3rd Millennium BCE
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Hymns, codes, instructions and laments (Sumerian)
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3rd Millennium BCE
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Pyramid and coffin texts (Egyptian)
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20th Century BCE
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Original version of “The Epic of Gilgamesh” (Sumerian)
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20th Century BCE
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“The Story of Sinuhe” (Egyptian)
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18th Century BCE
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“Enuma Elis”, “Atra-Hasis” and “Eridu Genesis” (Babylonian/Akkadian)
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16th Century BCE
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“Egyptian Book of the Dead” (Egypt)
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16th - 11th Century BCE
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“Rigveda” (Indian/Sanskrit)
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11th Century BCE
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“The Tale of Two Brothers” and “The Story of Wenamun” (Egypt)
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11th - 9th Century BCE
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“Yajurveda”, “Samaveda” and “Atharvaveda” (Sanskrit/Indian)
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11th - 6th Century BCE
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“Avesta” of Zoroastrianism (Avestan/Persian)
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9th Century BCE
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“I Ching” manual of divination (China)
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9th - 7th Century BCE
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“Brahmanas” and the early “Upanishads” (Sanskrit/Indian)
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9th - 6th Century BCE
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Older parts of the "Old Testament" of the “Bible”, including the “Torah” (Hebrew)
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8th Century BCE
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Epic poems “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey” of Homer and other Trojan War epic poems (Greek)
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8th Century BCE
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Didactic poetry of Hesiod, including “Theogony” (Greek)
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8th Century BCE
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“Mahabharata” of Vyasa (Sanskrit/Indian)
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7th - 6th Century BCE
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Lyric poems of Sappho (Greek)
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6th Century BCE
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“Fables” of Aesop (Greek)
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6th - 5th Century BCE
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“Four Books” of Confucius (Chinese)
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5th Century BCE
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Lyric poems and odes of Pindar (Greek)
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5th Century BCE
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Tragic plays of Aeschylus, including “The Oresteia” and “The Persians” (Greek)
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5th Century BCE
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Tragic plays of Sophocles, including “Antigone” and “Oedipus the King” (Greek)
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5th Century BCE
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Tragic plays of Euripides, including “Medea”, “The Trojan Women” and “The Bacchae” (Greek)
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5th - 4th Century BCE
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Comic plays of Aristophanes including “The Wasps”, “Lysistrata” and “The Frogs” (Greek)
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4th Century BCE
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“Ramayana” of Valmiki (Sanskrit/Indian)
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4th - 3rd Century BCE
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Comic plays of Menander (Greek)
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2nd Century BCE
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Comic plays of Plautus and Terence(Latin/Roman)
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1st Century BCE
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Lyric and elegiac poetry of Catullus (Latin/Roman)
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1st Century BCE
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Epic and didactic poetry of Vergil, including “The Aeneid” (Latin/Roman)
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1st Century BCE
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Lyric poetry and satires of Horace (Latin/Roman)
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1st Century BCE - 1st Century CE
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Didactic, elegiac and epic poetry of Ovid, including “Metamorphoses” (Latin/Roman)
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1st Century CE
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Tragic plays and satires of Seneca the Younger (Latin/Roman)
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1st Century CE
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Epic poetry of Lucan (Latin/Roman)
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1st - 2nd Century CE
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Satires of Juvenal (Latin/Roman)
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1st - 2nd Century CE
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Letters of Pliny the Younger (Latin/Roman)
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1st - 2nd Century CE
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New Testament of the Christian “Bible” (Greek)
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7th Century CE
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“Caedmon's Hymn” (Old English/Anglo-Saxon)
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7th Century CE
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Traditional date for Islamic “Qur’an” (Arabic)
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8th Century CE
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Epic poem “Beowulf” (Anglo-Saxon)
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