Best Books of the Ancient World

1.
The Odyssey
The Odyssey
by: Homer
3.82 avg rating β€” 1,156,519 ratings
2.
The Iliad
The Iliad
by: Homer
3.92 avg rating β€” 494,588 ratings
3.
The Epic of Gilgamesh
The Epic of Gilgamesh
by: Anonymous
3.75 avg rating β€” 114,159 ratings
4.
The Republic
The Republic
by: Plato
3.96 avg rating β€” 220,178 ratings
5.
Meditations
Meditations 4.28 avg rating β€” 320,620 ratings
6.
Metamorphoses
Metamorphoses
by: Ovid
4.10 avg rating β€” 76,392 ratings
7.
The Aeneid
The Aeneid
by: Virgil
3.87 avg rating β€” 139,132 ratings
8.
The Histories
The Histories
by: Herodotus
4.01 avg rating β€” 54,680 ratings
9.
Tao Te Ching
Tao Te Ching
by: Lao Tzu
4.29 avg rating β€” 176,898 ratings
10.
Antigone (The Theban Plays, #3)
Antigone (The Theban Plays, #3)
by: Sophocles
3.68 avg rating β€” 170,448 ratings
11.
The Oresteia: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides
The Oresteia: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides
by: Aeschylus
4.02 avg rating β€” 45,634 ratings
12.
Medea
Medea
by: Euripides
3.95 avg rating β€” 84,376 ratings
13.
Oedipus Rex (The Theban Plays, #1)
Oedipus Rex (The Theban Plays, #1)
by: Sophocles
3.72 avg rating β€” 231,991 ratings
14.
The Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita 4.19 avg rating β€” 78,206 ratings
15.
The Art of War
The Art of War
by: Sun Tzu
3.95 avg rating β€” 550,525 ratings
16.
Aesop’s Fables
Aesop’s Fables
by: Aesop
4.05 avg rating β€” 128,585 ratings
17.
Apology
Apology
by: Plato
4.19 avg rating β€” 63,740 ratings
18.
History of the Peloponnesian War
History of the Peloponnesian War 3.94 avg rating β€” 39,936 ratings
19.
The Symposium
The Symposium
by: Plato
4.09 avg rating β€” 85,837 ratings
20.
The Holy Bible: King James Version
The Holy Bible: King James Version
by: Anonymous
4.44 avg rating β€” 308,822 ratings
21.
Prometheus Bound
Prometheus Bound
by: Aeschylus
3.93 avg rating β€” 20,795 ratings
22.
The Twelve Caesars
The Twelve Caesars
by: Suetonius
4.02 avg rating β€” 22,150 ratings
23.
The Nicomachean Ethics
The Nicomachean Ethics
by: Aristotle
really liked it 4.00 avg rating β€” 57,298 ratings
24.
Mahabharata
Mahabharata
by: Anonymous
4.32 avg rating β€” 11,794 ratings
25.
Letters from a Stoic
Letters from a Stoic
by: Seneca
4.33 avg rating β€” 52,558 ratings
26.
The Analects
The Analects
by: Confucius
3.81 avg rating β€” 23,507 ratings
27.
Confessions
Confessions 3.99 avg rating β€” 71,248 ratings
28.
Jason and the Golden Fleece
Jason and the Golden Fleece 3.83 avg rating β€” 11,057 ratings
29.
The Complete Poems
The Complete Poems
by: Catullus
4.10 avg rating β€” 11,443 ratings
29.
The Satyricon
The Satyricon
by: Petronius
3.78 avg rating β€” 9,455 ratings
31.
The Conquest of Gaul
The Conquest of Gaul 4.01 avg rating β€” 13,198 ratings
32.
The Golden Ass
The Golden Ass
by: Apuleius
3.86 avg rating β€” 16,753 ratings
33.
The Persian Expedition
The Persian Expedition
by: Xenophon
4.12 avg rating β€” 9,586 ratings
34.
The Annals of Imperial Rome
The Annals of Imperial Rome
by: Tacitus
3.98 avg rating β€” 9,162 ratings
35.
