To understand religious scriptures we must understand the history of early languages and literature.
In the 3rd millennium BC a new form of writing was born. This system of writing was called Sumerian cuneiform.
Soon thereafter the first two known oldest religious scriptures were conceived. This new language and writing system helped revolutionize the way ancient people conveyed meaning and understanding. I will have link to a list of ancient texts in the post.
This list will serve as a guide for those who want to know the real essence and origin of religious practices. This list will also show how the major world religions have been influenced by more noble and ancient traditions.
Soon thereafter the first two known oldest religious scriptures were conceived. This new language and writing system helped revolutionize the way ancient people conveyed meaning and understanding. I will have link to a list of ancient texts in the post.
This list will serve as a guide for those who want to know the real essence and origin of religious practices. This list will also show how the major world religions have been influenced by more noble and ancient traditions.
List of ancient texts
Bronze Age
- See also: Sumerian literature, Akkadian literature, Ancient Egyptian literature, Hittite texts, Vedic Sanskrit
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, dating to ca. the 24th century BC. Certain literary texts are difficult to date, such as the Egyptian Book of the Dead, which was recorded in the Papyrus of Ani around 1240 BC, but other versions of the book probably date from about the 18th century BC.
- 2600 Sumerian texts from Abu Salabikh, including the Instructions of Shuruppak and the Kesh temple hymn
- 2400 Egyptian Pyramid Texts, including the Cannibal Hymn
- 2400 Sumerian Code of Urukagina[2]
- 2400 Egyptian Palermo stone
- 2350 Egyptian The Maxims of Ptahhotep
- 2270 Sumerian Enheduanna's Hymns
- 2250-2000 Sumerian Earliest stories in the Epic of Gilgamesh[3][4]
- 2100 Sumerian Curse of Agade
- 2100 Sumerian Debate between Bird and Fish
- 2050 Sumerian Code of Ur-Nammu
- 2000 Egyptian Coffin Texts
- 2000 Sumerian Lament for Ur
- 2000 Sumerian Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta
Middle Bronze Age: ca. 2000 to 1600 BC (approximate dates shown)
- 1950 Akkadian Laws of Eshnunna
- 1900 Akkadian Legend of Etana[5]
- 1900 Sumerian Code of Lipit-Ishtar
- 1900 Akkadian Epic of Gilgamesh
- 1850 Akkadian Kultepe texts
- 1800 Egyptian Story of Sinuhe (in Hieratic)
- 1800 Sumerian Eridu Genesis
- 1800 Akkadian Enûma Eliš
- 1800 Akkadian Atra-Hasis epic
- 1780 Akkadian Code of Hammurabi stele
- 1780 Akkadian Mari letters, including the Epic of Zimri-Lim
- 1750 Hittite Anitta text
- 1700 Egyptian Westcar Papyrus
- 1650 Egyptian Ipuwer Papyrus
Late Bronze Age: ca. 1600 to 1200 BC (approximate dates shown)
- 1700-1100 Vedic Sanskrit: approximate date of the composition of the Rigveda. Many of these were not set to writing until later.[6]
- 1600 Hittite Code of the Nesilim
- 1500 Akkadian Poor Man of Nippur[7]
- 1500 Hittite military oath
- 1550 Egyptian Book of the Dead
- 1500 Akkadian Dynasty of Dunnum[8]
- 1400 Akkadian Marriage of Nergal and Ereshkigal
- 1400 Akkadian Autobiography of Kurigalzu
- 1400 Akkadian Amarna letters
- 1330 Egyptian Great Hymn to the Aten
- 1240 Egyptian Papyrus of Ani, Book of the Dead
- 1200-900 Akkadian version and younger stories in the Epic of Gilgamesh[3]
- 1200 Akkadian Tukulti-Ninurta Epic
- 1200 Egyptian Tale of Two Brothers[9]
Iron Age[edit]
- See also Sanskrit literature, Chinese literature
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 Rigveda
- 1200-800 BC approximate date of the Vedic Sanskrit Yajurveda, Atharvaveda, Samaveda
- 1100-800 BC date of the redaction of the extant text of the Rigveda
- 1050 BC Egyptian Story of Wenamun
