Ancient literature
Encyclopedia
The history of literature
begins with the history of writing
, in Bronze Age
Mesopotamia
and Ancient Egypt
.
Writing develops out of proto-literate sign systems by the 30th century BC, although the oldest literary texts that have come down to us are several centuries younger, dating to the 27th or 26th century BC.
Literature of the Iron Age
includes the earliest texts preserved in manuscript tradition (as opposed to archaeologically), including the Avesta
n Gatha
s (see date of Zoroaster), the Indian Vedas (see Vedic period
) and the oldest parts of the Hebrew Bible
(see dating the Bible
).
Classical Antiquity
is usually considered to begin with Homer
in the 8th century BC and continues until the decline of the Roman Empire
in the 5th century AD, joined by Latin literature
from the 3rd century BC. Besides the classics of the Western canon
, this period also comprises the development of both classical Sanskrit literature
and Sangam literature
in India, and the Chinese classics in China, and the beginning of classical Syriac
and Middle Persian
literatures by Late Antiquity
.
The following is a chronological list of historical literary works up to the 5th century AD, the conventional end of Classical Antiquity
.
Literature of the 6th to 9th centuries is covered separately, at Early Medieval literature
.
This cut-off date is of course somewhat arbitrary.
For a list of earliest testimony of each language, see list of languages by first written accounts.
Early Bronze Age: 3rd millennium BC (approximate dates shown)
The earliest written literature dates from about 2600 BC (classical Sumerian
). The earliest literary authors known by name are Shuruppak
and Urukagina
, dating to ca. the 27th
and 24th
centuries BC, respectively.
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
.
Middle Bronze Age: ca. 2000 to 1600 BC (approximate dates shown)
Late Bronze Age: ca. 1600 to 1200 BC (approximate dates shown)
Iron Age texts predating Classical Antiquity: 12th to 8th centuries 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
4th century
5th century
History of literature
The history of literature is the historical development of writings in prose or poetry which attempts to provide entertainment, enlightenment, or instruction to the reader/hearer/observer, as well as the development of the literary techniques used in the communication of these pieces. Not all...
begins with the history of writing
History of writing
The history of writing records the development of expressing language by letters or other marks. In the history of how systems of representation of language through graphic means have evolved in different human civilizations, more complete writing systems were preceded by proto-writing, systems of...
, in Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
and Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
.
Writing develops out of proto-literate sign systems by the 30th century BC, although the oldest literary texts that have come down to us are several centuries younger, dating to the 27th or 26th century BC.
Literature of the Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
includes the earliest texts preserved in manuscript tradition (as opposed to archaeologically), including the Avesta
Avesta
The Avesta is the primary collection of sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language.-Early transmission:The texts of the Avesta — which are all in the Avestan language — were composed over the course of several hundred years. The most important portion, the Gathas,...
n Gatha
Gatha
Gatha is a type of metered and often rhythmic poetic verse or a phrase in the ancient Indian languages of Prakrit and Sanskrit. The word is originally derived from the Sanskrit/Prakrit root gai , which means, to speak, sing, recite or extol. Hence gatha can mean either speech, verse or a song...
s (see date of Zoroaster), the Indian Vedas (see Vedic period
Vedic period
The Vedic period was a period in history during which the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, were composed. The time span of the period is uncertain. Philological and linguistic evidence indicates that the Rigveda, the oldest of the Vedas, was composed roughly between 1700–1100 BCE, also...
) and the oldest parts of the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
(see dating the Bible
Dating the Bible
The Bible is a compilation of various texts of different ages. The dates of some of the texts of the Hebrew Bible are difficult to establish....
).
Classical Antiquity
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
is usually considered to begin with Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
in the 8th century BC and continues until the decline of the Roman Empire
Decline of the Roman Empire
The decline of the Roman Empire refers to the gradual societal collapse of the Western Roman Empire. Many theories of causality prevail, but most concern the disintegration of political, economic, military, and other social institutions, in tandem with foreign invasions and usurpers from within the...
in the 5th century AD, joined by Latin literature
Latin literature
Latin literature includes the essays, histories, poems, plays, and other writings of the ancient Romans. In many ways, it seems to be a continuation of Greek literature, using many of the same forms...
from the 3rd century BC. Besides the classics of the Western canon
Western canon
The term Western canon denotes a canon of books and, more broadly, music and art that have been the most important and influential in shaping Western culture. As such, it includes the "greatest works of artistic merit." Such a canon is important to the theory of educational perennialism and the...
, this period also comprises the development of both classical Sanskrit literature
Sanskrit literature
Literature in Sanskrit begins with the Vedas, and continues with the Sanskrit Epics of Iron Age India; the golden age of Classical Sanskrit literature dates to late Antiquity . Literary production saw a late bloom in the 11th century before declining after 1100 AD...
and Sangam literature
Sangam literature
Sangam literature refers to a body of classical Tamil literature created between the years c. 600 BCE to 300 CE. This collection contains 2381 poems composed by 473 poets, some 102 of whom remain anonymous The period during which these poems were composed is commonly referred to as the Sangam...
in India, and the Chinese classics in China, and the beginning of classical Syriac
Syriac literature
Syriac literature is literature written in the Syriac language, the classical Middle Aramaic language of Syriac Christianity. The majority of classical Syriac literature is of a Christian religious nature....
and Middle Persian
Pahlavi literature
Middle Persian literature also called Pahlavi literature is Persian literature of the 1st millennium AD, especially of the Sassanid period.- Literature of Pahlavi :Pahlavi Literature can be divided in three parts:...
literatures by Late Antiquity
Late Antiquity
Late Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world. Precise boundaries for the period are a matter of debate, but noted historian of the period Peter Brown proposed...
.
The following is a chronological list of historical literary works up to the 5th century AD, the conventional end of Classical Antiquity
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
.
Literature of the 6th to 9th centuries is covered separately, at Early Medieval literature
Early Medieval literature
See also: Ancient literature, 10th century in literature, list of years in literature.This is a list of literature dating to the 6th to 9th centuries...
.
This cut-off date is of course somewhat arbitrary.
For a list of earliest testimony of each language, see list of languages by first written accounts.
Bronze Age
- See also: Sumerian literatureSumerian literatureSumerian literature is the literature written in the Sumerian language during the Middle Bronze Age. Most Sumerian literature is preserved indirectly, via Assyrian or Babylonian copies....
, Akkadian literature, Ancient Egyptian literatureAncient Egyptian literatureAncient Egyptian literature was written in the Egyptian language from Ancient Egypt's pharaonic period until the end of Roman domination. It represents the oldest corpus of Egyptian literature...
, Hittite textsHittite textsThe corpus of texts written in the Hittite language is indexed by the Catalogue des Textes Hittites...
, Vedic SanskritVedic SanskritVedic Sanskrit is an old Indo-Aryan language. It is an archaic form of Sanskrit, an early descendant of Proto-Indo-Iranian. It is closely related to Avestan, the oldest preserved Iranian language...
Early Bronze Age: 3rd millennium BC (approximate dates shown)
The earliest written literature dates from about 2600 BC (classical Sumerian
Sumerian language
Sumerian is the language of ancient Sumer, which was spoken in southern Mesopotamia since at least the 4th millennium BC. During the 3rd millennium BC, there developed a very intimate cultural symbiosis between the Sumerians and the Akkadians, which included widespread bilingualism...
). The earliest literary authors known by name are Shuruppak
Shuruppak
Shuruppak or Shuruppag was an ancient Sumerian city situated about 35 miles south of Nippur on the banks of the Euphrates at the site of modern Tell Fara in Iraq's Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate....
and Urukagina
Urukagina
Urukagina , alternately rendered as Uruinimgina or Irikagina, was a ruler of the city-state Lagash in Mesopotamia...
, dating to ca. the 27th
27th century BC
The 27th century BC is a century which lasted from the year 2700 BC to 2601 BC.-Events:*2900 BC – 2334 BC: Mesopotamian wars of the Early Dynastic period.*2775 BC – 2650 BC: Second Dynasty wars in Egypt....
and 24th
24th century BC
The 24th century BC is a century which lasted from the year 2400 BC to 2301 BC.-Events:*c. 2900 BC – 2334 BC: Mesopotamian wars of the Early Dynastic period continue.*c. 2360 BC: Hekla-4 eruption....
centuries BC, respectively.
Certain literary texts are difficult to date, such as the Egyptian Book of the Dead which was recorded in the Papyrus of Ani
Papyrus of Ani
The Papyrus of Ani is a papyrus manuscript written in cursive hieroglyphs and illustrated with color miniatures created in the 19th dynasty of the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt ....
around 1240 BC, but other versions of the book probably date from about the 18th century BC
18th century BC
The 18th century BCE was the century which lasted from 1800 BCE to 1701 BCE.-Events:*1800 BCE: Iron age in India*1800 BCE: Beginning of the Nordic Bronze Age in the period system devised by Oscar Montelius....
.
- 2600 Sumerian texts from Abu SalabikhAbu SalabikhThe low tells at Abu Salabikh, around 12 miles northwest of the site of ancient Nippur in Al-Qādisiyyah province, Iraq mark the site of a small Sumerian city of the mid third millennium BCE, with cultural connections to the cities of Kish, Mari and Ebla...
, including the Instructions of ShuruppakInstructions of ShuruppakInstructions of Šuruppak is a significant piece of Sumerian wisdom literature. Wisdom literature, intended to teach proper piety, inculcate virtue, and preserve community standards, was common throughout the ancient Near East...
and the Kesh temple hymnKesh temple hymnThe Kesh Temple Hymn or Liturgy to Nintud or Liturgy to Nintud on the creation of man and woman is a Sumerian myth, written on clay tablets as early as 2600 BC... - 2600 Akkadian Legend of Etana
- 2400 Egyptian Pyramid TextsPyramid TextsThe Pyramid Texts are a collection of ancient Egyptian religious texts from the time of the Old Kingdom. The pyramid texts are possibly the oldest known religious texts in the world. Written in Old Egyptian, the pyramid texts were carved on the walls and sarcophagi of the pyramids at Saqqara during...
, including the Cannibal Hymn - 2400 Sumerian Code of Urukagina
- 2400 Egyptian Palermo stonePalermo stoneThe Palermo Stone is a large fragment of a stele known as the Royal Annals of the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt. It contains records of the kings of Egypt from the first dynasty through the fifth dynasty....
- 2350 Egyptian The Maxims of PtahhotepThe Maxims of PtahhotepThe Maxims of Ptahhotep or Instruction of Ptahhotep is an ancient literary work attributed to Ptahhotep, a vizier under King Isesi of the Egyptian Fifth Dynasty . It is a collection of maxims and advice in the sebayt genre on human relations, that are directed to his son...
