Editing History of literature (section)

==Ancient (Bronze Age–5th century)==
{{Main|Ancient literature}}Early literature is derived from stories told in [[hunter-gatherer]] bands through [[oral tradition]], including [[myth]] and [[folklore]]. [[Storytelling]] emerged as the human mind evolved to apply [[causal reasoning]] and structure events into a [[narrative]] and [[language]], allowing early humans to share information with one another. Early storytelling provided opportunity to learn about dangers and [[social norm]]s while also entertaining listeners.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sugiyama |first=Michelle Scalise |title=Critical Approaches to Literature: Psychological |publisher=Salem Press |year=2017 |isbn=9781682172728 |editor-last=Evans |editor-first=Robert |pages=67–83 |chapter=Literary Prehistory: The Origins and Psychology of Storytelling}}</ref> Myth can be expanded to include all use of patterns and stories to make sense of the world, and it may be psychologically intrinsic to humans. [[Epic poetry]] is recognized as the pinnacle of ancient literature. These works are long [[narrative poetry|narrative poems]] that recount the feats of mythic heroes, often said to take place in the nation's early history.{{Sfn|Sutherland|2013|pp=7–16}}

The [[history of writing]] began independently in different parts of the world, including in [[Mesopotamia]] about 3200 BC, in [[Ancient China]] about 1250 BC, and in [[Mesoamerica]] about 650 BC. Literature was not initially incorporated in writing, as it was primarily used for simpler purposes, such as [[accounting]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Schmandt-Besserat |first1=Denise |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/418043692 |title=Handbook of research on writing : history, society, school, individual, text |last2=Erard |first2=Michael |publisher=L. Erlbaum Associates |year=2008 |isbn=9781410616470 |editor-last=Bazerman |editor-first=Charles |pages=7–26 |chapter=Origins and Forms of Writing |oclc=418043692}}</ref> Some of the earliest surviving works of literature include ''[[The Maxims of Ptahhotep]]'' and the ''[[Story of Wenamun]]'' from [[Ancient Egypt]], ''[[Instructions of Shuruppak]]'' and ''[[Poor Man of Nippur]]'' from Mesopotamia, and ''[[Classic of Poetry]]'' from Ancient China.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Street |first=Deb |title=10 Of The Most Ancient Pieces Of Literature Ever Found |url=https://historydaily.org/10-oldest-pieces-of-literature-ever-discovered |access-date=2022-08-24 |website=History Daily |language=en |archive-date=2015-10-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003032900/https://historydaily.org/10-oldest-pieces-of-literature-ever-discovered |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Mesopotamia ===
[[Image:GilgameshTablet.jpg|thumbnail|A stone tablet containing part of the [[Epic of Gilgamesh]]]]
[[Sumerian literature]] is the oldest known literature, written in [[Sumer]]. Types of literature were not clearly defined, and all Sumerian literature incorporated poetic aspects. Sumerian poems demonstrate basic elements of poetry, including [[Line (poetry)|lines]], [[imagery]], and [[metaphor]]. Humans, gods, talking animals, and inanimate objects were all incorporated as characters. Suspense and humor were both incorporated into Sumerian stories. These stories were primarily shared orally, though they were also recorded by [[scribe]]s. Some works were associated with specific [[musical instrument]]s or contexts and may have been performed in specific settings. Sumerian literature did not use [[Title (publishing)|titles]], instead being referred to by the work's first line.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Black |first1=Jeremy |title=The Literature of Ancient Sumer |last2=Cunningham |first2=Graham |last3=Robson |first3=Eleanor |last4=Zólyomi |first4=Gábor |date=2004-11-25 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-155572-5 |language=en |chapter=Introduction}}</ref>

[[Akkadian literature]] developed in subsequent Mesopotamian societies, such as [[Babylonia]] and [[Assyria]], from the third to first millennia BC. During this time, it spread to other areas, including Egypt, [[Ugarit]], and [[Hattusa]]. The [[Akkadian language]] was influenced by the [[Sumerian language]], and many elements of Sumerian literature were adopted in Akkadian literature. Many works of Akkadian literature were commissioned by kings that had scribes and scholars in their service. Some of these works served to celebrate the king or the divine, while others recorded information for religious practices or medicine. Poetry, proverbs, folktales, love lyrics, and accounts of disputes were all incorporated into Akkadian literature.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lenzi |first=Alan |title=An Introduction to Akkadian Literature: Contexts and Content |date=2020-01-10 |publisher=Penn State Press |isbn=978-1-64602-030-0 |language=en |chapter=Introduction}}</ref>

