Ancient literature explained

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

Incomplete list of ancient texts

Bronze Age

See also: Sumerian literature, Akkadian literature, Ancient Egyptian literature, Hittite texts and Ugaritic texts. Early Bronze Age: 3rd millennium BC (approximate dates shown). The earliest written literature dates from about 2600 BC (classical Sumerian).[1] The earliest literary author known by name is Enheduanna, a Sumerian priestess and public figure dating to the 24th century BC.[2] 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: 2000 BC to 1601 BC (approximate dates shown)

Late Bronze Age: 1600 BC to 1201 BC (approximate dates shown)

Iron Age

Iron Age texts predating Classical Antiquity: 12th to 8th centuries BC

Classical Antiquity

See also: 7th century BC in poetry, 6th century BC in poetry, 5th century BC in poetry, 4th century BC in poetry, 3rd century BC in poetry, 2nd century BC in poetry and 1st century BC in poetry.

9th century BC

8th century BC

7th century BC

6th century BC

5th century BC

4th century BC

3rd century BC

2nd century BC

1st century BC

See also: Middle Persian literature.

1st century AD

2nd century

3rd century

Late Antiquity

See also: 4th century in poetry and 5th century in poetry.

4th century

5th century

6th century

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Encyclopedia of the Ancient World. Grimbly, Shona. Taylor & Francis. 2000. 978-1-57958-281-4. 216. The earliest written literature dates from about 2600 BC, when the Sumerians started to write down their long epic poems..
  2. Web site: Why Has No One Ever Heard of the World's First Poet?. 2017-06-22. Literary Hub. 2019-01-19.
  3. Book: Biggs, Robert D. . Inscriptions from Tell Abū Ṣalābīkh . . 1974 . 0-226-62202-9 . Oriental Institute Publications . Robert D. Biggs . 99.
  4. Two fragmentary Akkadian versions survive, from the 15th century BCE and from the end of the second millennium BCE: "Its great antiquity and popularity is evidenced by the large number of manuscripts of it that have survived" (Beaulieu in Clifford 2007:4).
  5. Book: Mogens Herman Hansen . A comparative study of six city-state cultures: an investigation . Københavns universitet. Polis centret . 2002 . Kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskab . 978-87-7876-316-7 . 40– . 2 June 2011.
  6. Book: Jeremy A. Black . The Literature of Ancient Sumer . Jeremy Black . Graham Cunningham . Eleanor Robson . 13 April 2006 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-929633-0 . 325– . 2 June 2011.
  7. Toby A. H. Wilkinson: Early Dynastic Egypt. Routledge, London/New York 2001, .
  8. Web site: The World's Oldest Papyrus and What It Can Tell Us About the Great Pyramids . 11 September 2017 . Smithsonian.
  9. Book: Miguel Ángel Borrás . Joan Goodrick Westenholz, The Foundation Myths of Mesopotamian Cities: Divine Planners and Human Builder in "La fundación de la ciudad: mitos y ritos en el mundo antiguo" . Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona . 2000 . Edicions UPC . 978-84-8301-387-8 . 48– . 3 June 2011.
  10. Book: Samuel Noah Kramer . The Sumerians: their history, culture and character . University of Chicago Press . 1964 . 978-0-226-45238-8 . 218– . 23 May 2011.
  11. Book: Criminals of the Bible: Twenty-Five Case Studies of Biblical Crimes and Outlaws. Jones, Mark. FaithWalk Publishing. 2006. 978-1-932902-64-8. 6. The Sumerian code of Urukagina was written around 2400 BC..
  12. Book: The ancient Egyptian pyramid texts . 2005 . Soc. of Biblical Literature . 978-1-58983-182-7 . Allen . James P. . Writings from the ancient world . Atlanta . Der Manuelian . Peter.
  13. Book: Stephanie Dalley. Stephanie Dalley. Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others. 2000. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-953836-2.
  14. Book: Evolution of the Brain: Creation of the Self. Eccles, Sir John Carew. John Eccles (neurophysiologist). Routledge. 1989. 978-0-415-03224-7. 115. The Epic of Gilgamesh, written in Sumer about 2200 BC..
  15. Book: Miriam., Lichtheim. The Old and Middle Kingdoms. 2006. University of California press. 9780520248427. 23. 889165092.
  16. Book: Thorkild Jacobsen . The Harps that once--: Sumerian poetry in translation, pp. 386- . Yale University Press . 1997 . 978-0-300-07278-5.
  17. Web site: Sumerian Literature: Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta, Sumerian Creation Myth, Debate Between Bird and Fish, Lament for Ur, Nabnitu, Lu-Di IRA . www.alibris.com.
  18. Book: Samuel Noah Kramer . From the poetry of Sumer: creation, glorification, adoration . April 1979 . University of California Press . 978-0-520-03703-8 . 25– . 10 June 2011.
  19. Book: Sallaberger . Walther . History & philology . Schrakamp . Ingo . 2015 . 978-2-503-53494-7 . Turnhout . 1–133 . Part I: Philological data for a historical chronology of Mesopotamia in the 3rd millennium . 904661061.
  20. Book: John H. Walton . The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate . 30 July 2009 . InterVarsity Press . 978-0-8308-3704-5 . 34– . 28 May 2011.
  21. Book: James P. Allen. James Peter Allen. Middle Egyptian Literature: Eight Literary Works of the Middle Kingdom. 2015. Cambridge University Press. 978-1-107-08743-9.
