, Thebes. Of the Western canon, canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar i ...
: odes
** Herodotus
Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...
: '' The Histories of Herodotus''
** Thucydides
Thucydides ( ; ; BC) was an Classical Athens, Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts Peloponnesian War, the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been d ...
: ''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 Classical Athens, Athens). The account, ...
''
** Aeschylus
Aeschylus (, ; ; /524 – /455 BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek tragedy, tragedian often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek tragedy is large ...
: '' The Suppliants'', '' The Persians'', '' Seven Against Thebes'', '' Oresteia''
** Sophocles
Sophocles ( 497/496 – winter 406/405 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. was an ancient Greek tragedian known as one of three from whom at least two plays have survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those ...
: '' Oedipus Rex'', '' Oedipus at Colonus'', '' Antigone'', '' Electra'' and other plays
** Euripides: '' Alcestis'', '' Medea'', ''Heracleidae
The Heracleidae (; ) or Heraclids were the numerous descendants of Heracles, especially applied in a narrower sense to the descendants of Hyllus, the eldest of his four sons by Deianira (Hyllus was also sometimes thought of as Heracles' son ...
'', '' Hippolytus'', '' Andromache'', '' Hecuba'', '' The Suppliants'', '' Electra'', ''Heracles
Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...
'', '' Trojan Women'', '' Iphigeneia in Tauris'', '' Ion'', '' Helen'', '' Phoenician Women'', '' Orestes'', '' Bacchae'', '' Iphigeneia at Aulis'', '' Cyclops'', '' Rhesus''
** Aristophanes: '' The Acharnians'', '' The Knights'', '' The Clouds'', '' The Wasps'', ''Peace
Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...
'', '' The Birds'', '' Lysistrata'', '' Thesmophoriazusae'', '' The Frogs'', '' Ecclesiazousae'', '' Plutus''
* Hebrew: date of the extant text of the Torah
The Torah ( , "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. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...
4th century BC
* Sanskrit:
** Katha Upanishad
** Prashnopanishad
** Mundaka Upanishad
** Māṇḍūkya Upanishad
** Bhadrabahu: '' Kalpa Sūtra''
** Chanakya
Chanakya (ISO 15919, ISO: ', चाणक्य, ), according to legendary narratives preserved in various traditions dating from the 4th to 11th century CE, was a Brahmin who assisted the first Mauryan emperor Chandragupta Maurya, Chandragup ...
: ''Arthashastra
''Kautilya's Arthashastra'' (, ; ) is an Ancient Indian Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, politics, economic policy and military strategy. The text is likely the work of several authors over centuries, starting as a compilation of ''Arthashas ...
'', '' Chanakya Neeti''
** Salihotra: '' Shalihotra Samhita'' (treatise on veterinary medicine)
** Vyasa
Vyasa (; , ) or Veda Vyasa (, ), also known as Krishna Dvaipayana Veda Vyasa (, ''Vedavyāsa''), is a ''rishi'' (sage) with a prominent role in most Hindu traditions. He is traditionally regarded as the author of the epic Mahabharata, Mah� ...
: '' Mahabharata'', Puranas, '' Brahma Sutras''
** Jaimini: '' Mimamsa Sutras'', '' Jaimini Sutras'', '' Ashvamedhika Parva''
** Valmiki: '' Ramayana''
** Bhāsa: '' Svapnavasavadattam'', Pancarātra, Pratijna Yaugandharayaanam, Pratimanātaka, Abhishekanātaka, Bālacharita, Karnabhāram, Dūtaghaṭotkaca, Chārudatta, Madhyamavyayoga and Urubhanga.