=== Ancient Egypt ===
{{Main|Ancient Egyptian literature}}
Literature of the [[Old Kingdom of Egypt]] developed directly from practical use during the [[Fifth Dynasty of Egypt|Fifth Dynasty]]. Lists of offerings to the gods were rewritten as prayers, and statistical information about state officials was expanded into [[Autobiography|autobiographies]]. These autobiographies were written to exemplify the virtues of their subjects and often incorporated a free flow style that blended prose and poetry. Kings were not written about beyond clerical recordings, but poetry was performed during the funerals of kings as part of a religious ritual. The ''Instructions'', a form of [[wisdom literature]] that was popular during most of Ancient Egyptian history, taught maxims of [[Ancient Egyptian philosophy]] that combined pragmatic thought and religious speculation.<ref name=":0" />

These literary traditions continued to develop in the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt]] as autobiographies became more intricate. The role of the king in literature expanded during this period; royal testaments were written from the perspective of the king to his successor, and celebrations of the king and advocacy of strong leadership were included in autobiographies and ''Instructions''. [[Fiction]] and analysis of [[good and evil]] also developed during this period.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1525/9780520973619-005/html |title=Ancient Egyptian Literature |date=2019-05-07 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-97361-9 |volume=I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms |language=en |chapter=Literary Genres and Literary Styles |pages=31–44 |doi=10.1525/9780520973619-005 |s2cid=240659212 |access-date=2022-08-25 |archive-date=2022-08-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220825110152/https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1525/9780520973619-005/html |url-status=live }}</ref> During the [[New Kingdom of Egypt]], the popularity of wisdom literature and educational works persisted, though the use of teachings and stories was prioritized over the use of discourses. Entertainment literature was popular among the nobility during this period, incorporating aspects of narrative myth and folklore, religious hymns, love songs, and praise for the king and the city.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moers |first=Gerald |title=A Companion to Ancient Egypt |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-405-15598-4 |editor-last=Lloyd |editor-first=Alan B. |pages=685–708 |chapter=New Kingdom Literature}}</ref>

===Ancient China===
{{Main|Chinese classics|Classical Chinese poetry}}

==== Zhou dynasty ====
[[File:Rongo Analects 02.jpg|thumb|The ''[[Analects]]'' of Confucius]]
[[Chinese mythology]] played a notable role in the earliest Chinese literature, though it was less prominent compared to mythological literature in other civilizations. By the time of the [[Zhou dynasty]], Chinese culture emphasized the community over the individual, discouraging mythological stories of great personages and characterization of the divine. Mythological literature was more common in the southern [[Chu (state)|Chu]] nation.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|p=7}} The ''[[Tao Te Ching]]'' and the [[Zhuangzi (book)|''Zhuangzi'']] are philosophical compilations that serve as the foundation of Taoism.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|pp=62–63}} [[Confucius]] was a defining figure in ancient Chinese [[Ancient Chinese philosophy|philosophy]] and [[Ancient Chinese political systems|politics]]. He collected the [[Six Classics]] as founding texts of [[Confucianism]], and they became the central texts by which other works were compared in Chinese literary scholarship. Confucianism dominated literary tastes in Ancient China starting in the [[Warring States period]].<ref name=":1" /> The sayings of Confucius were later compiled into the ''[[Analects]]'' by his students.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|p=64}}

[[Anthology|Anthologies]] were common in Ancient China, and anthologizing was used as a means of literary criticism to determine literary classics.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Chengxue |first1=W. U. |last2=Hongbing |first2=S. H. A. |date=2007-01-01 |title=The classics of ancient Chinese literature |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/flsc/1/1/article-p50_3.xml |journal=Frontiers of Literary Studies in China |language=en |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=50–79 |doi=10.1007/s11702-007-0003-9 |s2cid=195069499 |issn=1673-7423}}</ref> The ''[[Classic of Poetry]]'', one of the Six Classics, is the oldest existing anthology of Chinese poetry. It comprises 305 works by anonymous authors dating from the 12th to 7th centuries BC. Prior to the collection of these works, poetic tradition in Ancient China was primarily oral.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wang |first=C. H. |title=Classical Chinese Literature: An Anthology of Translations |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2000 |isbn=9789629960483 |editor-last=Minford |editor-first=John |pages=71 |chapter=The Book of Songs: The Earliest Anthology of Chinese Poetry |editor-last2=Lau |editor-first2=Joseph S. M.}}</ref> The ''[[Chu Ci]]'' anthology is a volume of poems from the Warring States period written in Chu and attributed to [[Qu Yuan]]. These poems were written as rhapsodies that were meant to be recited with a specific tone rather than sung.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|pp=31–35}} The [[Music Bureau]] was developed during the Zhou dynasty, establishing a governmental role for the collection of musical works and folk songs that would persist throughout Chinese history.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|p=137}}

