Works — Ontological Atlas

#1867

Great Hymn to the Aten

Akhenaten · c. 1340 BCE

Hymn (inscribed in the tomb of Ay at Amarna) · Egyptian religious literature / Amarna theology

"O sole god, like whom there is no other" — the first monotheistic hymn, celebrating the Aten as universal creator and source of all life

30% perennial-philosophy 25% natural-theology 15% humanism 15% idealism 15% political-realism 5% egyptian-wisdom +3

#1868

Torah (Pentateuch)

Moses (traditional attribution) · c. 13th–5th century BCE (traditional: c. 1400–1200 BCE; critical: redacted over centuries)

Narrative, law, poetry, genealogy (five books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) · Israelite / Jewish canonical scripture

"In the beginning God created" — the foundational text of ethical monotheism, covenantal law, and the narrative of liberation

30% rabbinic-judaism 20% christianity 15% natural-law 15% liberation-theology 10% biblicism 10% islam +3

#1869

I Ching (Book of Changes, attributed arrangement)

King Wen of Zhou (traditional attribution) · c. 1050–800 BCE (core hexagram and judgment layers; commentaries later)

Divination manual and cosmological treatise (64 hexagrams with judgments and line statements) · Chinese classical canon (one of the Five Classics)

"One yin and one yang — this is the Tao" — the oldest Chinese classic, encoding cosmic process in sixty-four binary figures

25% confucianism 25% taoism 20% process-philosophy 15% perennial-philosophy 10% cosmopolitanism 5% analytical-psychology-jungian 5% zhou-ritual +4

#1870

Instructions of Amenemope

Amenemope · c. 1100 BCE

Wisdom instruction (sebayt) in thirty chapters · Egyptian wisdom literature (sebayt)

"Better is bread when the heart is happy" — the quiet man as moral ideal, ma'at as cosmic order, and the oldest cross-cultural wisdom tradition

30% natural-law 25% virtue-ethics 20% perennial-philosophy 15% humanism 10% stoicism 5% egyptian-wisdom +3

#1871

Book of Psalms (traditionally attributed)

King David (traditional attribution; composite authorship per scholarly consensus) · c. 1000–300 BCE (traditional: c. 1000 BCE; critical: composed over centuries)

Lyric poetry — hymns, laments, thanksgivings, royal psalms, wisdom psalms (150 psalms in 5 books) · Israelite / Jewish liturgical and wisdom literature

"The LORD is my shepherd" — the full range of human religious experience in verse: praise, anguish, trust, rage, penitence, and ecstasy

30% rabbinic-judaism 25% christianity 15% mysticism 10% natural-theology 10% existentialism 10% biblicism +3

#1872

Epic of Gilgamesh

Anonymous / composite (Sin-leqi-unninni, c. 1200 BCE, final redactor) · c. 2100–1200 BCE (composite)

Epic poetry on clay tablets · Mesopotamian literary / religious tradition

He who saw the deep — the first epic, the first confrontation with mortality in world literature

30% perennial-philosophy 30% existentialism 25% tragedy 15% naturalism 5% mesopotamian-wisdom +2

#1873

Elijah Cycle (1 Kings 17 – 2 Kings 2)

Anonymous (Deuteronomistic historians) · c. 9th–7th century BCE (events c. 870–850 BCE; written form c. 7th century)

Prophetic narrative embedded in historical books · Israelite prophetic / Deuteronomistic

The LORD, he is God — Elijah's fiery defence of monotheism and the quiet encounter on Horeb

25% christianity 35% rabbinic-judaism 25% mysticism 15% natural-law 5% hebrew-prophecy +2

#1874

Speeches in the Book of Documents (Shangshu)

Duke of Zhou (attributed) · c. 1042 BCE (events); written form c. 10th–5th century BCE

Political speeches and proclamations · Chinese classical / Confucian canonical

Heaven's mandate is not constant — the founding speeches of Chinese political philosophy

55% confucianism 20% natural-law 15% virtue-ethics 10% conservatism 5% zhou-ritual +2

#1875

Instructions for King Merikare

Anonymous (attributed to a Heracleopolitan pharaoh) · c. 2050 BCE

Wisdom literature / royal instruction · Egyptian wisdom tradition

Do justice that you may endure upon earth — the oldest political philosophy, grounded in ma'at

40% natural-law 25% perennial-philosophy 20% virtue-ethics 15% conservatism 5% egyptian-wisdom +2