- 2270 Sumerian Enheduanna's Hymns
- 2200 Sumerian Epic of GilgameshEpic of GilgameshEpic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literature. Scholars believe that it originated as a series of Sumerian legends and poems about the protagonist of the story, Gilgamesh king of Uruk, which were fashioned into a longer Akkadian epic much...
- 2100 Sumerian Curse of Agade
- 2100 Sumerian Debate between Bird and FishDebate between bird and fishThe Debate between bird and fish is a literature essay of the Sumerian language, on clay tablets from the mid to late 3rd millennium BC.Seven "debate" topics are known from the Sumerian literature, falling in the category of 'disputations'; some examples are: The Debate between Winter and Summer;...
- 2050 Sumerian Code of Ur-NammuCode of Ur-NammuThe Code of Ur-Nammu is the oldest known tablet containing a law code surviving today. It was written in the Sumerian language circa 2100 BC-2050 BC...
- 2000 Egyptian Coffin TextsCoffin TextsThe Coffin Texts are a collection of ancient Egyptian funerary spells written on coffins beginning in the First Intermediate Period. The texts are derived in part from the earlier pyramid texts, reserved for royal use only, but they contain substantial new material related to everyday desires that...
- 2000 Sumerian Lament for UrLament for UrThe Lament for Ur, Lamentation over the city of Ur or Prayer for 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 The Lament for Ur, Lamentation over the city of Ur or Prayer for Ur is a Sumerian lament composed around the...
- 2000 Sumerian Enmerkar and the Lord of ArattaEnmerkar and the Lord of ArattaEnmerkar and the Lord of Aratta is a legendary Sumerian account, of preserved, early post-Sumerian copies, composed in the Neo-Sumerian period ....
Middle Bronze Age: ca. 2000 to 1600 BC (approximate dates shown)
- 1950 Akkadian Laws of EshnunnaLaws of EshnunnaThe Laws of Eshnunna are inscribed on two cuneiform tablets discovered in Tell Abū Harmal, Baghdad, Iraq. The Iraqi Directorate of Antiquities headed by Taha Baqir unearthed two parallel sets of tablets in 1945 and 1947. The two tablets are separate copies of an older source and date back to ca....
- 1900 Sumerian Code of Lipit-IshtarLipit-IshtarLipit-Ishtar , was the fifth ruler of the first dynasty of Isin, and ruled from around 1934 BCE to 1924 BCE. Some documents and royal inscriptions from his time have survived, but he is mostly known because Sumerian language hymns written in his honor, as well as a legal code written in his name ,...
- 1900 Akkadian Epic of GilgameshEpic of GilgameshEpic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literature. Scholars believe that it originated as a series of Sumerian legends and poems about the protagonist of the story, Gilgamesh king of Uruk, which were fashioned into a longer Akkadian epic much...
- 1850 Akkadian Kultepe texts
- 1800 Egyptian Story of SinuheStory of SinuheThe Tale of Sinuhe is considered one of the finest works of Ancient Egyptian literature. It is a narrative set in the aftermath of the death of Pharaoh Amenemhat I, founder of the 12th dynasty of Egypt, in the early 20th century BC. It is likely that it was composed only shortly after this date,...
(in HieraticHieraticHieratic refers to a cursive writing system that was used in the provenance of the pharaohs in Egypt and Nubia that developed alongside the hieroglyphic system, to which it is intimately related...
) - 1800 Sumerian Eridu Genesis
- 1800 Akkadian Enûma Eliš
- 1800 Akkadian Atra-Hasis epicAtra-HasisThe 18th century BCE Akkadian epic of Atra-Hasis is named after its protagonist. An "Atra-Hasis" appears on one of the Sumerian king lists as king of Shuruppak in the times before the flood. The Atra-Hasis tablets include both a creation myth and a flood account, which is one of three surviving...
- 1780 Akkadian Code of HammurabiCode of HammurabiThe Code of Hammurabi is a well-preserved Babylonian law code, dating to ca. 1780 BC . It is one of the oldest deciphered writings of significant length in the world. The sixth Babylonian king, Hammurabi, enacted the code, and partial copies exist on a human-sized stone stele and various clay...
stele - 1780 Akkadian Mari letters, including the Epic of Zimri-LimZimrilimZimrilim was king of Mari from about 1775 to 1761 BCE.He was the son or grandson of Iakhdunlim, but was forced to flee to Yamkhad when his father was assassinated by his own servants during a coup. The city was occupied by Shamshi-Adad I, the king of Assur, who put his own son Yasmah-Adad on the...
- 1750 Hittite Anitta textAnittaAnitta, son of Pithana, was a king of Kussara, a city that has yet to be identified. He is the earliest known ruler to compose a text in the Hittite language.- Biography :...
- 1700 Egyptian Westcar PapyrusWestcar PapyrusThe Westcar Papyrus is an ancient Egyptian text containing five stories about miracles performed by priests and magicians. Each of these tales are being told at the royal court of the King Cheops by his sons...
- 1650 Egyptian Ipuwer PapyrusIpuwer papyrusThe Ipuwer Papyrus is a single papyrus holding an ancient Egyptian poem, called The Admonitions of Ipuwer or The Dialogue of Ipuwer and the Lord of All. Its official designation is Papyrus Leiden I 344 recto...
Late Bronze Age: ca. 1600 to 1200 BC (approximate dates shown)
- 1700-1200 Vedic Sanskrit: approximate date of the family books of the RigvedaRigvedaThe Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns...
- 1600 Hittite Code of the NesilimCode of the NesilimThe Code of Nesilim is an ancient Hittite legal code dating from c. 1650-1500 BCE.-Translation:From the Ancient History Sourcebook, The Code of the Nesilim, c. 1650-1500 BCE, Paul Halsall, August 1998, from: Oliver J. Thatcher, ed., The Library of Original Sources , Vol. III: The Roman World, pp....
- 1500 Akkadian Poor Man of NippurPoor Man of NippurThe 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, an unhappy man,...
- 1500 Hittite military oathHittite military oathThe Hittite military oath is a Hittite text on two cuneiform tablets.The first tablet is only preserved in fragments , the second tablet survives in three copies, and can be restituted almost completely. The oldest copy is fragmentary, but two younger copies are well preserved...
- 1550 Egyptian Book of the Dead
- 1500 Akkadian Dynasty of DunnumDynasty of DunnumThe Dynasty of Dunnum, sometimes called the Theogony of Dunnum or Dunnu or the Harab Myth, is an ancient Mesopotamian mythical tale of successive generations of gods who take power through parricide and live incestuously with their mothers and/or sisters, until, according to a reconstruction of the...
- 1400 Akkadian Marriage of NergalNergalThe name Nergal, Nirgal, or Nirgali refers to a deity in Babylon with the main seat of his cult at Cuthah represented by the mound of Tell-Ibrahim. Nergal is mentioned in the Hebrew bible as the deity of the city of Cuth : "And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal"...
and EreshkigalEreshkigalIn Mesopotamian mythology, Ereshkigal was the goddess of Irkalla, the land of the dead or underworld. Sometimes her name is given as Irkalla, similar to the way the name Hades was used in Greek mythology for both the underworld and its ruler.Ereshkigal was the only one who could pass judgment and... - 1400 Akkadian Autobiography of Kurigalzu
- 1400 Akkadian Amarna lettersAmarna lettersThe Amarna letters are an archive of correspondence on clay tablets, mostly diplomatic, between the Egyptian administration and its representatives in Canaan and Amurru during the New Kingdom...
- 1330 Egyptian Great Hymn to the AtenGreat Hymn to the AtenThe Great Hymn to the Aten is an ancient Egyptian hymn to the sun god Aten. It is attributed to Pharaoh Akhenaten, who attempted to convert Egypt to monotheism, with Aten being the only god. It was found, in its most complete form, in the tomb of Ay in the rock tombs at Amarna...
- 1240 Egyptian Papyrus of AniPapyrus of AniThe Papyrus of Ani is a papyrus manuscript written in cursive hieroglyphs and illustrated with color miniatures created in the 19th dynasty of the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt ....
, Book of the DeadBook of the DeadThe Book of the Dead is the modern name of an ancient Egyptian funerary text, used from the beginning of the New Kingdom to around 50 BC. The original Egyptian name for the text, transliterated rw nw prt m hrw is translated as "Book of Coming Forth by Day". Another translation would be "Book of... - 1200 Akkadian Tukulti-Ninurta EpicTukulti-Ninurta EpicTukulti-Ninurta Epic is an Assyrian epic, written in the Akkadian language that describes and glorifies the wars and conquests of the Assyrian King Tukulti-Ninurta I against Kashtiliash IV, King of the Kassites....
- 1200 Egyptian Tale of Two BrothersTale of Two BrothersThe 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 preserved in the British Museum. The British Museum dates the...
Iron Age
- See also Sanskrit literatureSanskrit literatureLiterature in Sanskrit begins with the Vedas, and continues with the Sanskrit Epics of Iron Age India; the golden age of Classical Sanskrit literature dates to late Antiquity . Literary production saw a late bloom in the 11th century before declining after 1100 AD...
, Chinese literatureChinese literatureChinese literature extends thousands of years, from the earliest recorded dynastic court archives to the mature fictional novels that arose during the Ming Dynasty to entertain the masses of literate Chinese...
Iron Age texts predating Classical Antiquity: 12th to 8th centuries BC
- 1200-1100 BC approximate date of books RV 1 and RV 10 in the RigvedaRigvedaThe Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns...
- 1200-800 BC approximate date of the Vedic Sanskrit YajurvedaYajurvedaThe Yajurveda, a tatpurusha compound of "sacrificial formula', + ) is the third of the four canonical texts of Hinduism, the Vedas. By some, it is estimated to have been composed between 1400 and 1000 BC, the Yajurveda 'Samhita', or 'compilation', contains the liturgy needed to perform the...
, AtharvavedaAtharvavedaThe Atharvaveda is a sacred text of Hinduism and one of the four Vedas, often called the "fourth Veda".... - 1100-800 BC date of the redaction of the extant text of the RigvedaRigvedaThe Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns...
- 1050 BC Egyptian Story of WenamunStory of WenamunThe Story of Wenamun is a literary text written in hieratic in the Late Egyptian language...