* Hebrew: Book of Job, beginning of Hebrew wisdom literature
* Chinese:
** Laozi (or Lao Tzu): '' Tao Te Ching''
** Zhuangzi: '' Zhuangzi''
** Mencius: '' Mencius'' (Mèngzǐ)
** '' Shanhai Jing'': ''Classic of Mountains and Seas''
** '' Li Sao'': ''Encountering Sorrow''
** '' Nine Songs'' (Jiǔ Gē)
** '' Heavenly Questions'' (Tiān Wèn)
** '' Nine Pieces'' (Jiǔ Zhāng)
** '' Yuan You'' (Far-off Journey)
** Shang Yang: '' Book of Lord Shang'' (''Shāng jūn shū'')
** '' Shizi'': ''Book of Master Shi''
** '' Guiguzi'': ''Sage of Ghost Valley''
** '' Huangdi Sijing'': ''Yellow Emperor's Four Classics''
** '' Tale of King Mu, Son of Heaven'' (''Mù Tiānzǐ Zhuàn'')
** '' Wuzi'': ''Wu Qi's Art of War''
** '' Sun Bin's Art of War'' (Sūn Bìn Bīngfǎ)
** '' The Methods of the Sima'' (Sīmǎ Fǎ)
** Li Kui: '' Book of Law''
* Persian:
** DNa inscription
* Greek:
** Xenophon
Xenophon of Athens (; ; 355/354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian. At the age of 30, he was elected as one of the leaders of the retreating Ancient Greek mercenaries, Greek mercenaries, the Ten Thousand, who had been ...
: '' Anabasis'', '' Cyropaedia, Oeconomicus, Memorabilia
A souvenir (French language, French for 'a remembrance or memory'), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memory, memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collecte ...
, Hellenica''
** Aristotle
Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...
: '' Nicomachean Ethics, Metaphysics
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...
, Organon, Physics
Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, 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 whi ...
, Historia Animalium, De Partibus Animalium, De Motu Animalium, De Mundo, De Caelo, Poetics, Politics
Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
, Magna Moralia, Eudemian Ethics''
** Plato
Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...
: ''Euthyphro
''Euthyphro'' (; ), is a philosophical work by Plato written in the form of a Socratic dialogue set during the weeks before the trial of Socrates in 399 BC. In the dialogue, Socrates and Euthyphro attempt to establish a definition of '' piet ...
'', '' Apology'', '' Crito'', '' Theaetetus'', ''Parmenides
Parmenides of Elea (; ; fl. late sixth or early fifth century BC) was a Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic ancient Greece, Greek philosopher from Velia, Elea in Magna Graecia (Southern Italy).
Parmenides was born in the Greek colony of Veli ...
'', '' Symposium'', '' Phaedrus'', '' Protagoras'', '' Gorgias'', '' Meno'', ''Republic
A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...
'', '' Timaeus, Critias, Laws
Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a Socia ...
, Menexenus, Phaedo, Lysis, Alcibiades I, Alcibiades II, Hippias minor, Epinomis, Minos, Hipparchus
Hipparchus (; , ; BC) was a Ancient Greek astronomy, 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 equinoxes. Hippar ...
'', '' Ion''
** Euclid
Euclid (; ; 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 geometry that largely domina ...
: '' Elements''
** Menander: '' Dyskolos''
** Theophrastus
Theophrastus (; ; c. 371 – c. 287 BC) was an ancient Greek Philosophy, philosopher and Natural history, naturalist. A native of Eresos in Lesbos, he was Aristotle's close colleague and successor as head of the Lyceum (classical), Lyceum, the ...