Historical documents developed into an early form of literature during the Warring States period, as documentation was combined with narrative and sometimes with legendary accounts of history.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|pp=11–12}} Two of the Six Classics, the ''[[Book of Documents]]'' and the ''[[Spring and Autumn Annals]]'', are historical documents. The latter inspired works of historical commentary that became a genre in their own right, including the ''[[Zuo Zhuan]]'', the ''[[Gongyang Zhuan]]'', and the ''[[Guliang Zhuan]]''. The ''Zuo Zhuan'' is considered to be the first large scale narrative work in Chinese literature.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|pp=51–55}} ''[[The Art of War]]'' by [[Sun Tzu]] was an influential book on military strategy that is still referenced in the modern era.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Petraeus |first=David |author-link=David Petraeus |date=2018-03-26 |title='The Art of War': As relevant now as when it was written |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/the-art-of-war-as-relevant-now-as-when-it-was-written-1.3440724 |access-date=2022-09-14 |newspaper=The Irish Times |language=en |archive-date=2022-07-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220723205516/https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/the-art-of-war-as-relevant-now-as-when-it-was-written-1.3440724 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Qin and Han dynasties ====
{{Further|Han poetry}}

Poetry written in the brief period of the [[Qin dynasty]] has been entirely lost. Poetry in the [[Han dynasty]] diverged as several branches developed, including short length, paralleled exposition, rhymed exposition, and ancient style, and [[idealism]] also became popular during the Han dynasty.<ref name=":1" /> The ''[[Nineteen Old Poems]]'' were written at this time, though how they came about is the subject of debate.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|p=131}} Poetry during this period abandoned tetrasyllabic verse in favor of pentasyllabic verse. The ballads of Chu spread through China and became widely popular, often focusing on concepts of inevitable destiny and fate.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|pp=125–127}}

Political and argumentative literature by government officials dominated Chinese prose during this period, though even these works often engaged in lyricism and metaphor. [[Jia Yi]] was an essayist known for his emotional political treatises such as ''[[The Faults of Qin]]''. [[Chao Cuo]] was an essayist known for treatises that were meticulous rather than emotional. Confucianism continued to dictate philosophical works, though a movement of works criticizing contemporary application of Confucianism began with [[Wang Chong]] in his ''[[Lunheng]]''. Prose literature meant for entertainment also developed during this period.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|pp=101–105}} Historical literature was revolutionized by the ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'', the first general history of ancient times and the largest work of literature to that point in time.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|p=113}}

==== Six Dynasties ====
{{Further|Six Dynasties poetry}}
Centralism declined during the Six Dynasties period, and Confucianism lost influence as a predominating ideology. This caused the rise of many local traditions of philosophical literature, including that of Taoist and Buddhist ideas.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|pp=149–150}} Prose fiction during the Wei and Jin dynasties consisted mainly of supernatural folklore, including those presented as historical.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|pp=189–190}} This tradition of supernatural fiction continued during the Northern and Southern dynasties with the ''Records of Light and Shade'' attributed to [[Liu Yiqing]].{{Sfn|Luo|2011|p=261}} Another genre of prose was collections of short biographical or anecdotal impressions, of which only ''[[A New Account of the Tales of the World]]'' survives.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|p=263}}

[[Jian'an poetry]] developed from the literary tradition of Eastern Han, incorporating idiosyncrasies and strong demonstrations of emotion to express individualism. This movement was led by then-ruler of China [[Cao Cao]]. The [[poetry of Cao Cao]] consisted of ensemble songs published through the Music Bureau and performed with music.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|pp=152–154}} The [[Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove]] were influential poets in the Wei dynasty mid-3rd century, addressing political and philosophical concerns directly in their poetry.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|p=167}} Chinese poetry developed significantly during the [[Jin dynasty (266–420)|Jin dynasty]], incorporating [[Parallelism (rhetoric)|parallelism]], [[Prosody (linguistics)|prosody]], and emotional expression through scenery. [[Zhang Hua]], [[Lu Ji (Shiheng)|Lu Ji]], and [[Pan Yue (poet)|Pan Yue]] are recognized as the great poets that developed early Western Jin poetry.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|p=173}} [[Zuo Si]] and [[Liu Kun (Jin dynasty)|Liu Kun]] were poets in later Western Jin.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|pp=178–180}} In Eastern Jin, philosophical poetry went through a period of abstraction that removed much of its literary elements. [[Guo Pu]] and [[Tao Yuanming]] were notable poets in Eastern Jin.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|pp=181–184}}