- 1000-600 BC Chinese Classic of Poetry (Shījīng), Classic of Documents (Shūjīng) (authentic portions), Classic of ChangesI ChingThe I Ching or "Yì Jīng" , also known as the Classic of Changes, Book of Changes and Zhouyi, is one of the oldest of the Chinese classic texts...
(I Ching) - 950 BC date of the JahwistJahwistThe Jahwist, also referred to as the Jehovist, Yahwist, or simply as J, is one of the sources of the Torah. It gets its name from the fact that it characteristically uses the term Yahweh for God in the book of Genesis...
portions of the TorahTorahTorah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
according to the documentary hypothesisDocumentary hypothesisThe documentary hypothesis , holds that the Pentateuch was derived from originally independent, parallel and complete narratives, which were subsequently combined into the current form by a series of redactors... - 900 BC Akkadian Epic of Erra
- 850 BC date of the ElohistElohistThe Elohist is one of four sources of the Torah described by the Documentary Hypothesis. Its name comes from the term it uses for God: Elohim; it is characterised by, among other things, an abstract view of God, using "Horeb" instead of "Sinai" for the mountain where Moses received the laws of...
portions of the TorahTorahTorah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
according to the documentary hypothesisDocumentary hypothesisThe documentary hypothesis , holds that the Pentateuch was derived from originally independent, parallel and complete narratives, which were subsequently combined into the current form by a series of redactors...
Classical Antiquity
- See also Ancient Greek literatureAncient Greek literatureAncient Greek literature refers to literature written in the Ancient Greek language until the 4th century.- Classical and Pre-Classical Antiquity :...
, Syriac literatureSyriac literatureSyriac literature is literature written in the Syriac language, the classical Middle Aramaic language of Syriac Christianity. The majority of classical Syriac literature is of a Christian religious nature....
, Latin literatureLatin literatureLatin literature includes the essays, histories, poems, plays, and other writings of the ancient Romans. In many ways, it seems to be a continuation of Greek literature, using many of the same forms...
, Indian literatureIndian literatureIndian literature refers to the literature produced on the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and in the Republic of India thereafter. The Republic of India has 22 officially recognized languages....
, Hebrew literatureHebrew literatureHebrew literature consists of ancient, medieval, and modern writings in the Hebrew language. It is one of the primary forms of Jewish literature, though there have been cases of literature written in Hebrew by non-Jews...
, AvestaAvestaThe Avesta is the primary collection of sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language.-Early transmission:The texts of the Avesta — which are all in the Avestan language — were composed over the course of several hundred years. The most important portion, the Gathas,... - See also: centuries in poetry: 7th7th century BC in poetry-Poets :* Homer, born near or before the beginning of the century* Hesiod, born near or before the beginning of the century in Boeotia* Archilochus of Paros * Alcman * Semonides* Solon...
, 6th6th century BC in poetry-Poets :* Anacreon , Teos* Xenophanes of Colophon * Phocylides * Simonides of Ceos * Hipponax of Ephesus * Aeschylus...
, 5th5th century BC in poetry-Poets :* Sophocles * Euripides * Critias -Works:* The last poems of the Shi Jing likely completed prior to the end of the Warring states period in 481 BCE; the first poems may date more than 7 centuries earlier....
, 4th4th century BC in poetry-Poets :* Aratus of Soli , Macedonia, in Greek* Theocritus , in Greek* Callimachus , Alexandria, in Greek...
, 3rd3rd century BC in poetry-Poets :* Apollonius of Rhodes , Greek* Ennius , Salento, LatinDate unknown:* Herodas, Greek* Theocritus, Greek* Anyte of Tegea, Greek woman poet-Works:...
, 2nd2nd century BC in poetry-Poets :* Jia Yi * Sima Xiangru , Western Han* Sima Qian -Poets:* Approximate time of Tiruvalluvar , writing in Tamil-Works:...
, 1st1st century BC in poetry-Poets :* Lucretius * Catullus * Virgil * Gallus , Egypt* Horace -Poets (by date of birth):* Lucretius (94 - 49 BCE)* Catullus (84 -54 BCE)* Virgil (Oct. 15, 70 - Sept. 21, 19 BCE)* Gallus (69 - 26 BC), Egypt* Horace -Poets (by date of birth):* Lucretius (94 - 49 BCE)* Catullus (84 -54 BCE)* Virgil...
8th century BC
- Greek Trojan War cycle, including the IliadIliadThe Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
and the OdysseyOdysseyThe Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature... - 800-500 BC: Sanskrit BrahmanaBrahmanaThe Brāhmaṇas are part of the Hindu śruti literature. They are commentaries on the four Vedas, detailing the proper performance of rituals....
s - 722–481 BC: Chinese Spring and Autumn AnnalsSpring and Autumn AnnalsThe Spring and Autumn Annals is the official chronicle of the State of Lu covering the period from 722 BCE to 481 BCE. It is the earliest surviving Chinese historical text to be arranged on annalistic principles. The text is extremely concise and, if all the commentaries are excluded, about 16,000...
(Chūnqiū) (chronicles of the state of LuLu (state)The State of Lu, was a Zhou Dynasty ducal vassal state before and during the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history. Founded in the 10th century BC, its dukes used Ji as their family name. The first duke was Boqin |Qi]] and to the south by the powerful state of Chu...
) - oldest books of the Hebrew BibleHebrew BibleThe Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
(Book of NahumBook of NahumThe book of Nahum is the seventh book of the 12 minor prophets of the Hebrew Bible. It is attributed to the prophet Nahum, and was probably written in Jerusalem in the 8th century BC.-Background:...
, Book of HoseaBook of HoseaThe Book of Hosea is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It stands first in order among what are known as the twelve Minor Prophets.-Background and Content:...
, Book of AmosBook of AmosThe Book of Amos is a prophetic book of the Hebrew Bible, one of the Twelve Minor Prophets. Amos, an older contemporary of Hosea and Isaiah, was active c. 750 BCE during the reign of Jeroboam II, making the Book of Amos the first biblical prophetic book written. Amos lived in the kingdom of Judah...
)
7th century BC
- Greek:
- HesiodHesiodHesiod was a Greek oral poet generally thought by scholars to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. His is the first European poetry in which the poet regards himself as a topic, an individual with a distinctive role to play. Ancient authors credited him and...
: The TheogonyTheogonyThe Theogony is a poem by Hesiod describing the origins and genealogies of the gods of the ancient Greeks, composed circa 700 BC... - ArchilochusArchilochusArchilochus, or, Archilochos While these have been the generally accepted dates since Felix Jacoby, "The Date of Archilochus," Classical Quarterly 35 97-109, some scholars disagree; Robin Lane Fox, for instance, in Travelling Heroes: Greeks and Their Myths in the Epic Age of Homer , p...
- AlcmanAlcmanAlcman was an Ancient Greek choral lyric poet from Sparta. He is the earliest representative of the Alexandrinian canon of the nine lyric poets.- Family :...
- Semonides of AmorgosSemonides of AmorgosFor the lyric poet, see Simonides of CeosSemonides of Amorgos, was an ancient Greek poet who composed verses in the iambus genre, for which reason he is often associated with two of its other celebrated exponents, Archilochus and Hipponax...
- SolonSolonSolon was an Athenian statesman, lawmaker, and poet. He is remembered particularly for his efforts to legislate against political, economic and moral decline in archaic Athens...
- MimnermusMimnermusMimnermus was a Greek elegiac poet from either Colophon or Smyrna in Ionia, who flourished about 630-600 BC. He was strongly influenced by the example of Homer yet he wrote short poems suitable for performance at drinking parties and was remembered by ancient authorities chiefly as a love poet...
- StesichorusStesichorusStesichorus was the first great poet of the Greek West. He is best known for telling epic stories in lyric metres but he is also famous for some ancient traditions about his life, such as his opposition to the tyrant Phalaris, and the blindness he is said to have incurred and cured by composing...
- Hesiod
6th century BC
- Hebrew BibleHebrew BibleThe Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
: PsalmsPsalmsThe Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
, Book of EzekielBook of EzekielThe Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah and preceding the Book of the Twelve.... - Chinese: Sun TzuSun TzuSun Wu , style name Changqing , better known as Sun Tzu or Sunzi , was an ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher who is traditionally believed, and who is most likely, to have authored The Art of War, an influential ancient Chinese book on military strategy...
: The Art of WarThe Art of WarThe Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise that is attributed to Sun Tzu , a high ranking military general and strategist during the late Spring and Autumn period...
(Sūnzǐ Bīngfǎ) - Sanskrit:
- SutraSutraSūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...
literature - some Mukhya UpanishadsMukhya UpanishadsThe Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads is headed by 10 Mukhya Upanishads. These are the ten oldest Upanishads, known to and commented upon by the 9th century scholar Shankara. Sanskrit means "principal", "chief", or "eminent". Also known as Dashopanishads, these ten Mukhya Upanishads probably all...
(Katha UpanishadKatha UpanishadThe Katha Upanishad , also titled "Death as Teacher", is one of the mukhya Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. It is associated with the school of the Black Yajurveda, and is grouped with the Sutra period of Vedic Sanskrit. It is a middle Upanishad...
, Maitrayaniya UpanishadMaitrayaniya UpanishadThe Maitrayaniya Upanishad or the Maitri Upanishad belongs to the Maitri or Maitrayaniya shakha of the , though some texts assign it to the . It figures as number 24 in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads under the name of the Upanishad, which is included there as a Upanishad, associated with...
)
- Sutra
- Greek:
- SapphoSapphoSappho was an Ancient Greek poet, born on the island of Lesbos. Later Greeks included her in the list of nine lyric poets. Her birth was sometime between 630 and 612 BC, and it is said that she died around 570 BC, but little is known for certain about her life...
- IbycusIbycusIbycus , was an Ancient Greek lyric poet, a citizen of Rhegium in Magna Graecia, probably active at Samos during the reign of the tyrant Polycrates and numbered by the scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria in the canonical list of nine lyric poets...
- Alcaeus of Mytilene
- Aesop's FablesAesop's FablesAesop's Fables or the Aesopica are a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and story-teller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BCE. The fables remain a popular choice for moral education of children today...
- Sappho
5th century BC
- 5th century BC to 4th century AD: Sanskrit: EpicsIndian epic poetryIndian epic poetry is the epic poetry written in the Indian subcontinent, traditionally called Kavya . The Ramayana and Mahabharata, originally composed in Sanskrit and translated thereafter into many other Indian languages, are some of the oldest surviving epic poems on earth and form part of...
(MahabharataMahabharataThe Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
and RamayanaRamayanaThe Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
) - Avestan: YashtYashtThe s are a collection of twenty-one hymns in Younger Avestan. Each of these hymns invokes a specific Zoroastrian divinity or concept. Yasht chapter and verse pointers are traditionally abbreviated as Yt....