Poems and Fragments
Poems and Fragments
by: Sappho
4.17 avg rating β€” 10,969 ratings
36.
Electra
Electra
by: Sophocles
3.82 avg rating β€” 13,851 ratings
37.
The Agricola and The Germania
The Agricola and The Germania
by: Tacitus
3.97 avg rating β€” 5,966 ratings
38.
Theogony / Works and Days
Theogony / Works and Days
by: Hesiod
3.76 avg rating β€” 15,865 ratings
39.
Plutarch's Lives
Plutarch's Lives
by: Plutarch
4.16 avg rating β€” 1,997 ratings
40.
Politics
Politics
by: Aristotle
3.98 avg rating β€” 41,879 ratings
41.
Selected Works
Selected Works 4.02 avg rating β€” 3,611 ratings
42.
Poetics
Poetics
by: Aristotle
3.83 avg rating β€” 28,470 ratings
43.
The Trojan Women
The Trojan Women
by: Euripides
3.88 avg rating β€” 12,269 ratings
44.
Ramayana
Ramayana 4.19 avg rating β€” 5,257 ratings
45.
The History of Rome, Books 1-5: The Early History of Rome
The History of Rome, Books 1-5: The Early History of Rome
by: Livy
3.96 avg rating β€” 9,756 ratings
46.
The I Ching or Book of Changes
The I Ching or Book of Changes
by: Anonymous
4.19 avg rating β€” 20,537 ratings
47.
Fragments
Fragments 4.18 avg rating β€” 7,704 ratings
48.
The Campaigns of Alexander
The Campaigns of Alexander
by: Arrian
4.16 avg rating β€” 5,245 ratings
49.
On Sparta
On Sparta
by: Plutarch
4.12 avg rating β€” 1,918 ratings
50.
The Essential Writings
The Essential Writings
by: Epictetus
4.22 avg rating β€” 218 ratings
51.
Caesar's Commentaries: On the Gallic War & On the Civil War
Caesar's Commentaries: On the Gallic War & On the Civil War 4.12 avg rating β€” 1,055 ratings
52.
Civil War
Civil War
by: Lucan
3.92 avg rating β€” 1,601 ratings
53.
Phaedo
Phaedo
by: Plato
4.07 avg rating β€” 15,811 ratings
54.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead
The Egyptian Book of the Dead
by: Anonymous
3.91 avg rating β€” 5,989 ratings
55.
The Book of Job (Pocket Canon)
The Book of Job (Pocket Canon)
by: Anonymous
4.20 avg rating β€” 4,493 ratings
56.
The Seven Against Thebes
The Seven Against Thebes
by: Aeschylus
3.72 avg rating β€” 3,770 ratings
57.
Zhuangzi
Zhuangzi 4.35 avg rating β€” 3,175 ratings
58.
Lysistrata
Lysistrata 3.87 avg rating β€” 52,370 ratings
59.
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 4.25 avg rating β€” 4,344 ratings
60.
The Later Roman Empire (A.D. 354-378)
The Later Roman Empire (A.D. 354-378) 4.07 avg rating β€” 1,269 ratings
61.
Mencius
Mencius
by: Mencius
3.84 avg rating β€” 1,882 ratings
62.
Homeric Hymns
Homeric Hymns
by: Homer
4.05 avg rating β€” 6,434 ratings
63.
Women of Trachis
Women of Trachis
by: Sophocles
3.84 avg rating β€” 2,993 ratings
64.
The Art of Love
The Art of Love
by: Ovid
3.71 avg rating β€” 7,287 ratings
65.
The Civil Wars
The Civil Wars
by: Appian
4.03 avg rating β€” 1,253 ratings
66.
Electra
Electra
by: Euripides
3.95 avg rating β€” 8,152 ratings
67.
The Way Things Are
The Way Things Are
by: Lucretius
3.97 avg rating β€” 14,246 ratings
68.
A History of My Times
A History of My Times
by: Xenophon
4.03 avg rating β€” 3,304 ratings
69.
