The Ancient World (HUM 124 - UNC Asheville)/Texts

The textual primary sources are organized by geographical region.

List of texts

Africa

North Africa

• Book of the Dead - Ancient Egypt
• The Teaching of Amenemope - Ancient Egypt
• "The Sayings of the Great Entertainer" (Love Poetry) - Ancient Egypt
• Egyptian Magical Spells

West Africa

• Why The Sun and Moon Are In The Sky - Ibibio
• Ifá Divination Poetry - Yoruba

East Africa

• The Chameleon Finds - Yao

America

North America

• How the World Was Made by James Mooney - Cherokee
• "How the World Was Made" by Kathi Smith Littlejohn - Cherokee
• "Corn Woman Spirit" by Freeman Owle - Cherokee
• "Daughter of the Sun" by Freeman Owle - Cherokee
• Nature Stories by Freeman Owle - Cherokee
• The Laughing Girl - Tewa (Pueblo)

Mesoamerica

• Popul Vuh

Asia

China

• Confucius' Analects
• Book of Songs
• Dao de Ching
• Han Feizi's The Five Vermin
• Qin Law
• Records of the Grand Historian

India

• Rig Veda
• Upanishads
• Bhagavad Gita
• Natyasastra
• Shakuntala
• Buddhacarita ("Life of the Buddha")
• Saddharmaratnavaliya (Portraits of Buddhist women)
• Cosmic Egg

Iran

• Cyrus Cylinder
• Behistun Inscription of Darius I
• Avesta

Levant

• Genesis 1-2 (first creation story)
• Genesis 2-3 (second creation story)
• Genesis - texts about covenant
• Genesis 22
• Exodus
• Isaiah
• Song of Songs
• Esther
• First Maccabees
• Ephesians
• The Gospel According to Matthew
• The Gospel According to Mark
• The Gospel According to Luke
• The Gospel According to John

Mesopotamia

• The Epic of Gilgamesh
• The Code of Hammurabi

Europe

Greece

• Homer's Odyssey
• Sappho
• Plato's Phaedo
• Plato's Euthyphro
• Plato's Apology
• Aristotle's Politics
• Epictetus's Enchiridion ("Handbook")

Rome

• Augustus's Res Gestae