- Chinese:
- ConfuciusConfuciusConfucius , literally "Master Kong", was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period....
: Analects (Lúnyǔ) - Classic of Rites (Lǐjì)
- Commentaries of ZuoZuo ZhuanThe Zuo Zhuan , sometimes translated as the Chronicle of Zuo or the Commentary of Zuo, is among the earliest Chinese works of narrative history and covers the period from 722 BCE to 468 BCE. It is one of the most important sources for understanding the history of the Spring and Autumn Period...
(Zuǒzhuàn)
- Confucius
- Greek:
- PindarPindarPindar , was an Ancient Greek lyric poet. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian described him as "by far the greatest of the nine lyric poets, in virtue of his inspired magnificence, the beauty of his thoughts and figures, the rich...
: OdeOdeOde is a type of lyrical verse. A classic ode is structured in three major parts: the strophe, the antistrophe, and the epode. Different forms such as the homostrophic ode and the irregular ode also exist...
s - HerodotusHerodotusHerodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
: The Histories of Herodotus - ThucydidesThucydidesThucydides was a Greek historian and author from Alimos. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 BC...
: History of the Peloponnesian WarHistory of the Peloponnesian WarThe History of the Peloponnesian War is an account of the Peloponnesian War in Ancient Greece, fought between the Peloponnesian League and the Delian League . It was written by Thucydides, an Athenian general who served in the war. It is widely considered a classic and regarded as one of the... - AeschylusAeschylusAeschylus was the first of the three ancient Greek tragedians whose work has survived, the others being Sophocles and Euripides, and is often described as the father of tragedy. His name derives from the Greek word aiskhos , meaning "shame"...
: The SuppliantsThe Suppliants (Aeschylus)The Suppliants is a play by Aeschylus. It was probably first performed sometime after 470 BC as the first play in a tetralogy, sometimes referred to as the Danaid Tetralogy, which probably included the lost plays The Egyptians , and The Daughters of Danaus , and the satyr play Amymone...
, The PersiansThe PersiansThe Persians is an Athenian tragedy by the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus. First produced in 472 BCE, it is the oldest surviving play in the history of theatre...
, Seven Against ThebesSeven Against ThebesThe Seven against Thebes is the third play in an Oedipus-themed trilogy produced by Aeschylus in 467 BC. The trilogy is sometimes referred to as the Oedipodea. It concerns the battle between an Argive army led by Polynices and the army of Thebes led by Eteocles and his supporters. The trilogy won...
, Oresteia - SophoclesSophoclesSophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus, and earlier than or contemporary with those of Euripides...
: Oedipus the KingOedipus the KingOedipus the King , also known by the Latin title Oedipus Rex, is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed c. 429 BCE. It was the second of Sophocles's three Theban plays to be produced, but it comes first in the internal chronology, followed by Oedipus at Colonus and then Antigone...
, Oedipus at ColonusOedipus at ColonusOedipus at Colonus is one of the three Theban plays of the Athenian tragedian Sophocles...
, AntigoneAntigone (Sophocles)Antigone is a tragedy by Sophocles written in or before 442 BC. Chronologically, it is the third of the three Theban plays but was written first...
, ElectraElectra (Sophocles)Electra or Elektra is a Greek tragedy by Sophocles. Its date is not known, but various stylistic similarities with the Philoctetes and the Oedipus at Colonus lead scholars to suppose that it was written towards the end of Sophocles' career.Set in the city of Argos a few years after the Trojan...
and other plays - EuripidesEuripidesEuripides was one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him but according to the Suda it was ninety-two at most...
: AlcestisAlcestis (play)Alcestis is an Athenian tragedy by the ancient Greek playwright Euripides. It was first produced at the City Dionysia festival in 438 BCE. Euripides presented it as the final part of a tetralogy of unconnected plays in the competition of tragedies, for which he won second prize; this arrangement...
, MedeaMedea (play)Medea is an ancient Greek tragedy written by Euripides, based upon the myth of Jason and Medea and first produced in 431 BC. The plot centers on the barbarian protagonist as she finds her position in the Greek world threatened, and the revenge she takes against her husband Jason who has betrayed...
, HeracleidaeHeracleidae (play)Herakles' Children is an Athenian tragedy by Euripides that was first performed c. 430 BC. It follows the children of Herakles as they seek protection from Eurystheus...
, HippolytusHippolytus (play)Hippolytus is an Ancient Greek tragedy by Euripides, based on the myth of Hippolytus, son of Theseus. The play was first produced for the City Dionysia of Athens in 428 BC and won first prize as part of a trilogy....
, AndromacheAndromache (play)Andromache is an Athenian tragedy by Euripides. It dramatises Andromache's life as a slave, years after the events of the Trojan War, and her conflict with her master's new wife, Hermione. The date of its first performance is unknown, although scholars place it sometime between 428 and 425 BC...
, HecubaHecuba (play)Hecuba is a tragedy by Euripides written c. 424 BC. It takes place after the Trojan War, but before the Greeks have departed Troy . The central figure is Hecuba, wife of King Priam, formerly Queen of the now-fallen city...
, The SuppliantsThe Suppliants (Euripides)The Suppliants , first performed in 423 BC, is an ancient Greek play by Euripides.-Background:...
, ElectraElectra (Euripides)Euripides' Electra was a play probably written in the mid 410s BC, likely after 413 BC. It is unclear whether it was first produced before or after Sophocles' version of the Electra story.-Background:...
, HeraclesHeracles (Euripides)Herakles is an Athenian tragedy by Euripides that was first performed c. 416 BCE. While Herakles is in the underworld obtaining Cerberus for one of his labours, his father Amphitryon, wife Megara, and children are sentenced to death in Thebes by Lycus...
, Trojan Women, Iphigeneia in TaurisIphigeneia in TaurisIphigenia in Tauris 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, and is often described as a romance, a melodrama or an escape play.-Background:...
, IonIon (play)Ion is an ancient Greek play by Euripides, thought to be written between 414 and 412 BC. It follows the orphan Ion in the discovery of his origins.-Background:...
, HelenHelen (play)Helen is a drama by Euripides, probably first produced in 412 BC for the Dionysia. The play shares much in common with another of Euripides' works, Iphigenia in Tauris.-Background:...
, Phoenician WomenPhoenician WomenThe Phoenician Women is a tragedy by Euripides, based on the same story as Aeschylus' play Seven Against Thebes. The title refers to the Greek chorus, which is composed of Phoenician women on their way to Delphi who are trapped in Thebes by the war...
, OrestesOrestes (play)Orestes is an Ancient Greek play by Euripides that follows the events of Orestes after he had murdered his mother.-Background:...
, BacchaeThe BacchaeThe Bacchae is an ancient Greek tragedy by the Athenian playwright Euripides, during his final years in Macedon, at the court of Archelaus I of Macedon. It premiered posthumously at the Theatre of Dionysus in 405 BC as part of a tetralogy that also included Iphigeneia at Aulis, and which...
, Iphigeneia at AulisIphigeneia at AulisIphigenia in Aulis is the last extant work of the playwright Euripides. Written between 408, after the Orestes, and 406 BC, the year of Euripides's death, the play was first produced the following year by his son or nephew, Euripides the Younger, and won the first place at the Athenian city...
, CyclopsCyclops (play)The Cyclops is an Ancient Greek satyr play by Euripides, the only complete satyr play that has survived antiquity. It is a comical burlesque-like play on the same story depicted in book nine of Homer's Odyssey.-Background:...
, RhesusRhesus (play)Rhesus is an Athenian tragedy that belongs to the transmitted plays of Euripides. There has been debate about its authorship. It was understood to be by Euripides in the Hellenistic, Imperial, and Byzantine periods. In the 17th century, however, the play's authenticity was challenged, first by... - AristophanesAristophanesAristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
: The AcharniansThe AcharniansThe Acharnians is the third play - and the earliest of the eleven surviving plays - by the great Athenian playwright Aristophanes. It was produced in 425 BCE on behalf of the young dramatist by an associate, Callistratus, and it won first place at the Lenaia festival...
, The KnightsThe KnightsThe Knights was the fourth play written by Aristophanes, the master of an ancient form of drama known as Old Comedy. The play is a satire on the social and political life of classical Athens during the Peloponnesian War and in this respect it is typical of all the dramatist's early plays...
, The CloudsThe CloudsThe Clouds is a comedy written by the celebrated playwright Aristophanes lampooning intellectual fashions in classical Athens. It was originally produced at the City Dionysia in 423 BC and it was not well received, coming last of the three plays competing at the festival that year. It was revised...
, The WaspsThe WaspsThe Wasps is the fourth in chronological order of the eleven surviving plays by Aristophanes, the master of an ancient genre of drama called 'Old Comedy'. It was produced at the Lenaia festival in 422 BC, a time when Athens was enjoying a brief respite from The Peloponnesian War following a one...
, PeacePeace (play)Peace is an Athenian Old Comedy written and produced by the Greek playwright Aristophanes. It won second prize at the City Dionysia where it was staged just a few days before the ratification of the Peace of Nicias , which promised to end the ten year old Peloponnesian War...
, The BirdsThe Birds (play)The Birds is a comedy by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed in 414 BCE at the City Dionysia where it won second prize. It has been acclaimed by modern critics as a perfectly realized fantasy remarkable for its mimicry of birds and for the gaiety of its songs...
, LysistrataLysistrataLysistrata is one of eleven surviving plays written by Aristophanes. Originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC, it is a comic account of one woman's extraordinary mission to end The Peloponnesian War...
, ThesmophoriazusaeThesmophoriazusaeThesmophoriazusae is one of eleven surviving plays by the master of Old Comedy, the Athenian playwright Aristophanes. It was first produced in 411 BC, probably at the City Dionysia...
, The FrogsThe FrogsThe Frogs is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed at the Lenaia, one of the Festivals of Dionysus, in 405 BC, and received first place.-Plot:...
, EcclesiazousaeAssemblywomenAristophanes' Ecclesiazusae is a play dating from 391 BCE which is similar in theme to Lysistrata in that a large portion of the comedy comes from women involving themselves in politics...
, PlutusPlutus (play)Plutus is an Ancient Greek comedy by the playwrightAristophanes, first produced c. 388 BC. A political satire on contemporary Athens, it features the personified god of wealth Plutus...