The popularity of literary poetry and [[aestheticism]] grew during the [[Southern dynasties]], and literature as art began to be recognized as distinct from political and philosophical literature.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|p=194}} This resulted in the growth of literary criticism, with ''[[The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons]]'' and [[Zhong Rong|''Ranking of Poetry'']] being written at this time.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|pp=197–201}} The [[Sixteen Kingdoms]] of the [[Northern dynasties]] saw little cultural growth due to their instability, and Northern literature of this time was typically influenced by the Southern dynasties.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|p=233}} [[Shanshui poetry]] also became prominent in Six Dynasties poetry.<ref name=":1" />

=== Levant ===
{{main|Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions}}
Ancient literature of the Levant was written in the [[Northwest Semitic languages]], a language group that contains the [[Aramaic|Aramaic language]], as well as the [[Canaanite languages]] such as [[Phoenician language|Phoenician]] and [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]. A corpus of [[Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions]] (or "Northwest Semitic inscriptions") are the primary extra-Biblical source for the writings of the ancient [[Phoenicians]], [[Ancient Hebrews|Hebrews]] and [[Arameans]]. These inscriptions occur on stone slabs, pottery [[ostraca]], ornaments, and range from simple names to full texts.<ref name="Woolmer">{{Cite journal |url=https://www.academia.edu/30935044 |title=Phoenician: A Companion to Ancient Phoenicia |journal=A Companion to Ancient Phoenicia, ed. Mark Woolmer |editor-last=Mark Woolmer |page=4 |quote=Altogether, the known Phoenician texts number nearly seven thousand. The majority of these were collected in three volumes constituting the first part of the Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum (CIS), begun in 1867 under the editorial direction of the famous French scholar Ernest Renan (1823–1892), continued by J.-B. Chabot and concluded in 1962 by James G. Février. The CIS corpus includes 176 "Phoenician" inscriptions and 5982 "Punic" inscriptions (see below on these labels). |access-date=2022-01-17 |archive-date=2022-01-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220117145143/https://www.academia.edu/30935044 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="PR">{{Cite book |last1=Parker |first1=Heather Dana Davis |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1163/j.ctvrxk44t.14 |title=Teaching Epigraphy in the Digital Age |last2=Rollston |first2=Christopher A. |work=Ancient Manuscripts in Digital Culture: Visualisation, Data Mining, Communication |publisher=Brill |others=Alessandra Marguerat |year=2019 |editor-last=Hamidović |editor-first=D. |location=LEIDEN; BOSTON |pages=189–216 |chapter=9 |volume=3 |jstor=10.1163/j.ctvrxk44t.14 |isbn=9789004346734 |quote=Of course, Donner and Röllig's three-volume handbook entitled KAI has been the gold standard for five decades now |editor-last2=Clivaz |editor-first2=C. |editor-last3=Savant |editor-first3=S. |access-date=2022-01-17 |archive-date=2022-01-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118200124/https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1163/j.ctvrxk44t.14 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Suder1984">{{Cite book |last=Suder |first=Robert W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZqqxDwSwe5UC&pg=PA13 |title=Hebrew Inscriptions: A Classified Bibliography |publisher=Susquehanna University Press |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-941664-01-1 |pages=13}}</ref><ref name="Doak2019">{{Cite book |last=Doak |first=Brian R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m6CgDwAAQBAJ |title=The Oxford Handbook of the Phoenician and Punic Mediterranean |date=2019-08-26 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-049934-1 |page=223 |quote=Most estimates place it at around ten thousand texts. Texts that are either formulaic or extremely short constitute the vast majority of the evidence.}}</ref>