: '' Enquiry into Plants''
* Egyptian:
** Famine Stela
3rd century BC
* Avestan: '' Avesta''
* Chinese:
** '' Lüshi Chunqiu'': ''Master Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals''
** '' Yi Zhoushu'': ''Lost Book of Zhou''
** '' Erya'': ''Ancient dictionary''
** '' Hanfeizi'': ''Book of Master Han Fei''
** '' Xunzi'': ''Book of Master Xun''
** '' Wei Liaozi'': ''Book of Master Wei Liao''
** '' Gongsun Longzi'': ''Book of Master Gongsun Long''
** '' Cangjiepian'': ''Cang Jie's Chapter''
** '' Lament for Ying'' (''Āi Yǐng'')
** '' Bu Ju'': ''Divination''
** '' Yu Fu'': ''Fisherman''
** '' Nine Changes'' (Jiǔ Biàn)
** '' Zhao Hun'': ''Summons of the Soul''
** '' Da Zhao'': ''The Great Summons''
** '' Sorrow for Troth Betrayed'' (Xī Shì)
* Etruscan: '' Liber Linteus Zagrabiensis (Linen Book of Zagreb)''
* Sanskrit:
** Pingala: '' Chandaḥśāstra''
** Moggaliputta-Tissa: '' Kathavatthu''
** Kātyāyana: '' Vārttikakāra, Śulbasūtras''
** Vishnu Sharma: '' Panchatantra''
** Vedanga Jyotisha
** Bharata Muni: Natya Shastra (A theoretical treatise on classical Indian dance and drama)
* Elu (Sri Lankan Prakrit): Sīhalattakathā or Hela Atuwā (Pali commentaries of Buddhist teachings that were translated into Sinhalese after the introduction of Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
to Sri Lanka)
* Tamil:
** 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 ( ) is one of the Ketuvim ('Writings') of the Hebrew Bible and part of the Wisdom literature of the Christian Old Testament. The title commonly used in English is a Latin transliteration of the Greek translation of the Hebrew word ...
* Greek:
** Apollonius of Rhodes
Apollonius of Rhodes ( ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; ; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek author, best known for the ''Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and the Argonauts and their quest for the Go ...
: ''Argonautica
The ''Argonautica'' () is a Greek literature, Greek epic poem written by Apollonius of Rhodes, Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BC. The only entirely surviving Hellenistic civilization, Hellenistic epic (though Aetia (Callimachus), Callim ...
''
** Callimachus (310/305-240 BC), lyric poet
** Manetho: '' Aegyptiaca''
** Theocritus, lyric poet
* Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
:
** Lucius Livius Andronicus ( — ), translator, founder of Roman drama
** Gnaeus Naevius ( — 201 BC), dramatist, epic poet
** Titus Maccius Plautus ( — 184 BC), dramatist, composer of comedies: '' Poenulus'', '' Miles Gloriosus'', and other plays
** Quintus Fabius Pictor (3rd century BC), historian
** Lucius Cincius Alimentus (3rd century BC), military historian and antiquarian
* Egyptian:
** '' Demotic Chronicle''
** '' Oracle of the Potter''
* Akkadian:
** '' Crimes and Sacrileges of Nabu-šuma-iškun''
** '' Religious Chronicle''
2nd century BC
* Sanskrit:
** Patanjali (founder of yoga school of philosophy): '' Mahābhāṣya'' (treatise on grammar and linguistics), ''Patanjalatantra'' (medical text), '' Yoga Sūtras''
** Badrayana (founder of ''Vedanta'' school of philosophy): '' Brahma Sutras''
** Manu: '' Manusmriti'' (Laws of Manu)
* Avestan: '' Vendidad''
* Chinese:
** Sima Qian: '' Records of the Grand Historian'' (''Shǐ Jì'')
** ''Huainanzi
The ''Huainanzi'' is an ancient Chinese text made up of essays from scholarly debates held at the court of Liu An, Prince of Huainan, before 139 BCE. Compiled as a handbook for an enlightened sovereign and his court, the work attempts to defi ...
'': ''Book of the Huai'nan Masters''
** Sima Xiangru
** '' Six Secret Teachings'' (''Liù Tāo'')
** '' Book of Gods and Strange Things'' (''Shényì Jīng'')
** '' Seven Remonstrances'' (''Qī Jiàn'')
** '' Summons for a Recluse'' (''Zhāo Yǐnshì'')
** '' Alas That My Lot Was Not Cast'' (''Āi Shí Mìng'')
** Jia Yi: '' Ten Crimes of Qin'' (''Guò Qín Lùn'')
* Aramaic: Book of Daniel
* Hebrew: Sirach
* Greek:
** Polybius
Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...
: '' The Histories''
** Book of Wisdom
** Septuagint
The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...