- Pindar
- Hebrew: date of the extant text of the TorahTorahTorah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
4th century BC
- Hebrew: Book of JobBook of JobThe Book of Job , commonly referred to simply as Job, is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job, his trials at the hands of Satan, his discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, his challenge to God, and finally a response from God. The book is a...
, beginning of Hebrew wisdom literatureWisdom literatureWisdom literature is the genre of literature common in the Ancient Near East. This genre is characterized by sayings of wisdom intended to teach about divinity and about virtue... - Chinese:
- LaoziLaoziLaozi was a mystic philosopher of ancient China, best known as the author of the Tao Te Ching . His association with the Tao Te Ching has led him to be traditionally considered the founder of Taoism...
(or Lao Tzu): Tao Te ChingTao Te ChingThe Tao Te Ching, Dao De Jing, or Daodejing , also simply referred to as the Laozi, whose authorship has been attributed to Laozi, is a Chinese classic text... - ZhuangziZhuangziZhuangzi was an influential Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BCE during the Warring States Period, a period corresponding to the philosophical summit of Chinese thought — the Hundred Schools of Thought, and is credited with writing—in part or in whole—a work known by his name,...
: Zhuangzi (book)Zhuangzi (book)The Taoist book Zhuangzi was named after its purported author Zhuangzi, the philosopher. Since 742 CE, when Emperor Xuanzong of Tang mandated honorific titles for Taoist texts, it has also been known as the Nánhuá Zhēnjīng , literally meaning "True Classic of Southern Florescence," alluding to... - MenciusMenciusMencius was a Chinese philosopher who was arguably the most famous Confucian after Confucius himself.-Life:Mencius, also known by his birth name Meng Ke or Ko, was born in the State of Zou, now forming the territory of the county-level city of Zoucheng , Shandong province, only thirty kilometres ...
: MenciusMencius (book)The Mencius , commonly called the Mengzi, is a collection of anecdotes and conversations of the Confucian thinker and philosopher Mencius. The work dates from the second half of the 4th century BC. It was ranked as a Confucian classic and its status was elevated in Song Dynasty...
- Laozi
- Greek:
- XenophonXenophonXenophon , son of Gryllus, of the deme Erchia of Athens, also known as Xenophon of Athens, was a Greek historian, soldier, mercenary, philosopher and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates...
: AnabasisAnabasis (Xenophon)Anabasis is the most famous work, in seven books, of the Greek professional soldier and writer Xenophon. The journey it narrates is his best known accomplishment and "one of the great adventures in human history," as Will Durant expressed the common assessment.- The account :Xenophon accompanied...
, CyropaediaCyropaedia (Xenophon)The Cyropaedia is a "partly fictional biography" of Cyrus the Great, written in the early 4th century BC by the Athenian gentleman-soldier, and student of Socrates, Xenophon of Athens. The Latinized title Cyropaedia derives from Greek Kúrou paideía , meaning "The Education of Cyrus"... - AristotleAristotleAristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
: Nicomachean EthicsNicomachean EthicsThe Nicomachean Ethics is the name normally given to Aristotle's best known work on ethics. The English version of the title derives from Greek Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια, transliterated Ethika Nikomacheia, which is sometimes also given in the genitive form as Ἠθικῶν Νικομαχείων, Ethikōn Nikomacheiōn...
, MetaphysicsMetaphysicsMetaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:... - PlatoPlatoPlato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
: EuthyphroEuthyphroEuthyphro is one of Plato's early dialogues, dated to after 399 BC. Taking place during the weeks leading up to Socrates' trial, the dialogue features Socrates and Euthyphro, a man known for claiming to be a religious expert. They attempt to pinpoint a definition for piety.-Background:The dialogue...
, Apology, CritoCritoCrito is a short but important dialogue by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. It is a conversation between Socrates and his wealthy friend Crito regarding justice , injustice , and the appropriate response to injustice. Socrates thinks that injustice may not be answered with injustice, and...
, TheaetetusTheaetetusTheaetetus could mean:* Theaetetus , a Greek geometer* Theaetetus , a dialogue by Plato, named after the geometer* Theaetetus , a lunar impact crater....
, Parmenides, SymposiumSymposium (Plato)The Symposium is a philosophical text by Plato dated c. 385–380 BCE. It concerns itself at one level with the genesis, purpose and nature of love....
, PhaedrusPhaedrus (Plato)The Phaedrus , written by Plato, is a dialogue between Plato's main protagonist, Socrates, and Phaedrus, an interlocutor in several dialogues. The Phaedrus was presumably composed around 370 BC, around the same time as Plato's Republic and Symposium...
, ProtagorasProtagoras (dialogue)Protagoras is a dialogue of Plato. The traditional subtitle is "or the Sophists, probative". The main argument is between the elderly Protagoras, a celebrated sophist, and Socrates...
, GorgiasGorgias (dialogue)Gorgias is a Socratic dialogue written by Plato around 380 BC. In this dialogue, Socrates seeks the true definition of rhetoric, attempting to pinpoint the essence of rhetoric and unveil the flaws of the sophistic oratory popular in Athens at this time...
, MenoMenoMeno is a Socratic dialogue written by Plato. It attempts to determine the definition of virtue, or arete, meaning virtue in general, rather than particular virtues, such as justice or temperance. The first part of the work is written in the Socratic dialectical style and Meno is reduced to...
, MenexenusMenexenusThe Menexenus is a Socratic dialogue of Plato, traditionally included in the seventh tetralogy along with the Greater and Lesser Hippias and the Ion. The characters are Socrates and Menexenus, who is not to be confused with Socrates' son Menexenus. The Menexenus of Plato's dialogue appears also...
, Republic, TimaeusTimaeus (dialogue)Timaeus is one of Plato's dialogues, mostly in the form of a long monologue given by the title character, written circa 360 BC. The work puts forward speculation on the nature of the physical world and human beings. It is followed by the dialogue Critias.Speakers of the dialogue are Socrates,... - EuclidEuclidEuclid , fl. 300 BC, also known as Euclid of Alexandria, was a Greek mathematician, often referred to as the "Father of Geometry". He was active in Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy I...
: ElementsEuclid's ElementsEuclid's Elements is a mathematical and geometric treatise consisting of 13 books written by the Greek mathematician Euclid in Alexandria c. 300 BC. It is a collection of definitions, postulates , propositions , and mathematical proofs of the propositions... - MenanderMenanderMenander , Greek dramatist, the best-known representative of Athenian New Comedy, was the son of well-to-do parents; his father Diopeithes is identified by some with the Athenian general and governor of the Thracian Chersonese known from the speech of Demosthenes De Chersoneso...
: DyskolosDyskolosDyskolos is an Ancient Greek comedy by Menander, the only one of his plays, or of the whole New Comedy, that has survived in all but complete form. It was first presented at the Lenaian festival in 317-16 BC, where it won Menander first prize... - TheophrastusTheophrastusTheophrastus , a Greek native of Eresos in Lesbos, was the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He came to Athens at a young age, and initially studied in Plato's school. After Plato's death he attached himself to Aristotle. Aristotle bequeathed to Theophrastus his writings, and...
: Enquiry into PlantsHistoria PlantarumHistoria Plantarum is Latin and literally means History of Plants, although in reality it means something closer to "on plants" or "treatise on plants". There has been more than one book by this title....
- Xenophon
3rd century BC
- Avestan: AvestaAvestaThe Avesta is the primary collection of sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language.-Early transmission:The texts of the Avesta — which are all in the Avestan language — were composed over the course of several hundred years. The most important portion, the Gathas,...
- Etruscan: Liber Linteus Zagrabiensis (Linen Book of Zagreb)
- Sanskrit: PanchatantraPanchatantraThe Panchatantra is an ancient Indian inter-related collection of animal fables in verse and prose, in a frame story format. The original Sanskrit work, which some scholars believe was composed in the 3rd century BCE, is attributed to Vishnu Sharma...
by Vishnu SarmaVishnu SarmaVishnu Sharma was an Indian scholar and author who is believed to have written the Panchatantra collection of fables. The exact period of the composition of the Panchatantra is uncertain, and estimates vary from 1200 BCE to 300 CE... - TamilTamil literatureTamil literature refers to the literature in the Tamil language. Tamil literature has a rich and long literary tradition spanning more than two thousand years. The oldest extant works show signs of maturity indicating an even longer period of evolution...
:- 3rd century BC to 3rd century AD: Sangam poemsSangam literatureSangam literature refers to a body of classical Tamil literature created between the years c. 600 BCE to 300 CE. This collection contains 2381 poems composed by 473 poets, some 102 of whom remain anonymous The period during which these poems were composed is commonly referred to as the Sangam...
- TolkāppiyamTolkappiyamThe Tolkāppiyam is a work on the grammar of the Tamil language and the earliest extant work of Tamil literature. It is written in the form of noorpaa or short formulaic compositions and comprises three books - the Ezhuttadikaram, the Solladikaram and the Poruladikaram. Each of these books is...
(grammar book)
- 3rd century BC to 3rd century AD: Sangam poems
- Hebrew: EcclesiastesEcclesiastesThe Book of Ecclesiastes, called , is a book of the Hebrew Bible. The English name derives from the Greek translation of the Hebrew title.The main speaker in the book, identified by the name or title Qoheleth , introduces himself as "son of David, king in Jerusalem." The work consists of personal...
- LatinOld LatinOld Latin refers to the Latin language in the period before the age of Classical Latin; that is, all Latin before 75 BC...
:- Lucius Livius AndronicusLivius AndronicusLucius Livius Andronicus , not to be confused with the later historian Livy, was a Greco-Roman dramatist and epic poet of the Old Latin period. He began as an educator in the service of a noble family at Rome by translating Greek works into Latin, including Homer’s Odyssey. They were meant at...
(c. 280/260 BC — c. 200 BC), translator, founder of Roman drama - Gnaeus NaeviusGnaeus NaeviusGnaeus Naevius 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 Metelli family, one of whom was consul. After a sojourn in prison he recanted and was set free by the tribunes...
(ca. 264 — 201 BC), dramatist, epic poet - Titus Maccius PlautusPlautusTitus Maccius Plautus , commonly known as "Plautus", was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest surviving intact works in Latin literature. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the genre devised by the innovator of Latin literature, Livius Andronicus...
(c. 254 — 184 BC), dramatist, composer of comedies: PoenulusPoenulusPoenulus, also called The Little Carthaginian or The Puny Punic, is a Latin comedic play for the early Roman theatre by Titus Maccius Plautus. The play is noteworthy for containing text in Carthaginian Punic, spoken by the character Hanno in the fifth act.-Plot:Agorastocles is in love with...