Ajax
Ajax
by: Sophocles
3.92 avg rating β€” 6,780 ratings
70.
The Dhammapada
The Dhammapada
by: Anonymous
4.27 avg rating β€” 30,402 ratings
71.
The Sixteen Satires
The Sixteen Satires
by: Juvenal
3.89 avg rating β€” 2,833 ratings
72.
If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho
If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho
by: Sappho
4.43 avg rating β€” 20,759 ratings
73.
The Rig Veda
The Rig Veda
by: Anonymous
3.92 avg rating β€” 1,701 ratings
74.
The Rise of the Roman Empire
The Rise of the Roman Empire
by: Polybius
4.06 avg rating β€” 4,810 ratings
74.
The Fall of the Roman Republic
The Fall of the Roman Republic
by: Plutarch
4.11 avg rating β€” 4,125 ratings
76.
On the Good Life
On the Good Life 3.99 avg rating β€” 2,057 ratings
77.
Germania
Germania
by: Tacitus
3.88 avg rating β€” 1,902 ratings
78.
The Bacchae
The Bacchae
by: Euripides
3.93 avg rating β€” 24,372 ratings
79.
Inanna, Lady of Largest Heart: Poems of the Sumerian High Priestess Enheduanna
Inanna, Lady of Largest Heart: Poems of the Sumerian High Priestess Enheduanna 4.23 avg rating β€” 375 ratings
80.
The Letters of the Younger Pliny
The Letters of the Younger Pliny 3.92 avg rating β€” 1,999 ratings
80.
Oedipus at Colonus (The Theban Plays, #2)
Oedipus at Colonus (The Theban Plays, #2)
by: Sophocles
3.75 avg rating β€” 15,983 ratings
82.
Philoctetes
Philoctetes
by: Sophocles
3.89 avg rating β€” 4,936 ratings
83.
The Song of Solomon (Bible, #22)
The Song of Solomon (Bible, #22)
by: Anonymous
4.35 avg rating β€” 1,639 ratings
84.
The Civil War
The Civil War 4.07 avg rating β€” 7,110 ratings
85.
Gorgias
Gorgias
by: Plato
3.93 avg rating β€” 14,171 ratings
86.
The Clouds
The Clouds 3.61 avg rating β€” 11,488 ratings
86.
Birds
Birds 3.84 avg rating β€” 5,150 ratings
88.
Kama Soetra
Kama Soetra 3.45 avg rating β€” 6,793 ratings
89.
The Mozi: A Complete Translation
The Mozi: A Complete Translation 3.86 avg rating β€” 56 ratings
90.
Records of the Grand Historian: Han Dynasty I
Records of the Grand Historian: Han Dynasty I
by: Sima Qian
4.17 avg rating β€” 139 ratings
91.
Life of the Buddha (Clay Sanskrit Library, 10)
Life of the Buddha (Clay Sanskrit Library, 10) 3.96 avg rating β€” 227 ratings
91.
Alcestis
Alcestis
by: Euripides
3.85 avg rating β€” 4,820 ratings
93.
Idylls
Idylls 3.84 avg rating β€” 716 ratings
94.
The Persians
The Persians
by: Aeschylus
3.60 avg rating β€” 4,683 ratings
95.
The Life of Alexander the Great
The Life of Alexander the Great
by: Plutarch
4.14 avg rating β€” 2,878 ratings
95.
The Frogs
The Frogs 3.79 avg rating β€” 9,013 ratings
97.
Iphigeneia in Tauris
Iphigeneia in Tauris
by: Euripides
3.95 avg rating β€” 2,014 ratings
98.
The Jewish War
The Jewish War really liked it 4.00 avg rating β€” 3,887 ratings
99.
The History of Rome, Books 21-30: The War with Hannibal
The History of Rome, Books 21-30: The War with Hannibal
by: Livy
4.15 avg rating β€” 3,750 ratings
100.
The Tale of Sinuhe and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems, 1940-1640 B.C.
The Tale of Sinuhe and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems, 1940-1640 B.C.
by: Unknown
3.74 avg rating β€” 425 ratings
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