The books that constitute the [[Hebrew Bible]] developed over roughly a millennium, with the oldest texts originating from about the eleventh or tenth centuries BCE.{{cn|date=March 2025}} They are edited works, being collections of various sources intricately and carefully woven together. The Old Testament was compiled and edited by [[Authorship of the Old Testament|various authors]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Lim |first=Timothy H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zekRDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA41 |title=The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Very Short Introduction |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2005 |isbn=9780192806598 |location=Oxford |page=41 |access-date=2022-09-14 |archive-date=2022-09-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220914212133/https://books.google.com/books?id=zekRDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA41 |url-status=live }}</ref> over a period of centuries, with many scholars concluding that the Hebrew canon was [[Development of the Hebrew Bible canon|solidified]] by about the 3rd century BC.<ref>{{cite book |title= The Bible: A Very Short Introduction|last= Riches|first= John|year= 2000|publisher= Oxford University Press|location= Oxford|isbn= 978-0-19-285343-1|page= 37}}</ref><ref name="Philip R page 50">Philip R. Davies in ''The Canon Debate'', page 50: "With many other scholars, I conclude that the fixing of a canonical list was almost certainly the achievement of the [[Hasmonean dynasty]]."</ref> The [[New Testament]] was an additional collection of books that supplemented the Hebrew Bible, consisting of the [[gospel]]s that described [[Jesus]] and the [[epistle]]s written by notable figures of early [[Christianity]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Bible |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/texts/bible.shtml |access-date=2022-09-14 |website=BBC |language=en-GB |archive-date=2022-10-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221010020350/https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/texts/bible.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Classical antiquity===
==== Ancient Greece ====
{{Main|Ancient Greek literature}}[[File:Bardo(js)014(js).jpg|thumb|A scene from the ''Odyssey'' portrayed in an Ancient Roman mosaic]]

Early Greek literature was composed in [[dactylic hexameter]]. [[Homer]] is credited with the codification of epic poetry in Ancient Greece with the ''[[Iliad]]'' and the ''[[Odyssey]].'' [[Hesiod]] is credited with developing a literary tradition of poetry derived from catalogues and genealogies, such as the ''[[Megala Erga]]'' and the ''[[Theogony]]''. Notable writers of religious literature also held similar prominence at the time, but these works have since been lost.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Murray |first=Gilbert |title=A History of Ancient Greek Literature |year=1897 |pages=4–5}}</ref> Notable among later Greek poets was [[Sappho]], who contributed to the development of [[lyric poetry]] and was widely popular in antiquity.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rayor |first1=Diane |title=Sappho: A New Translation of the Complete Works |last2=Lardinois |first2=André |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-107-02359-8 |location=Cambridge |pages=7}}</ref>

[[Theatre of ancient Greece|Ancient Greek plays]] originate from the [[Greek chorus|chorus plays]] of [[Athens]] in the 6th century BC as a tradition to honor [[Dionysus]], the god of theater and wine. Greek plays came to be associated with "elaborate costumes, complex choreography, scenic architecture, and the mask". They were often structured as a [[tetralogy]] in which three tragedies were followed by a [[satyr play]]. [[Aeschylus]], [[Sophocles]], and [[Euripides]] were known for their [[Tragedy|tragedies]], while [[Aristophanes]] and [[Menander]] were known for their [[Comedy (drama)|comedies]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hart |first1=Mary Louise |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_dhwVAA-A4IC&dq=ancient+greek+plays&pg=PP1 |title=The Art of Ancient Greek Theater |last2=Walton |first2=J. Michael |publisher=Getty Publications |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-60606-037-7 |pages=1 |language=en |access-date=2022-09-03 |archive-date=2023-04-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405003931/https://books.google.com/books?id=_dhwVAA-A4IC&dq=ancient+greek+plays&pg=PP1 |url-status=live }}</ref> Sophocles is most well known for his play ''[[Oedipus Rex]]'', which established an early example of literary [[irony]].{{Sfn|Sutherland|2013|pp=21–25}}

[[Ancient Greek philosophy]] was developed as the foundation of [[Western philosophy]]. [[Thales of Miletus]] was the first person in recorded history to engage in Western philosophy. The Ancient Greek philosophical literature was advanced by [[Plato]], who incorporated philosophical debates into dialogues with [[Socratic questioning]]. [[Aristotle]], Plato's student, wrote dozens of works on many scientific disciplines.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Graham |first=Jacob N. |title=Ancient Greek Philosophy |url=https://iep.utm.edu/ancient-greek-philosophy/ |access-date=2022-08-25 |website=Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-08-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220825215433/https://iep.utm.edu/ancient-greek-philosophy/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Aristotle also developed early [[literary criticism]] and [[literary theory]] in his ''[[Poetics (Aristotle)|Poetics]].''{{Sfn|Sutherland|2013|pp=21–25}}

