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.
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 ca. 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.
Elu (Sri Lankan
Prakrit): Sīhalattakathā or Hela Atuwā (Pali commentaries of Buddhist teachings that were translated into
Sinhalese after the introduction of
Buddhism to Sri Lanka)[48]
^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).
^Allen, James P.; Der Manuelian, Peter, eds. (2005). The ancient Egyptian pyramid texts. Writings from the ancient world. Atlanta: Soc. of Biblical Literature.
ISBN978-1-58983-182-7.
^Sallaberger, Walther; Schrakamp, Ingo (2015). "Part I: Philological data for a historical chronology of Mesopotamia in the 3rd millennium".
History & philology. Turnhout. pp. 1–133.
ISBN978-2-503-53494-7.
OCLC904661061.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
^Dalley, Stephanie (2000). Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others. Oxford University Press. p. 45.
ISBN9780199538362.
^Mitchell, T (1988). The Bible in the British Museum. The British Museum Press. p. 70.
^Sasson, Jack (2015). From the Mari Archives: An Anthology of Old Babylonian Letters. University Park, United States: Penn State University Press.
^Kloekhorst, Alwin (2020). "The Authorship of the Old Hittite Palace Chronicle (CTH 8): A Case for Anitta". Journal of Cuneiform Studies. 72: 143–155.
doi:
10.1086/709313.
S2CID224830641.
^Taylor, John H.; British Museum, eds. (2010). 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]. London: The British Museum Press.
ISBN978-0-7141-1993-9.
^Wilfred G. E. Watson; Nicolas Wyatt, eds. (1 January 1999).
Handbook of Ugaritic Studies. BRILL. pp. 203–.
ISBN978-90-04-10988-9.
OCLC1025426965. 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.
^Flood, Gavin D. (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge University Press.
^Anthony, David W. (2007). The Horse The Wheel And Language. How Bronze-Age Riders From the Eurasian Steppes Shaped The Modern World. Princeton University Press.
^Thapar, Romila; Witzel, Michael; Menon, Jaya; Friese, Kai; Khan, Razib (2019). Which of us are Aryans? rethinking the concept of our origins. New Delhi: Aleph.
ISBN978-93-88292-38-2.
^Thorkild Jacobsen (1978). The treasures of darkness: a history of Mesopotamian religion. Yale University Press. pp. 167–168, 231. "Perhaps it was brought east with the Amorites of the First Dynasty of Babylon."
^Arnold, Bill T.; Beyer, Bryan, eds. (2002). Readings from the ancient Near East: primary sources for Old Testament study. Encountering biblical studies. Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Academic.
ISBN978-0-8010-2292-0.
^
abAlan Lenzi (2008). "The Uruk List of Kings and Sages and Late Mesopotamian Scholarship". Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions. 8 (2): 137–169.
doi:
10.1163/156921208786611764.
^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.
^Sri Lankan Journal of Librarianship and Information Management Vol.4, Nos.,3&4 (July – Dec.2011) pp. 1 -58
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.
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 ca. 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.
Elu (Sri Lankan
Prakrit): Sīhalattakathā or Hela Atuwā (Pali commentaries of Buddhist teachings that were translated into
Sinhalese after the introduction of
Buddhism to Sri Lanka)[48]
^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).
^Allen, James P.; Der Manuelian, Peter, eds. (2005). The ancient Egyptian pyramid texts. Writings from the ancient world. Atlanta: Soc. of Biblical Literature.
ISBN978-1-58983-182-7.
^Sallaberger, Walther; Schrakamp, Ingo (2015). "Part I: Philological data for a historical chronology of Mesopotamia in the 3rd millennium".
History & philology. Turnhout. pp. 1–133.
ISBN978-2-503-53494-7.
OCLC904661061.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
^Dalley, Stephanie (2000). Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others. Oxford University Press. p. 45.
ISBN9780199538362.
^Mitchell, T (1988). The Bible in the British Museum. The British Museum Press. p. 70.
^Sasson, Jack (2015). From the Mari Archives: An Anthology of Old Babylonian Letters. University Park, United States: Penn State University Press.
^Kloekhorst, Alwin (2020). "The Authorship of the Old Hittite Palace Chronicle (CTH 8): A Case for Anitta". Journal of Cuneiform Studies. 72: 143–155.
doi:
10.1086/709313.
S2CID224830641.
^Taylor, John H.; British Museum, eds. (2010). 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]. London: The British Museum Press.
ISBN978-0-7141-1993-9.
^Wilfred G. E. Watson; Nicolas Wyatt, eds. (1 January 1999).
Handbook of Ugaritic Studies. BRILL. pp. 203–.
ISBN978-90-04-10988-9.
OCLC1025426965. 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.
^Flood, Gavin D. (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge University Press.
^Anthony, David W. (2007). The Horse The Wheel And Language. How Bronze-Age Riders From the Eurasian Steppes Shaped The Modern World. Princeton University Press.
^Thapar, Romila; Witzel, Michael; Menon, Jaya; Friese, Kai; Khan, Razib (2019). Which of us are Aryans? rethinking the concept of our origins. New Delhi: Aleph.
ISBN978-93-88292-38-2.
^Thorkild Jacobsen (1978). The treasures of darkness: a history of Mesopotamian religion. Yale University Press. pp. 167–168, 231. "Perhaps it was brought east with the Amorites of the First Dynasty of Babylon."
^Arnold, Bill T.; Beyer, Bryan, eds. (2002). Readings from the ancient Near East: primary sources for Old Testament study. Encountering biblical studies. Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Academic.
ISBN978-0-8010-2292-0.
^
abAlan Lenzi (2008). "The Uruk List of Kings and Sages and Late Mesopotamian Scholarship". Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions. 8 (2): 137–169.
doi:
10.1163/156921208786611764.
^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.
^Sri Lankan Journal of Librarianship and Information Management Vol.4, Nos.,3&4 (July – Dec.2011) pp. 1 -58