, Miles GloriosusMiles Gloriosus (play)Miles Gloriosus is a comedic play written by Titus Maccius Plautus . It is also known as "The Swaggering Soldier". His source for Miles Gloriosus was a Greek play, now lost, called Alazon or The Braggart. Although the characters in Miles Gloriosus speak Latin, they are Greeks, with Greek names,...
, and other plays - Quintus Fabius PictorQuintus Fabius PictorQuintus Fabius Pictor was one of the earliest Roman historians and considered the first of the annalists. A member of the Fabii gens, he was the grandson of Gaius Fabius Pictor, a painter . He was a senator who fought against the Gauls in 225 BC, and against Carthage in the Second Punic War...
(3rd century BC), historian - Lucius Cincius AlimentusLucius Cincius AlimentusLucius Cincius Alimentus was a celebrated Roman annalist and jurist, who was praetor in Sicily in 209 BC, with the command of two legions. He wrote principally in Greek. He and Fabius Pictor are considered the first two Roman historians, though both wrote in Greek as a more conventionally...
(3rd century BC), military historian and antiquarian
- Lucius Livius Andronicus
- Greek:
- ManethoManethoManetho was an Egyptian historian and priest from Sebennytos who lived during the Ptolemaic era, approximately during the 3rd century BC. Manetho wrote the Aegyptiaca...
: Aegyptiaca
- Manetho
2nd century BC
- Avestan: VendidadVendidadThe Vendidad or Videvdat is a collection of texts within the greater compendium of the Avesta. However, unlike the other texts of the Avesta, the Vendidad is an ecclesiastical code, not a liturgical manual.-Name:...
- Chinese: Sima QianSima QianSima Qian was a Prefect of the Grand Scribes of the Han Dynasty. He is regarded as the father of Chinese historiography for his highly praised work, Records of the Grand Historian , a "Jizhuanti"-style general history of China, covering more than two thousand years from the Yellow Emperor to...
: Records of the Grand HistorianRecords of the Grand HistorianThe Records of the Grand Historian, also known in English by the Chinese name Shiji , written from 109 BC to 91 BC, was the Magnum opus of Sima Qian, in which he recounted Chinese history from the time of the Yellow Emperor until his own time...
(Shǐjì) - Aramaic: Book of DanielBook of DanielThe Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,...
- Hebrew: SirachSirachThe Book of the All-Virtuous Wisdom of Jesus ben Sira , commonly called the Wisdom of Sirach or simply Sirach, and also known as Ecclesiasticus or Siracides , is a work from the early 2nd century B.C. written by the Jewish scribe Jesus ben Sirach of Jerusalem...
- Greek
- PolybiusPolybiusPolybius , Greek ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his work, The Histories, which covered the period of 220–146 BC in detail. The work describes in part the rise of the Roman Republic and its gradual domination over Greece...
: The HistoriesThe Histories (Polybius)Polybius’ Histories were originally written in 40 volumes, only the first five of which are existent in their entirety. The bulk of the work is passed down to us through collections of excerpts kept in libraries in Byzantium, for the most part.... - Book of WisdomBook of WisdomThe Book of Wisdom, often referred to simply as Wisdom or the Book of the Wisdom of Solomon, is one of the deuterocanonical books of the Bible. It is one of the seven Sapiential or wisdom books of the Septuagint Old Testament, which includes Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon ,...
- Septuagint
- Polybius
- Latin:
- TerenceTerencePublius Terentius Afer , better known in English as Terence, was a playwright of the Roman Republic, of North African descent. His comedies were performed for the first time around 170–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought Terence to Rome as a slave, educated him and later on,...
(195/185 BC — 159 BC), comic dramatist: The BrothersAdelphoeAdelphoe is a play by Roman playwright Terence, adopted partly from plays by Menander and Diphilus. It explores the best form of child-rearing...
, The Girl from AndrosAndria (comedy)Andria is a comedy by Terence, a Roman playwright. It was Terence's first play, and he wrote it when he was approximately 19 years old. Terence adapted through translation from Menander's play, although as he is at pains to point out in his prologue he goes beyond mere translation. It was first...
, EunuchusEunuchusEunuchus is a comedy written by the Roman playwright Terence featuring a complex plot of familial misunderstanding.-Prologue:...
, The Self-TormentorHeauton TimorumenosHeauton Timorumenos is a play written by Publius Terentius Afer, known in English as Terence, a dramatist of the Roman Republic. The play has presented academics with some problems. Firstly it is not entirely clear whether Heauton Timorumenos is Terence's second or third play...
, - Quintus EnniusEnniusQuintus Ennius was a writer during the period of the Roman Republic, and is often considered the father of Roman poetry. He was of Calabrian descent...
(239 BC — c. 169 BC), poet - Marcus PacuviusPacuviusMarcus Pacuvius was the greatest of the tragic poets of ancient Rome prior to Lucius Accius.He was the nephew and pupil of Ennius, by whom Roman tragedy was first raised to a position of influence and dignity...
(ca. 220 BC — 130 BC), tragic dramatist, poet - Statius Caecilius (220 BC — 168/166 BC), comic dramatist
- Marcius Porcius CatoCato the ElderMarcus Porcius Cato was a Roman statesman, commonly referred to as Censorius , Sapiens , Priscus , or Major, Cato the Elder, or Cato the Censor, to distinguish him from his great-grandson, Cato the Younger.He came of an ancient Plebeian family who all were noted for some...
(234 BC — 149 BC), generalist, topical writer - Gaius AciliusGaius AciliusGaius Acilius was a senator and historian of ancient Rome.He knew Greek, and in 155 interpreted for Carneades, Diogenes, and Critolaus, who had come to the Roman Senate on an embassy from Athens....
(2nd century BC), historian - Lucius AcciusLucius AcciusLucius Accius , or Lucius Attius, was a Roman tragic poet and literary scholar. The son of a freedman, Accius was born at Pisaurum in Umbria, in 170 BC...
(170 BC — c. 86 BC), tragic dramatist, philologist - Gaius LuciliusGaius LuciliusGaius Lucilius , the earliest Roman satirist, of whose writings only fragments remain, was a Roman citizen of the equestrian class, born at Suessa Aurunca in Campania.-The Problem of his birthdate:...
(c. 160's BC — 103/2 BC), satirist - Quintus Lutatius CatulusQuintus Lutatius CatulusQuintus Lutatius Catulus was consul of the Roman Republic in 102 BC, and the leading public figure of the gens Lutatia of the time. His colleague in the consulship was Gaius Marius, but the two feuded and Catulus sided with Sulla in the civil war of 88–87 BC...
(2nd century BC), public officer, epigramatist - Aulus Furius AntiasAulus Furius AntiasFurius Antias was an ancient Roman poet, born in Antium.Following William Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, , art. Bibaculus, his full name was Aulus Furius Antias and he was the poet A. Furius whose friendship with Quintus Lutatius Catulus, consul in 102 BC, is attested...
(2nd century BC), poet - Gaius Julius Caesar Strabo VopiscusGaius Julius Caesar Strabo VopiscusGaius Julius Caesar Strabo Vopiscus was the younger son to Lucius Julius Caesar II and his wife Poppilia and younger brother to Lucius Julius Caesar III...
(130 BC — 87 BC), public officer, tragic dramatist - Lucius PomponiusLucius PomponiusLucius Pomponius was a Roman dramatist. Called Bononiensis Lucius Pomponius (fl. ca. 90 BC or earlier) was a Roman dramatist. Called Bononiensis Lucius Pomponius (fl. ca. 90 BC or earlier) was a Roman dramatist. Called Bononiensis (“native of Bononia” (i.e. Bologna), Pomponius was a writer of...
Bononiensis (2nd century BC), comic dramatist, satirist - Lucius Cassius HeminaLucius Cassius HeminaLucius Cassius Hemina, Roman annalist, composed his annals in the period between the death of Terence and the revolution of the Gracchi.He wrote in Latin around 146 BC, including the earliest chronicle concerning the career of Mucius Scaevola....
(2nd century BC), historian - Lucius Calpurnius Piso FrugiLucius Calpurnius Piso FrugiLucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi was a Roman usurper, whose existence is questionable, as based only on the unreliable Historia Augusta....
(2nd century BC), historian - Manius ManiliusManius ManiliusManius Manilius was a Roman Republican orator and distinguished jurist who also had a long militarycareer. It is unclear if he was related to the Manius Manilius who was degraded by Cato the Censor for embracing his wife in broad daylight in Cato's censorship from 184 BC to 182 BC.Manilius was...
(2nd century BC), public officer, jurist - Lucius Coelius AntipaterLucius Coelius AntipaterLucius Coelius Antipater was a Roman jurist and historian. He is not to be confused with Coelius Sabinus, the Coelius of the Digest. He was a contemporary of C. Gracchus ; L...
(2nd century BC), jurist, historian - Publius Sempronius AsellioSempronius AsellioPublius Sempronius Asellio 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 134 B.C. Later he joined the circle of writers centred around Scipio Aemilianus...
(158 BC — after 91 BC), military officer, historian - Gaius Sempronius TuditanusGaius Sempronius Tuditanus (consul 129 BC)Gaius Sempronius Tuditanus was a politician and historian of the Roman Republic. He was consul in 129 BC.- Biography :Gaius Sempronius Tuditanus was a member of the plebeian gens Sempronia. His father had the same name and was senator and in 146 BC member of a commission of ten men who had to...
(2nd century BC), jurist - Lucius AfraniusLucius Afranius (poet)Lucius Afranius was an ancient Roman comic poet, who lived at the beginning of the 1st century BC. His comedies described Roman scenes and manners and the subjects were mostly taken from the life of the lower classes...
(2nd & 1st centuries BC), comic dramatist - Titus AlbuciusTitus AlbuciusTitus Albucius, was a noted orator of the late Roman Republic.He finished his studies at Athens at the latter end of the 2nd century BC, and belonged to the Epicurean sect. He was well acquainted with Greek literature, or rather, says Cicero, was almost a Greek...
(2nd & 1st centuries BC), orator - Publius Rutilius RufusPublius Rutilius RufusPublius Rutilius Rufus was a Roman statesman, orator and historian of the Rutilius family, as well as great-uncle of Gaius Julius Caesar....
(158 BC — after 78 BC), jurist - Quintus Lutatius CatulusQuintus Lutatius CatulusQuintus Lutatius Catulus was consul of the Roman Republic in 102 BC, and the leading public figure of the gens Lutatia of the time. His colleague in the consulship was Gaius Marius, but the two feuded and Catulus sided with Sulla in the civil war of 88–87 BC...
