Extant literature

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, 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 SaqqaraToby 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''
* 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''
* 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'' 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
* 1500 BC: Akkadian '' Poor Man of Nippur''
* 1500 BC: Hittite military oath
* 1500 BC – 1300 BC: Ugaritic '' Baal Cycle''
* 1500 BC – 1200 BC: Ugaritic '' Legend of Keret''
* 1500 BC – 1000 BC: Sanskrit ''Rig Veda''
* 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'' and the '' Odyssey''
* Sanskrit:
** Brahmanas
** Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
** 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:
** 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 (amulets 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
* 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: '' Analects'' (''Lúnyǔ'')
** '' Classic of Rites'' (''Lǐjì'')
** '' Commentaries of Zuo'' (''Zuǒ Zhuàn'')
** Mozi: '' Mozi''
** Sun Tzu: '' The Art of War'' (''Sūnzǐ Bīngfǎ'')
** Guoyu: '' Discourses of the States''
** Yanzi Chunqiu: ''Annals of Master Yan''
** Wenzi: ''Book of Master Wen''
* 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 at Colonus'', '' Antigone'', '' Electra'' and other plays
** Euripides: '' Alcestis'', '' Medea'', ''Heracleidae'', '' Hippolytus'', '' Andromache'', '' Hecuba'', '' The Suppliants'', '' Electra'', ''Heracles'', '' 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'', '' The Birds'', '' Lysistrata'', '' Thesmophoriazusae'', '' The Frogs'', '' Ecclesiazousae'', '' Plutus''
* Hebrew: date of the extant text of the Torah

4th century BC

* Sanskrit:
** Katha Upanishad
** Prashnopanishad
** Mundaka Upanishad
** Māṇḍūkya Upanishad
** Bhadrabahu: '' Kalpa Sūtra''
** Chanakya: ''Arthashastra'', '' Chanakya Neeti''
** Salihotra: '' Shalihotra Samhita'' (treatise on veterinary medicine)
** Vyasa: '' 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: '' Anabasis'', '' Cyropaedia, Oeconomicus, Memorabilia, Hellenica''
** Aristotle: '' Nicomachean Ethics, Metaphysics, Organon, Physics, Historia Animalium, De Partibus Animalium, De Motu Animalium, De Mundo, De Caelo, Poetics, Politics, Magna Moralia, Eudemian Ethics''
** Plato: ''Euthyphro'', '' Apology'', '' Crito'', '' Theaetetus'', ''Parmenides'', '' Symposium'', '' Phaedrus'', '' Protagoras'', '' Gorgias'', '' Meno'', ''Republic'', '' Timaeus, Critias, Laws, Menexenus, Phaedo, Lysis, Alcibiades I, Alcibiades II, Hippias minor, Epinomis, Minos, Hipparchus'', '' Ion''
** Euclid: '' Elements''
** Menander: '' Dyskolos''
** Theophrastus: '' 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 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
* Greek:
** Apollonius of Rhodes: ''Argonautica''
** Callimachus (310/305-240 BC), lyric poet
** Manetho: '' Aegyptiaca''
** Theocritus, lyric poet
* Latin:
** 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'': ''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: '' 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 ( — 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