- 1050 BC Akkadian Sakikkū (SA.GIG) “Diagnostic Omens” by Esagil-kin-apli.[10]
- 1050 BC The Babylonian Theodicy of Šaggil-kīnam-ubbib.[10]
- 1000-600 BC Chinese Classic of Poetry (Shījīng), Classic of Documents (Shūjīng) (authentic portions), Classic of Changes (I Ching)
- 950 BC date of the Jahwist portions of the Torah according to the documentary hypothesis
- 900 BC Akkadian Epic of Erra
- 850 BC date of the Elohist portions of the Torah according to the documentary hypothesis
Classical Antiquity[edit]
- See also Ancient Greek literature, Syriac literature, Latin literature, Indian literature, Hebrew literature, Avesta
- See also: centuries in poetry: 7th, 6th, 5th, 4th, 3rd, 2nd, 1st
8th century BC
- Greek Trojan War cycle, including the Iliad and the Odyssey
- 800-500 BC: Vedic Sanskrit Brahmanas
- Oldest non-Pentateuchal books of the Hebrew Bible (the Book of Nahum, Book of Hosea, Book of Amos, Book of Isaiah) see Carbon dating the Dead Sea Scrolls
7th century BC
6th century BC
- Hebrew Bible: Psalms[citation needed] (according to late dating) Book of Ezekiel, Book of Daniel (according to conservative or early dating)
- Chinese: Sun Tzu: The Art of War (Sūnzǐ Bīngfǎ)
- Vedic Sanskrit:
- Greek:
5th century BC
- Vedic Sanskrit:
- Avestan: Yasht
- Chinese:
- Spring and Autumn Annals (Chūnqiū) (722–481 BC, chronicles of the state of Lu)
- Confucius: Analects (Lúnyǔ)
- Classic of Rites (Lǐjì)
- Commentaries of Zuo (Zuǒzhuàn)
- Greek:
- Pindar: Odes
- Herodotus: The Histories of Herodotus
- Thucydides: History of the Peloponnesian War
- Aeschylus: The Suppliants, The Persians, Seven Against Thebes, Oresteia
- Sophocles: Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone, Electra and other plays
- Euripides: Alcestis, Medea, Heracleidae, Hippolytus, Andromache, Hecuba, The Suppliants, Electra, Heracles, Trojan Women, Iphigeneia in Tauris,Ion, Helen, Phoenician Women, Orestes, Bacchae, Iphigeneia at Aulis, Cyclops, Rhesus
- Aristophanes: The Acharnians, The Knights, The Clouds, The Wasps, Peace, The Birds, Lysistrata, Thesmophoriazusae, The Frogs,Ecclesiazousae, Plutus
- Hebrew: date of the extant text of the Torah
4th century BC
- Sanskrit
- Hebrew: Book of Job, beginning of Hebrew wisdom literature
- Hebrew Torah, also called the Pentateuch or Five Books of Moses[11][12][13][14][15] with a final redaction between 900-450 BC.[16][17] Some give an alternate date of 1320-1280.[18]
- Chinese:
- Laozi (or Lao Tzu): Tao Te Ching
- Zhuangzi: Zhuangzi (book)
- Mencius: Mencius
- Greek:
3rd century BC
- Avestan: Avesta
- Etruscan: Liber Linteus Zagrabiensis (Linen Book of Zagreb)
- Sanskrit:
- Epics: Mahabharata and Ramayana (3th century BC to 4th century AD)
- Khaḍgaviṣāna Sūkta (Buddhist)
- Aṣṭaka Varga (Buddhist)
- Pārāyana Varga (Buddhist)
- Tamil:
- 3rd century BC to 3rd century AD: Sangam poems
- Tolkāppiyam (grammar book)
- Hebrew: Ecclesiastes
- Greek:
- Apollonius of Rhodes: Argonautica
- Callimachus (310/305-240 B.C.), lyric poet
- Manetho: Aegyptiaca
- Theocritus, lyric poet
- Latin:
- Lucius Livius Andronicus (c. 280/260 BC — c. 200 BC), translator, founder of Roman drama
- Gnaeus Naevius (ca. 264 — 201 BC), dramatist, epic poet
- Titus Maccius Plautus (c. 254 — 184 BC), dramatist, composer of comedies: Poenulus, Miles Gloriosus, and other plays
- Quintus Fabius Pictor (3rd century BC), historian
- Lucius Cincius Alimentus (3rd century BC), military historian and antiquarian
2nd century BC
- Avestan: Vendidad
- Chinese: Sima Qian: Records of the Grand Historian (Shǐjì)
- Aramaic: Book of Daniel
- Hebrew: Sirach
- Greek
- Latin:
- Terence (195/185 BC — 159 BC), comic dramatist: The Brothers, The Girl from Andros, Eunuchus, The Self-Tormentor
- Quintus Ennius (239 BC — c. 169 BC), poet
- Marcus Pacuvius (ca. 220 BC — 130 BC), tragic dramatist, poet
- Statius Caecilius (220 BC — 168/166 BC), comic dramatist
- Marcius Porcius Cato (234 BC — 149 BC), generalist, topical writer