  22. Book: Etana (pp. 189ff.). https://books.google.com/books?id=0YHfiCz4BRwC&q=Etana&pg=189 . Myths from Mesopotamia. Creation, The Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others . Stephanie . Dalley . 2000 . . 0199538360.
  23. Encyclopedia: Šumma ālu . The Encyclopedia of Ancient History . John Wiley & Sons . 1999–2015 . 10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah21308 . 9781444338386 . Nils P. Heeßel.
  24. Simpson (1972), p. 177; Parkinson (2002), pp. 46, 50, 313.
  25. Parkinson (2002), pp. 46, 50, 313.
  26. Book: Dalley, Stephanie . Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others . Oxford University Press . 2000 . 9780199538362 . 45.
  27. Book: Mitchell, T . The Bible in the British Museum . The British Museum Press . 1988 . 70.
  28. Book: Sasson, Jack . From the Mari Archives: An Anthology of Old Babylonian Letters . Penn State University Press . 2015 . University Park, United States.
  29. Kloekhorst . Alwin . 2020 . The Authorship of the Old Hittite Palace Chronicle (CTH 8): A Case for Anitta . Journal of Cuneiform Studies . 72. 143–155 . 10.1086/709313 . 224830641 .
  30. [Jean Bottéro|Bottéro, Jean]
  31. Book: Lichtheim, M . Ancient Egyptian Literature . University of California Press . 1973 . 215.
  32. Book: Thorkild Jacobsen . I Studied Inscriptions from Before the Flood: Ancient Near Eastern Literary and Linguistic Approaches to Genesis . 1994 . Eisenbraun's . 978-0931464881 . Hess . Richard S. . 129 . 30 July 2015 . Tsumuro . David Toshio.
  33. Book: Allen, James P. . The Art of Medicine in Ancient Egypt . 2005 . . 978-0-300-10728-9 . . 2005016908 . James Peter Allen.
  34. Book: Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead: journey through the afterlife ; [published to accompany the exhibition at the British Museum from 4 November 2010 to 6 March 2011] . 2010 . The British Museum Press . 978-0-7141-1993-9 . Taylor . John H. . London . British Museum.
  35. Book: Imhausen . Annette . The Mathematics of Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, India, and Islam: A Sourcebook . . 2007 . 978-0-691-11485-9 . Katz . Victor J. . Annette Imhausen.
  36. Book: Rossi . Corinna Architecture and Mathematics in Ancient Egypt . . 2007 . 978-0-521-69053-9.
  37. Book: Bribes. Noonan, John T.. John T. Noonan Jr.. University of California Press. 1987. 978-0-520-06154-5. 4. The Poor Man of Nippur dates from about 1500 BC..
  38. Book: Handbook of Ugaritic Studies . 1 January 1999 . BRILL . 978-90-04-10988-9 . Wilfred G. E. Watson . 203– . 1025426965 . The poem of Keret is one of the three major literary works which gifted Canaanite poets of the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1500–1200 BCE) bequeathed serendipitously to 20th century civilization. . Nicolas Wyatt.
  39. Book: Flood, Gavin D. . An Introduction to Hinduism . Cambridge University Press . 1996.
  40. Book: Anthony, David W. . The Horse The Wheel And Language. How Bronze-Age Riders From the Eurasian Steppes Shaped The Modern World . Princeton University Press . 2007.
  41. Book: Thapar . Romila . Which of us are Aryans? rethinking the concept of our origins . Witzel . Michael . Menon . Jaya . Friese . Kai . Khan . Razib . 2019 . Aleph . 978-93-88292-38-2 . New Delhi.
  42. Book: The treasures of darkness: a history of Mesopotamian religion . Thorkild Jacobsen . Yale University Press . 1978 . 167–168, 231 . "Perhaps it was brought east with the Amorites of the First Dynasty of Babylon."
  43. Book: Scholz, Susanne . Sacred Witness. Rape in the Hebrew Bible . 2021 . Fortress Press . 9781506482033 . (E-book edition)
  44. Book: Moran, William L. . The Amarna Letters . Johns Hopkins University Press . 1992 . English-language . Baltimore, MD.
  45. Book: Lichtheim, Miriam . Ancient Egyptian Literature: Volume II: The New Kingdom . University of California Press . 2006 . 978-0-520-24843-4 . 90.
  46. Book: Readings from the ancient Near East: primary sources for Old Testament study . 2002 . Baker Academic . 978-0-8010-2292-0 . Arnold . Bill T. . Encountering biblical studies . Grand Rapids, Mich . Beyer . Bryan.
  47. Geller . M. J. . 1980 . The Šurpu Incantations and Lev. V 1-5 . Journal of Semitic Studies . 25 . 2 . 181.
  48. Book: Lichtheim, Miriam . Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume II: The New Kingdom . University of California Press . 1976 . 0-520-03615-8 . CA . 146-163.
  49. [Miriam Lichtheim]
  50. The Uruk List of Kings and Sages and Late Mesopotamian Scholarship . Alan Lenzi . Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions . 8 . 2 . 2008 . 137–169 . 10.1163/156921208786611764.
  51. Frahm . Eckert . 2010 . Counter-texts, Commentaries, and Adaptations: Politically Motivated Responses to the Babylonian Epic of Creation in Mesopotamia, the Biblical World, and Elsewhere . Orient . 45 . 5.
  52. Sri Lankan Journal of Librarianship and Information Management Vol.4, Nos.,3&4 (July – Dec.2011) pp. 1 -58
  53. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Web site: Ajahn Sujato – A Practical Guide to Reading The Suttas – March 2018 . YouTube.
  54. Book: Zvelebil, Kamil. The Smile of Murugan on Tamil literature of South India. 1973. Brill. Leiden. 9789004035911.
  55. 2021. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 11, Issue 7, July 2021 682. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications. 11.

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