(2nd & 1st centuries BC), public officer, poet - Lucius Aelius Stilo PraeconinusLucius Aelius Stilo PraeconinusLucius Aelius Stilo Praeconinus , of Lanuvium, is the earliest philologist of the Roman Republic. He came from a distinguished family and belonged to the equestrian order....
(154 BC — 74 BC), philologist - Quintus Claudius QuadrigariusQuintus Claudius QuadrigariusQuintus Claudius Quadrigarius, Roman annalist, living probably in the 1st century BC, wrote a history, in at least twenty-three books, which began with the conquest of Rome by the Gauls and went on to the death of Sulla or perhaps later....
(2nd & 1st centuries BC), historian - Valerius AntiasValerius AntiasValerius Antias was an ancient Roman annalist whom Livy mentions as a source. No complete works of his survive but from the sixty-five fragments said to be his in the works of other authors it has been deduced that he wrote a chronicle of ancient Rome in at least seventy-five books...
(2nd & 1st centuries BC), historian - Lucius Cornelius SisennaLucius Cornelius SisennaLucius Cornelius Sisenna was a Roman soldier, historian, and annalist. He was killed in action during Pompey's campaign against pirates after the Third Mithridatic War. Sisenna had been commander of the forces on the coast of Greece....
(121 BC — 67 BC), soldier, historian - Quintus Cornificius (2nd & 1st centuries BC), rhetorician
- Terence
1st century BC
- PaliPali literaturePali literature is concerned mainly with Theravada Buddhism, of which Pali is the traditional language.- India :Main article: Pali CanonThe earliest and most important Pali literature constitutes the Pali Canon, the scriptures of Theravada...
: Tipitaka - Latin:
- CiceroCiceroMarcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
: Catiline OrationsCatiline OrationsThe Catiline Orations or Catilinarian Orations were speeches given in 63 BC by Marcus Tullius Cicero, the consul of Rome, exposing to the Roman Senate the plot of Lucius Sergius Catilina and his allies to overthrow the Roman government....
, Pro CaelioPro CaelioMarcus Tullius Cicero gave the speech, Pro Caelio, on April 4, 56 BC, in defense of Marcus Caelius Rufus. It is unknown why Cicero agreed to defend Caelius, who had been a political enemy, though various theories have been postulated. Caelius' was charged with vis , one of the most serious crimes...
, Dream of ScipioDream of ScipioThe Dream of Scipio , written by Cicero, is the sixth book of De re publica, and describes a fictional dream vision of the Roman general Scipio Aemilianus, set two years before he commanded at the destruction of Carthage in 146 BCE.Upon his arrival in Africa, Scipio Aemilianus is visited by his... - Julius CaesarJulius CaesarGaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
: Gallic WarsCommentarii de Bello GallicoCommentarii de Bello Gallico is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it Caesar describes the battles and intrigues that took place in the nine years he spent fighting local armies in Gaul that opposed Roman domination.The "Gaul" that Caesar... - VirgilVirgilPublius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
: Eclogues, GeorgicsGeorgicsThe Georgics is a poem in four books, likely published in 29 BC. It is the second major work by the Latin poet Virgil, following his Eclogues and preceding the Aeneid. It is a poem that draws on many prior sources and influenced many later authors from antiquity to the present...
and AeneidAeneidThe Aeneid is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is composed of roughly 10,000 lines in dactylic hexameter... - LucretiusLucretiusTitus Lucretius Carus was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is an epic philosophical poem laying out the beliefs of Epicureanism, De rerum natura, translated into English as On the Nature of Things or "On the Nature of the Universe".Virtually no details have come down concerning...
: On the Nature of ThingsOn the Nature of ThingsDe rerum natura is a 1st century BC didactic poem by the Roman poet and philosopher Lucretius with the goal of explaining Epicurean philosophy to a Roman audience. The poem, written in some 7,400 dactylic hexameters, is divided into six untitled books, and explores Epicurean physics through richly... - LivyLivyTitus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
: Ab Urbe ConditaAb Urbe condita (book)Ab urbe condita libri — often shortened to Ab urbe condita — is a monumental history of ancient Rome written in Latin sometime between 27 and 25 BC by the historian Titus Livius. The work covers the time from the stories of Aeneas, the earliest legendary period from before the city's founding in c....
(History of Rome)
- Cicero
- See also: Pahlavi literature, centuries in poetry: 1st1st century in poetry-Poets :* Columella , Cadiz?* Persius , Etruscan* Quintilian * Lucan , Hispania Baetica* Statius , Naples* Martial , HispaniaDates not known:* Calpurnius, Sicily?* Manilius...
, 2nd2nd century in poetry-Poets:* Juvenal, in Latin* Oppian of Corycus in Cilicia, writing in Greek* Lucian of Assyria, writing in Greek* Straton of Sardis, writing in Greek-Works:* latest likely date for the Drakht-i Asurig, the earliest known Pahlavi poem...
and 3rd3rd century in poetry-Poets:* Nemesianus , Carthage, in Latin* Oppian of Apamea, Syria, in Greek...
1st century AD
- Chinese: Ban GuBan GuBan Gu , courtesy name Mengjian , was a 1st century Chinese historian and poet best known for his part in compiling the Book of Han. He also wrote in the main poetic genre of the Han era, a kind of poetry interspersed with prose called fu. Some are anthologized by Xiao Tong in his Selections of...
: Book of HanBook of HanThe Book of Han, Hanshu or History of the Former Han Dynasty |Fan Ye]] . Various scholars have estimated that the earliest material covered in the book dates back to between 206 and 202 BCE...
(Hànshū) - Greek:
- PlutarchPlutarchPlutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
: Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans - JosephusJosephusTitus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
: The Jewish War, Antiquities of the JewsAntiquities of the JewsAntiquities of the Jews is a twenty volume historiographical work composed by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in the thirteenth year of the reign of Roman emperor Flavius Domitian which was around 93 or 94 AD. Antiquities of the Jews contains an account of history of the Jewish people,...
, Against ApionAgainst ApionAgainst Apion was a polemical work written by Flavius Josephus as a defense of Judaism as a classical religion and philosophy, stressing its antiquity against what he perceived as more recent traditions of the Greeks.-Text:Against Apion 1:8 also defines which books he viewed as being in the Jewish... - The books of the New TestamentNew TestamentThe New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
- Plutarch
- Latin: see Classical LatinClassical LatinClassical Latin in simplest terms is the socio-linguistic register of the Latin language regarded by the enfranchised and empowered populations of the late Roman republic and the Roman empire as good Latin. Most writers during this time made use of it...
- TacitusTacitusPublius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
: GermaniaGermania (book)The Germania , written by Gaius Cornelius Tacitus around 98, is an ethnographic work on the Germanic tribes outside the Roman Empire.-Contents:... - OvidOvidPublius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
: Metamorphoses - Pliny the ElderPliny the ElderGaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
: Natural History - PetroniusPetroniusGaius Petronius Arbiter was a Roman courtier during the reign of Nero. He is generally believed to be the author of the Satyricon, a satirical novel believed to have been written during the Neronian age.-Life:...
: SatyriconSatyriconSatyricon is a Latin work of fiction in a mixture of prose and poetry. It is believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as a certain Titus Petronius... - Seneca the YoungerSeneca the YoungerLucius Annaeus Seneca was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero...
: PhaedraPhaedra (Seneca)Phaedra, sometimes known as Hippolytus, is a play by Seneca the Younger, telling the story of Phaedra and her taboo love for her stepson Hippolytus...
, Dialogues
- Tacitus
2nd century
- Sanskrit: AśvaghoṣaAsvaghosa' was an Indian philosopher-poet, born in Saketa in northern India to a Brahmin family. He is believed to have been the first Sanskrit dramatist, and is considered the greatest Indian poet prior to Kālidāsa. He was the most famous in a group of Buddhist court writers, whose epics rivaled the...
: Buddhacharita (Acts of the Buddha) - Pahlavi:
- Yadegar-e Zariran (Memorial of Zarēr)
- VisperadVisperadVisperad or Visprad is either a particular Zoroastrian religious ceremony, or the name given to a passage collection within the greater Avesta compendium of texts....
- Drakht-i AsurigDrakht-i AsurigDrakht-i Asurig is a Parthian language poem from the Arscacid era.The poem is framed as a dialogue between a goat and a palm tree. It is one of the oldest existing texts in Arscacid Middle Persian, and of the few remaining examples of the Parthian language....
(The Babylonian Tree)
- Greek:
- ArrianArrianLucius Flavius Arrianus 'Xenophon , known in English as Arrian , and Arrian of Nicomedia, was a Roman historian, public servant, a military commander and a philosopher of the 2nd-century Roman period...
: Anabasis AlexandriAnabasis AlexandriAnabasis Alexandri , the Campaigns of Alexander by Arrian, is the most important source on Alexander the Great.The Greek term anabasis referred to an expedition from a coastline into the interior of a country. The term katabasis referred to a trip from the interior to the coast... - EpictetusEpictetusEpictetus was a Greek sage and Stoic philosopher. He was born a slave at Hierapolis, Phrygia , and lived in Rome until banishment when he went to Nicopolis in northwestern Greece where he lived the rest of his life. His teachings were noted down and published by his pupil Arrian in his Discourses...
and Arrian: EnchiridionEnchiridion of EpictetusThe Enchiridion, or Handbook of Epictetus, , often shortened to simply "The Handbook", is a short manual of Stoic ethical advice compiled by Arrian, who had been a pupil of Epictetus at the beginning of the 2nd century.... - PtolemyPtolemyClaudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
: AlmagestAlmagestThe Almagest is a 2nd-century mathematical and astronomical treatise on the apparent motions of the stars and planetary paths. Written in Greek by Claudius Ptolemy, a Roman era scholar of Egypt,... - AthenaeusAthenaeusAthenaeus , of Naucratis in Egypt, Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourished about the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 3rd century AD...
: The Banquet of the LearnedDeipnosophistaeThe Deipnosophistae may be translated as The Banquet of the Learned or Philosophers at Dinner or The Gastronomers... - PausaniasPausanias (geographer)Pausanias was a Greek traveler and geographer of the 2nd century AD, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He is famous for his Description of Greece , a lengthy work that describes ancient Greece from firsthand observations, and is a crucial link between classical...
: Description of Greece
- Arrian
- Latin: see Classical LatinClassical LatinClassical Latin in simplest terms is the socio-linguistic register of the Latin language regarded by the enfranchised and empowered populations of the late Roman republic and the Roman empire as good Latin. Most writers during this time made use of it...