* 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 ( — 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 (2nd century BC), historian
** Lucius Accius (170 BC — ), tragic dramatist, philologist
** Gaius Lucilius ( — 103/2 BC), satirist
** Quintus Lutatius Catulus (2nd century BC), public officer, epigrammatist
** Aulus Furius Antias (2nd century BC), poet
** Gaius Julius Caesar Strabo Vopiscus (130 BC — 87 BC), public officer, tragic dramatist
** Lucius Pomponius Bononiensis (2nd century BC), comic dramatist, satirist
** Lucius Cassius Hemina (2nd century BC), historian
** Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi (2nd century BC), historian
** Manius Manilius (2nd century BC), public officer, jurist
** Lucius Coelius Antipater (2nd century BC), jurist, historian
** Publius Sempronius Asellio (158 BC — after 91 BC), military officer, historian
** Gaius Sempronius Tuditanus (consul 129 BC), Gaius Sempronius Tuditanus (2nd century BC), jurist
** Lucius Afranius (poet), 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 (121 BC — 67 BC), soldier, historian
** Quintus Cornificius (2nd & 1st centuries BC), rhetorician
* Pali literature, Pali: Tipitaka
1st century BC
* Chinese:
** Shuo Yuan: ''Garden of Talks''
** Zhan Guo Ce: ''Annals of the Warring States''
** Taixuanjing: ''Canon of Supreme Mystery''
** Fangyan (book), Fangyan: ''Regional Speech''
** Liexian Zhuan: ''Biographies of Immortals''
** Jijiupian: ''Quick Mastery of the Characters''
** Three Strategies of Huang Shigong (''Huáng Shígōng Sānlüè'')
** Nine Regrets (''Jiǔ Huái'')
** Nine Laments (''Jiǔ Tàn'')
* Pali (Sri Lanka): ''Pāli Canon, Pāli Tripiṭaka'' (written under the patronage of Valagamba of Anuradhapura, King Vattagamani of Anuradhapura in Aluvihare Rock Temple, Aluhihare, Matale)
* Latin:
** Cicero: ''Catiline Orations'', ''Pro Caelio'', ''Dream of Scipio''
** Julius Caesar: ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico, Gallic Wars'', ''Commentarii de Bello Civili, Civil War''
** Virgil: ''Eclogues'', ''Georgics'' and ''Aeneid''
** Lucretius: ''On the Nature of Things''
** Livy: ''History of Rome (Livy), History of Rome'' (''Ab Urbe Condita'')
1st century AD
* Sanskrit:
** Śabara: Śābara-bhāṣyam
** Gunadhara:''Kasayapahuda''
** Aśvaghoṣa:''Buddhacharita'' (Acts of the Buddha), ''Saundarananda, Sutralankara''
* Chinese:
** Ban Gu: ''Book of Han'' (''Hàn Shū'')
** Lun Heng: ''Discourses in the Balance''
** ''Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue'' (''Wúyuè Chūnqiū'')
** ''Nine Longings'' (''Jiǔ Sī'')
* Greek:
** Plutarch: ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans''
** Josephus: ''The Jewish War'', ''Antiquities of the Jews'', ''Against Apion''
** The books of the New Testament of the Christian Bible and the ''Didache''
* Latin: see Classical Latin