====Ancient Rome====
{{Main|Latin literature}}

In the [[Roman Republic]], literature took the form of tragedy, comedy, epic, and historical. [[Livius Andronicus]] is recognized as the originator of literature in the Latin language, and due to Rome's influence, the development of Latin literature often extended beyond the traditional boundaries of Rome. [[Plautus]] was an influential playwright known for his comedies that emphasized humor and [[popular culture]]. The late republic saw the rise of [[Augustan literature (ancient Rome)|Augustan literature]] and [[Classical Latin]], which was primarily prose and included the works of [[Cicero]] and [[Sallust]]. Upon the formation of the [[Roman Empire]], political commentary declined and prose went out of favor to be replaced by poetry. Poets such as [[Virgil]], [[Horace]], [[Propertius]], and [[Ovid]] are recognized as bringing about the Golden Age of Latin literature.{{Sfn|Cohen|2017|pp=45–48}} Virgil's epic poem the ''[[Aeneid]]'' closely followed the formula established by Homer.{{Sfn|Cohen|2017|p=54}}

Prominent Latin authors that lived during the early empire included [[Pliny the Elder]], [[Seneca the Younger]], and Emperor [[Marcus Aurelius]]. As the Roman Empire grew, Latin literature increasingly came from Spain and Northern Africa. Historical works of the early empire included the epic ''[[Pharsalia]]'' by [[Lucan]], which followed [[Caesar's civil war]], and the [[Annals (Tacitus)|''Annals'']] of [[Tacitus]], which recorded the events of the first century.{{Sfn|Cohen|2017|pp=57–63}} ''[[The Golden Ass]]'' by [[Apuleius]] was written in the later Empire and is possibly the world's oldest novel.{{Sfn|Cohen|2017|p=65}} The adoption of [[Christianity]] in the Roman Empire became apparent in Latin literature, most notably in the [[confessional writing]] of [[Augustine of Hippo]], such as the ''[[Confessions (Augustine)|Confessions]]''.{{Sfn|Cohen|2017|pp=70–71}}

===Ancient India===
{{Further|Tamil literature|Indian literature|Kannada literature|Telugu literature|Sanskrit literature}}{{More sources needed section|date=September 2022}}
Knowledge traditions in India handed down philosophical gleanings and theological concepts through the two traditions of [[Shruti]] and [[Smriti]], meaning ''that which is learnt'' and ''that which is experienced'', which included the [[Vedas]]. It is generally believed that the [[Puranas]] are the earliest philosophical writings in Indian history, although linguistic works on [[Sanskrit]] existed earlier than 1000 BC. Puranic works such as the Indian epics: [[Ramayana]] and ''[[Mahabharata]]'', have influenced countless other works, including Balinese [[Kecak]] and other performances such as shadow puppetry ([[wayang]]), and many European works. [[Pali]] literature has an important position in the rise of [[Buddhism]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gornall |first1=Alastair |title=Rewriting Buddhism |url=https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/37315 |website=OAPEN |access-date=September 25, 2024 |doi=10.14324/111.9781787355156 |date=2020|hdl=20.500.12657/37315 |isbn=978-1-78735-515-6 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Pāli language |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pali-language |website=Britannica |access-date=September 25, 2024 |date=August 29, 2024}}</ref> [[Classical Sanskrit literature]] flowers in the [[Maurya period|Maurya]] and [[Gupta period]]s, roughly spanning the 2nd century BC to the 8th century AD. [[Sangam literature|Classical Tamil literature]] also emerged in the early historic period dating from 300 BC to 300 AD,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Zvelebil |first1=Kamil Veith |title=Companion studies to the history of Tamil literature |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MvD7EAAAQBAJ&dq=Classical+Tamil+literature+also+emerged+in+the+early+historic+period+dating+from+300+BC+to+300+AD&pg=PR3 |access-date=September 25, 2024 |page=24 |date=2021|publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-49302-5 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=HISTORY OF TAMIL |url=https://vocal.media/history/history-of-tamil-fv670yq4 |website=Vocal |access-date=September 25, 2024 |date=2024}}</ref> and is the earliest secular literature of India, mainly dealing with themes such as love and war. The [[Gupta period]] in India sees the flowering of [[Sanskrit drama]], classical [[Sanskrit poetry]] and the compilation of the [[Puranas]].