- ApuleiusApuleiusApuleius was a Latin prose writer. He was a Berber, from Madaurus . He studied Platonist philosophy in Athens; travelled to Italy, Asia Minor and Egypt; and was an initiate in several cults or mysteries. The most famous incident in his life was when he was accused of using magic to gain the...
: The Golden AssThe Golden AssThe Metamorphoses of Apuleius, which St. Augustine referred to as The Golden Ass , is the only Latin novel to survive in its entirety.... - Lucius Ampelius: Liber MemorialisLiber MemorialisThe Liber Memorialis is an ancient book in Latin featuring an extremely concise summary—a kind of index—of universal history from earliest times to the reign of Trajan. It was written by Lucius Ampelius, who was possibly a tutor or schoolmaster...
- SuetoniusSuetoniusGaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius , was a Roman historian belonging to the equestrian order in the early Imperial era....
: Lives of the Twelve CaesarsLives of the Twelve CaesarsDe vita Caesarum commonly known as The Twelve Caesars, is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire written by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus.The work, written in AD 121 during the reign of the emperor Hadrian, was the most popular work of Suetonius,...
- Apuleius
3rd century
- Avestan: Khordeh Avesta (Zoroastrian prayer book)
- Pahlavi: ManiMani (prophet)Mani , of Iranian origin was the prophet and the founder of Manichaeism, a gnostic religion of Late Antiquity which was once widespread but is now extinct...
: ShabuhraganShabuhraganThe Shabuhragan , which means the book of Shapur, was a sacred book of the Manichaean religion, written by the founder Mani himself, originally in Middle Persian, and dedicated to Shapur I , the contemporary king of the Sassanid Persian Empire...
(ManichaeanManichaeismManichaeism in Modern Persian Āyin e Māni; ) was one of the major Iranian Gnostic religions, originating in Sassanid Persia.Although most of the original writings of the founding prophet Mani have been lost, numerous translations and fragmentary texts have survived...
holy book) - Chinese: Chen ShouChen ShouChen Shou was a historian during the Jin Dynasty period of Chinese history. He is best known as the author of Records of Three Kingdoms, a historical account of the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms period.-Biography:...
: Records of Three KingdomsRecords of Three KingdomsRecords of Three Kingdoms , is regarded as the official and authoritative historical text on the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history covering the years 184-280 CE. Written by Chen Shou in the 3rd century, the work combines the smaller histories of the rival states of Cao Wei , Shu Han and...
(Sānguó Zhì) - Greek: PlotinusPlotinusPlotinus was a major philosopher of the ancient world. In his system of theory there are the three principles: the One, the Intellect, and the Soul. His teacher was Ammonius Saccas and he is of the Platonic tradition...
: EnneadsEnneadsThe Six Enneads, sometimes abbreviated to The Enneads or Enneads , is the collection of writings of Plotinus, edited and compiled by his student Porphyry . Plotinus was a student of Ammonius Saccas and they were founders of Neoplatonism... - Latin: see Late LatinLate LatinLate Latin is the scholarly name for the written Latin of Late Antiquity. The English dictionary definition of Late Latin dates this period from the 3rd to the 6th centuries AD extending in Spain to the 7th. This somewhat ambiguously defined period fits between Classical Latin and Medieval Latin...
- Distichs of CatoDistichs of CatoThe Distichs of Cato , is a Latin collection of proverbial wisdom and morality by an unknown author named Dionysius Cato from the 3rd or 4th century AD. The Cato was the most popular medieval schoolbook for teaching Latin, prized not only as a Latin textbook, but as a moral compass...
- Distichs of Cato
- Hebrew: MishnahMishnahThe Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
Late Antiquity
- See also: 4th century in poetry4th century in poetry-Poets:* Ephrem the Syrian , Nisibis, writing in Syriac* Ausonius , Bordeaux* Himerius , from Bithynia writing in Greek* Prudentius in Tarraconensis, writing in Latin* Claudian Dates Unknown:...
, 5th century in poetry5th century in poetry-Events:* 476: Invasion of Germanic tribes and fall of Western Empire leads to eclipse of Latin as the European Lingua franca; Germanic and Celtic vernaculars begin process of becoming literary languages.-Roman poets:...
4th century
- Latin: see Late LatinLate LatinLate Latin is the scholarly name for the written Latin of Late Antiquity. The English dictionary definition of Late Latin dates this period from the 3rd to the 6th centuries AD extending in Spain to the 7th. This somewhat ambiguously defined period fits between Classical Latin and Medieval Latin...
- Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus: De Re MilitariDe Re MilitariDe Re Militari , also Epitoma Rei Militaris, is a treatise by the late Latin writer Vegetius about Roman warfare and military principles as a presentation of methods and practices in use during the height of Rome's power, and responsible for that power...
- Augustine of HippoAugustine of HippoAugustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
: ConfessionsConfessions (St. Augustine)Confessions is the name of an autobiographical work, consisting of 13 books, by St. Augustine of Hippo, written between AD 397 and AD 398. Modern English translations of it are sometimes published under the title The Confessions of St...
, On Christian DoctrineOn Christian DoctrineDe doctrina christiana is a theological text written by St. Augustine of Hippo. It consists of four books that describe how to interpret and teach the Scriptures. The first three of these books were published in 397 and the fourth added in 426. By writing this text, St... - ApiciusApiciusApicius is the title of a collection of Roman cookery recipes, usually thought to have been compiled in the late 4th or early 5th century AD and written in a language that is in many ways closer to Vulgar than to Classical Latin....
(a.k.a. De re coquinaria, On the Subject of Cooking) - Pervigilium VenerisPervigilium VenerisPervigilium Veneris, the Vigil of Venus, is a Latin poem, probably written in the 4th century. It is generally thought to have been by the poet Tiberianus, due to strong similarities with the latter’s poem Amnis ibat. It was written professedly in early spring on the eve of a three-nights'...
(Vigil of Venus)
- Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus: De Re Militari
- Syriac: AphrahatAphrahatAphrahat was a Syriac-Christian author of the 4th century from the Adiabene region of Northern Mesopotamia, which was within the Persian Empire, who composed a series of twenty-three expositions or homilies on points of Christian doctrine and practice...
, Ephrem the SyrianEphrem the SyrianEphrem the Syrian was a Syriac and a prolific Syriac-language hymnographer and theologian of the 4th century. He is venerated by Christians throughout the world, and especially in the Syriac Orthodox Church, as a saint.Ephrem wrote a wide variety of hymns, poems, and sermons in verse, as well as... - Hebrew: GemaraGemaraThe Gemara is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah. After the Mishnah was published by Rabbi Judah the Prince The Gemara (also transliterated Gemora or, less commonly, Gemorra; from Aramaic גמרא gamar; literally, "[to] study" or "learning by...
5th century
- Chinese: Fan YeFan Ye (historian)Fan Ye , courtesy name Weizong , was a Chinese historian and the compiler of Book of Later Han of Liu Song. Fan came from an official family background, he was born in present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang, his ancestry was from Nanyang, Henan. His father was Fan Tai .-References:*Tan, Jiajian, ....
: Book of the Later Han (Hòuhànshū) - Sanskrit: KālidāsaKalidasaKālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...
(speculated): The Recognition of ŚakuntalāAbhijñānaśākuntalamAbhijñānashākuntala or Abhijñānaśākuntalam) , is a well-known Sanskrit play by Kālidāsa. Its date is uncertain, but Kalidasa is often placed in the period between the 1st century BCE and 4th century CE....
, The Cloud MessengerMeghadūtaMeghadūta is a lyric poem written by Kālidāsa, considered to be one of the greatest Sanskrit poets.A short poem of 111 stanzas, it is one of Kālidāsa's most famous works... - Pahlavi:
- Matigan-i Hazar DatistanMatigan-i Hazar DatistanThe Matigan-i Hazar Datistan was the judicial code of the Magistan, the imperial parliament of the Arsacid Dynasty of the Parthian Empire and, for a while, of the Sassanid Empire ....
(The Thousand Laws of the Magistan) - Frahang-i Oim-evakFrahang-i Oim-evakFrahang-i Oim-evak is an old Avestan-Middle Persian dictionary. It is named with the two first words of the dictionary: Oim in Avestan means 'one' and evak is its Pahlavi equivalent. It gives the Pahlavi meanings of about 880 Avestan words, either by one word or one phrase or by explaining...
(Pahlavi-Avestan dictionary)
- Matigan-i Hazar Datistan
- Latin: see Late LatinLate LatinLate Latin is the scholarly name for the written Latin of Late Antiquity. The English dictionary definition of Late Latin dates this period from the 3rd to the 6th centuries AD extending in Spain to the 7th. This somewhat ambiguously defined period fits between Classical Latin and Medieval Latin...
- Augustine of HippoAugustine of HippoAugustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
: The City of God - Paulus Orosius: Seven Books of History Against the Pagans
- JeromeJeromeSaint Jerome was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia...
: VulgateVulgateThe Vulgate is a late 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It was largely the work of St. Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of the old Latin translations... - PrudentiusPrudentiusAurelius Prudentius Clemens was a Roman Christian poet, born in the Roman province of Tarraconensis in 348. He probably died in Spain, as well, some time after 405, possibly around 413...
: PsychomachiaPsychomachiaThe Psychomachia by the Late Antique Latin poet Prudentius is probably the first and most influential "pure" medieval allegory, the first in a long tradition of works as diverse as the Romance of the Rose, Everyman, and Piers Plowman.In slightly less than a thousand lines, the poem describes the... - ConsentiusConsentiusConsentius was a 5th century Gallic grammarian and the author of two treatises, which are perhaps the fragments of a complete grammar: one on the noun and the verb, much used during the Carolingian period, and the other on barbarisms and metaplasm....
's grammar - Pseudo-Dionysius the AreopagitePseudo-Dionysius the AreopagitePseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, also known as Pseudo-Denys, was a Christian theologian and philosopher of the late 5th to early 6th century, the author of the Corpus Areopagiticum . The author is identified as "Dionysos" in the corpus, which later incorrectly came to be attributed to Dionysius...
: Celestial HierarchyDe Coelesti HierarchiaDe Coelesti Hierarchia is a Pseudo-Dionysian work on angelology which exerted great influence on scholasticism...
, Mystical Theology
- Augustine of Hippo
See also
- Early Medieval literatureEarly Medieval literatureSee also: Ancient literature, 10th century in literature, list of years in literature.This is a list of literature dating to the 6th to 9th centuries...
- List of languages by first written accounts
- List of years in literature