** Tacitus: ''Germania (book), Germania''
** Ovid: ''Metamorphoses''; also ''Tristia'' and ''Epistulae ex Ponto'' written during Exile of Ovid, his exile
** Pliny the Elder: ''Natural History (Pliny), Natural History''
** Petronius: ''Satyricon''
** Seneca the Younger: ''Phaedra (Seneca), Phaedra'', Dialogues
** Statius: ''Thebaid (Latin poem), Thebaid''; also ''Silvae'' and unfinished ''Achilleid''
* Egyptian:
** ''Oracle of the Lamb''
2nd century
* Chinese:
** ''Shuowen Jiezi'': ''Ancient Dictionary''
** ''Cantong Qi'': ''The Kinship of the Three''
** ''Fengsu Tongyi'': ''Comprehensive Meaning of Customs and Mores''
** ''Nineteen Old Poems'' (Gǔshī Shíjiǔ Shǒu)
** ''Taiping Jing'': ''Scriptures of the Great Peace''
** ''Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute'' (Hú Jiā Shí Bā Pāi)
** Zhang Heng
* Sanskrit: Aśvaghoṣa: ''Buddhacharita'' (''Acts of the Buddha'')
* Pahlavi:
** ''Yadegar-e Zariran'' (''Memorial of Zarēr'')
** ''Visperad''
** ''Drakht-i Asurig'' (''The Babylonian Tree'')
* Greek:
** Arrian: ''Anabasis Alexandri''
** Marcus Aurelius: ''Meditations''
** Epictetus and Arrian: ''Enchiridion of Epictetus, Enchiridion''
** Ptolemy: ''Almagest''
** Athenaeus: ''Deipnosophistae, The Banquet of the Learned''
** Pausanias (geographer), Pausanias: ''Description of Greece''
** Longus: ''Daphnis and Chloe''
** Lucian: ''True History''
** ''The Shepherd of Hermas''
* Latin: see Classical Latin
** Apuleius: ''The Golden Ass''
** Lucius Ampelius: ''Liber Memorialis''
** Suetonius: ''Lives of the Twelve Caesars''
** Tertullian: ''Apologeticus''
3rd century
* Avestan: ''Avesta#The Khordeh Avesta, Khordeh Avesta'' (Zoroastrian prayer book)
* Pahlavi: Mani (prophet), Mani: ''Shabuhragan'' (Manichaeism, Manichaean holy book)
* Chinese:
** Chen Shou: ''Records of Three Kingdoms'' (三國志, ''Sānguó Zhì'')
** Zhang Hua: 博物志, ''Bowuzhi''
** ''Xiang'er'': 老子想爾注, Lǎozi Xiǎng'ěr Zhù
** ''Lieyi Zhuan'': 列異傳, ''Arrayed Marvels''
** Lu Ji (Shiheng), Lu Ji: ''文賦'', ''Wen fu'' (''Essay on Literature'')
** ''Xijing Zaji'': 西京雜記, ''Miscellaneous Records of the Western Capital''
** Jian'an poetry (建安風骨, ''Jiàn'ān Fēnggǔ'')
** ''The Peacock Flies Southeast'' (孔雀東南飛, ''Kǒngquè Dōngnán Fēi'')
** Cao Zhi
** Ji Kang
** Ruan Ji
** Zuo Si
** Pan Yue (poet), Pan Yue
* Greek: Plotinus: ''Enneads''
* Latin: see Late Latin
** Distichs of Cato
* Hebrew: Mishnah
* Pali (Sri Lanka): ''Dīpavaṃsa''
Late Antiquity
4th century
* Latin: see Late Latin
** Augustine of Hippo: ''Confessions (St. Augustine), Confessions'', ''On Christian Doctrine''
** Faltonia Betitia Proba: ''Cento Vergilianus de laudibus Christi'' (A Virgilian Cento (poetry), Cento Concerning the Glory of Christ)
** ''Apicius'' (''De re coquinaria'', ''On the Subject of Cooking'')
** ''Pervigilium Veneris'' (''Vigil of Venus'')
* Sanskrit:
** Asanga: Dharma-dharmata-vibhaga (Distinguishing Phenomena and Pure Being), Mahāyānasaṃgraha (Summary of the Great Vehicle)
** Vasubandhu: ''Vasubandhu, Verses on the Treasury of the Abhidharma'', Pañcaskandhaprakaraṇa (Explanation of the Five Aggregates), Vasubandhu, Pañcaskandhaprakaraṇa (Explanation of the Five Aggregates), Vyākhyāyukti (Proper Mode of Exposition), Vasubandhu, Vādavidhi (Rules for Debate), Vasubandhu, Dharmadharmatāvibhāgavṛtti (Commentary on Distinguishing Elements from Reality), Vasubandhu, Madhyāntavibhāgabhāṣya (Commentary on Distinguishing the Middle from the Extremes), Vasubandhu, Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkārabhāṣya (Commentary on the Ornament to the Great Vehicle Discourses)
** Dignāga: ''Pramāṇa-samuccaya'' (''Compendium of Valid Cognition''), ''Hetucakra'' (''The wheel of reason'')
** Haribhadra (Jain philosopher), Haribhadra: ''Anekāntajayapatākā'' (The ''Victory Banner of Anekantavada (Relativism)''), ''Haribhadra, Dhūrtākhyāna'' (''The Rogue's Stories''), ''Yogadṛṣṭisamuccaya'' (''An Array of Views on Yoga''), ''Haribhadra, Ṣaḍdarśanasamuccaya'' (''Compendium of Six Philosophies'')
* Chinese:
** ''Liezi'': ''Book of Master Lie''
** ''Baopuzi'': ''Simplex One''
** ''In Search of the Supernatural'' (''Sōu Shén Jì'')
** ''Ziyuan (book), Ziyuan'': ''Character Garden''
** ''Shiyiji'': ''Forgotten Tales''
** ''Shenxian Zhuan'': ''Biographies of the Deities and Immortals''
** ''Lantingji Xu'': ''Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion''
** ''Star Gauge'' (''Xuánjī Tú'')
* Syriac: Aphrahat, Ephrem the Syrian
* Aramaic: Jerusalem Talmud
* Pali (Sri Lanka): ''Mahāvaṃsa''
5th century
* Armenian:
** Movses Khorenatsi: ''History of Armenia (book), History of Armenia''
* Chinese:
** ''A New Account of the Tales of the World'' (世說新語, ''Shì Shuō Xīn Yǔ'')
** ''The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons'' (文心雕龍, ''Wén Xīn Diāo Lóng'')
** Bao Zhao: ''Fu (poetry), Fu on the Ruined City'' (蕪城賦, ''Wú Chéng Fù'')
** Fan Ye (historian), Fan Ye: ''Book of the Later Han'' (後漢書, ''Hòuhàn Shū'')
** ''You Ming Lu'' (幽明錄, ''Collection of Supernatural Tales'')
** ''Zhengao'' (真誥, ''Declarations of the Perfected'')
** Tao Yuanming
** Xie Lingyun
** Xie Tiao
** Shen Yue
* Sanskrit:
** Kālidāsa (speculated): ''Abhijñānaśākuntalam'' (अभिज्ञान शाकुन्तलम्, "The Recognition of Shakuntala"), ''Meghadūta'' (मेघदूत, "Cloud Messenger"), ''Vikramōrvaśīyam'' (विक्रमोर्वशीयम्, "Urvashi Won by Valour", play)
** Pujyapada: ''Pujyapada, Iṣṭopadeśa'' (''Divine Sermons''), Sarvārthasiddhi (Attainment of Higher Goals), Pujyapada, Jainendra Vyākaraṇa (Jainendra Grammar), Pujyapada, Samādhitantra (Method of Self Contemplation), Pujyapada, Daśabhaktyādisangraha (Collection of Ten Adorations) ''Pujyapada, ,Śabdāvatāranyāsa'' (''Arrangement of Words and their Forms'')
** Aryabhata: Aryabhatiya
** Nitisara, Kamandaka: ''Nitisara'' (''The Elements of Polity'')
** Bodhidharma: ''Long Scroll of the Treatise on the Two Entrances and Four Practices, Two Entrances and Four Practices'', ''Bodhidharma, Treatise on Realizing the Nature'', ''Bodhidharma, Refuting Signs Treatise''
** Bhartṛhari: ''Vākyapadīya'' (treatise on Sanskrit grammar and linguistic philosophy), Śatakatraya (the three hundred poems of moral values)
** Siddhasena: ''Nyāyāvatāra'', ''Siddhasena, Sanmati sutra'', ''Siddhasena, Kalyan Mandir stotra''
** Lokavibhaga, Sarvanandi: Lokavibhaga (text on Jain cosmology)
* Tamil:
** ''Tirukkural'' (''Sacred Verses'')
** ''Silappatikaram'' (''The Tale of the Anklet'')
* Pahlavi:
** ''Matigan-i Hazar Datistan'' (''The Thousand Laws of the Magistan'')
** ''Frahang-i Oim-evak'' (Pahlavi-Avestan dictionary)
* Pali (Sri Lanka):
** Buddhaghosa: ''Visuddhimagga'' (''The Path of Purification'')
* Latin: see Late Latin
** Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus: ''De Re Militari''
** Augustine of Hippo: ''The City of God''
** Paulus Orosius: ''Seven Books of History Against the Pagans''
** Jerome: ''Vulgate''
** Prudentius: ''Psychomachia''
** Consentius's grammar
** Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite: ''De Coelesti Hierarchia'' (Περὶ τῆς Οὐρανίας Ἱεραρχίας, ''On the Celestial Hierarchy''), ''Mystical Theology''
** Socrates of Constantinople: ''Historia Ecclesiastica''
* Greek:
** Nonnus: ''Dionysiaca''
6th century
* Chinese:
** ''Wen Xuan'' (文選, ''Selections of Refined Literature'')
** ''Shui Jing Zhu'' (水經注, ''Commentary on the Water Classic'')
** ''New Songs from the Jade Terrace'' (玉台新詠, ''Yù Tái Xīn Yǒng'')
** ''Jingchu Suishiji'' (荊楚歲時記, ''Records of the Seasons of Jingchu'')
** ''Thousand Character Classic'' (千字文, ''Qiān Zì Wén'')
** ''The Ballad of Mulan'' (木蘭詩, ''Qiān Zì Wén'')
* Latin: Boethius: (''The Consolation of Philosophy'')
* Aramaic: Babylonian Talmud
* Sanskrit:
** Varāhamihira: ''Pañcasiddhāntikā'' ([Treatise] on the Five [Astronomical] Siddhanta, Canons), Varāhamihira, Brihat-Samhita (Great Compilation) encyclopedic work
** Yativṛṣabha: Tiloya Panatti (Book on Cosmology and Mathematics)
** Virahanka
** Prabhākara: ''Triputipratyaksavada'' (Doctrine of Triple Perception)
** Dharmakirti: ''Dharmakirti, Saṃbandhaparikṣhāvrtti'' (Analysis of Relations), ''Dharmakirti, Pramāṇaviniścaya'' (Ascertainment of Valid Cognition), ''Dharmakirti, Nyāyabinduprakaraṇa'' (Drop of Logic), ''Dharmakirti, Hetubindunāmaprakaraṇa'' (Drop of Reason), ''Dharmakirti, Saṃtānāntarasiddhināmaprakaraṇa'' (Proof of Others' Mindstreams), ''Dharmakirti, Vādanyāyanāmaprakaraṇa'' (Reasoning for Debate)
** Prashastapada, Praśastapāda: ''Prashastapada, Padārtha-dharma-saṅgraha'' (Collection of Properties of Matter)
** Bhāviveka: ''Bhāviveka, Heart of the Middle'', ''Bhāviveka, Wisdom Lamp''
** Udyotakara: ''Nyāyavārttika'' (Work on logic)
** Gaudapada: Gaudapada, Mandukya Karika
* Sinhalese:
** Wansaththppakāsinī (Sinhalese translation of the Pali ''Mahāvaṃsa'')
** Sigiriya, Sigiriya Poems (poems written by visitors to the citadel of Sigiriya)
* Pali (Sri Lanka): ''Cūḷavaṃsa''
* Irish: Early Irish literature
** Dallán Forgaill: ''Amra'' (life of Saint Columba)
See also
* Early medieval literature
* List of languages by first written accounts
* List of years in literature
* List of oldest documents
* List of Hebrew Bible manuscripts
* Biblical manuscript
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ancient Literature
Ancient literature,
History of literature, 01