- Gaius Acilius (2nd century BC), historian
- Lucius Accius (170 BC — c. 86 BC), tragic dramatist, philologist
- Gaius Lucilius (c. 160's BC — 103/2 BC), satirist
- Quintus Lutatius Catulus (2nd century BC), public officer, epigrammatist
- Aulus Furius Antias (2nd century BC), poet
- Gaius Julius Caesar Strabo Vopiscus (130 BC — 87 BC), public officer, tragic dramatist
- Lucius Pomponius Bononiensis (2nd century BC), comic dramatist, satirist
- Lucius Cassius Hemina (2nd century BC), historian
- Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi (2nd century BC), historian
- Manius Manilius (2nd century BC), public officer, jurist
- Lucius Coelius Antipater (2nd century BC), jurist, historian
- Publius Sempronius Asellio (158 BC — after 91 BC), military officer, historian
- Gaius Sempronius Tuditanus (2nd century BC), jurist
- Lucius Afranius (2nd & 1st centuries BC), comic dramatist
- Titus Albucius (2nd & 1st centuries BC), orator
- Publius Rutilius Rufus (158 BC — after 78 BC), jurist
- Quintus Lutatius Catulus (2nd & 1st centuries BC), public officer, poet
- Lucius Aelius Stilo Praeconinus (154 BC — 74 BC), philologist
- Quintus Claudius Quadrigarius (2nd & 1st centuries BC), historian
- Valerius Antias (2nd & 1st centuries BC), historian
- Lucius Cornelius Sisenna (121 BC — 67 BC), soldier, historian
- Quintus Cornificius (2nd & 1st centuries BC), rhetorician
1st century BC
- Pali: Tipitaka
- Latin:
- Cicero: Catiline Orations, Pro Caelio, Dream of Scipio
- Julius Caesar: Gallic Wars
- Virgil: Eclogues, Georgics and Aeneid
- Lucretius: On the Nature of Things
- Livy: Ab Urbe Condita (History of Rome)
- See also: Pahlavi literature, centuries in poetry: 1st, 2nd and 3rd
- 1st century AD
- Chinese: Ban Gu: Book of Han (Hànshū)
- Greek:
- Latin: see Classical Latin
- 2nd century
- Sanskrit: Aśvaghoṣa: Buddhacharita (Acts of the Buddha)
- Pahlavi:
- Yadegar-e Zariran (Memorial of Zarēr)
- Visperad
- Drakht-i Asurig (The Babylonian Tree)
- Greek:
- Latin: see Classical Latin
- Apuleius: The Golden Ass
- Lucius Ampelius: Liber Memorialis
- Suetonius: Lives of the Twelve Caesars
- 3rd century
- Avestan: Khordeh Avesta (Zoroastrian prayer book)
- Pahlavi: Mani: Shabuhragan (Manichaean holy book)
- Chinese: Chen Shou: Records of Three Kingdoms (Sānguó Zhì)
- Greek: Plotinus: Enneads
- Latin: see Late Latin
- Hebrew: Mishnah
Late Antiquity[edit]
- See also: 4th century in poetry, 5th century in poetry
- 4th century
- Latin: see Late Latin
- Augustine of Hippo: Confessions, On Christian Doctrine
- Apicius (De re coquinaria, "On the Subject of Cooking")
- Pervigilium Veneris ("Vigil of Venus")
- Syriac: Aphrahat, Ephrem the Syrian
- Hebrew: Gemara
- 5th century
- Chinese:
- Bao Zhao: Fu on the Ruined City (蕪城賦, Wú chéng fù)
- Fan Ye: Book of the Later Han (後漢書, Hòuhànshū)
- Sanskrit: Kālidāsa (speculated): Abhijñānaśākuntalam (अभिज्ञान शाकुन्तलम्, "The Recognition of Shakuntala"), Meghadūta (मेघदूत, "Cloud Messenger"),Vikramōrvaśīyam (विक्रमोर्वशीयम्, "Urvashi Won by Valour", play)
- Pahlavi:
- Matigan-i Hazar Datistan (The Thousand Laws of the Magistan)
- Frahang-i Oim-evak (Pahlavi-Avestan dictionary)
- Latin: see Late Latin
- Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus: De Re Militari
- Augustine of Hippo: The City of God
- Paulus Orosius: Seven Books of History Against the Pagans
- Jerome: Vulgate
- Prudentius: Psychomachia
- Consentius's grammar
- Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite: De Coelesti Hierarchia (Περὶ τῆς Οὐρανίας Ἱεραρχίας, "On the Celestial Hierarchy"), Mystical Theology
- Socrates of Constantinople: Historia Ecclesiastica
- 6th century
- Latin: Boethius, De consolatione philosophiae ("The Consolation of Philosophy", 524 AD), widely considered to be the last work of classical philosophy[19][20]
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