#1876

Dialogues in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

Anonymous (attributed to Yajnavalkya) · c. 8th–7th century BCE

Philosophical dialogues within a prose Upanishad · Vedic / proto-Vedanta

Neti neti — the dialogues that established the identity of Self and Absolute in Indian philosophy

35% advaita-vedanta 25% hinduism 20% vedanta 10% mysticism 10% idealism 5% vedic-tradition +3

#1877

Mahabharata (attributed)

Vyasa (traditional attribution) · c. 400 BCE – 400 CE (composite; core narrative possibly older)

Epic poetry (approximately 200,000 verses in 18 books) · Hindu epic / Vedic-Brahmanical

What is here is found elsewhere; what is not here is nowhere — the encyclopedic epic of dharma

35% hinduism 15% advaita-vedanta 20% vedanta 15% virtue-ethics 15% perennial-philosophy 5% vedic-tradition +3

#1878

Papyrus of Ani (Book of the Dead)

Scribal tradition (prepared for the scribe Ani) · c. 1250 BCE

Illustrated funerary papyrus scroll (78+ feet) · Egyptian funerary / religious

My heart, do not stand against me — the most beautiful surviving guide to the Egyptian afterlife

30% natural-law 25% perennial-philosophy 20% mysticism 15% esotericism 10% hermeticism 5% egyptian-wisdom +3

#1879

Library of Nineveh (curated collection)

Ashurbanipal (patron and collector) · c. 668–631 BCE (collected; texts range from c. 2000 BCE onward)

Cuneiform clay tablet library (30,000+ tablets and fragments) · Mesopotamian scholarly / royal

For the sake of distant days — the first great library, preserving Mesopotamian civilisation on clay

30% perennial-philosophy 25% classicism 15% natural-law 15% conservatism 15% political-realism 5% mesopotamian-wisdom +3

#1880

Self-Praise Hymns of Shulgi

Shulgi of Ur (attributed; court scribes) · c. 2094–2047 BCE

Royal hymns (Shulgi A, B, C, D, E, and others) · Sumerian royal literary tradition

I am a king, the weapon of the gods — the first celebration of royal excellence in athletics, learning, and the scribal arts

30% humanism 25% legalism 20% political-realism 15% perennial-philosophy 10% classicism 5% mesopotamian-wisdom +3

#1881

Sargon Birth Legend and Chronicle

Anonymous (attributed to Sargon in first person) · c. 2300–700 BCE (events c. 2334–2279 BCE; surviving copies c. 7th century)

Royal legend and chronicle on clay tablets · Mesopotamian royal literary tradition

My mother was a high priestess; my father I knew not — the first autobiography of a world-conqueror, the archetype of the self-made king

35% political-realism 25% perennial-philosophy 20% conservatism 10% mysticism 10% legalism 5% mesopotamian-wisdom +3

#1882

Gudea Cylinders

Gudea of Lagash (attributed; court scribes) · c. 2144–2124 BCE

Temple-building hymn inscribed on clay cylinders · Sumerian religious / literary tradition

The house planted by the side of a river — the most elaborate surviving account of divine vision, sacred architecture, and temple dedication in Sumerian literature

30% mysticism 25% natural-theology 20% conservatism 15% perennial-philosophy 10% humanism 5% mesopotamian-wisdom +3

#1883

Instructions of Kagemni

Anonymous (attributed to a sage addressing Kagemni) · c. 2300 BCE (original composition); surviving copy c. 1850 BCE (Papyrus Prisse)

Wisdom instruction (sebayt) · Egyptian wisdom literature

The quiet man prospers — one of the oldest surviving moral teachings, counselling restraint, modesty, and self-control

30% virtue-ethics 25% conservatism 20% natural-law 15% humanism 10% stoicism 5% egyptian-wisdom +3

#1884

Song of Deborah (Judges 5)

Deborah (attributed); anonymous (composite tradition) · c. 12th–11th century BCE

Victory hymn / poem · Israelite prophetic / poetic tradition

Awake, awake, Deborah! — one of the oldest Hebrew poems, celebrating female leadership, divine intervention, and the human cost of war

30% feminism 25% rabbinic-judaism 20% christianity 15% natural-law 10% tragedy 5% hebrew-prophecy +3

#1885

Book of Job

Anonymous · c. 6th–4th century BCE

Wisdom dialogue (prose frame with extended poetic core) · Israelite / Jewish wisdom tradition

Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? — the most radical questioning of divine justice in ancient literature

25% existentialism 25% mysticism 20% tragedy 15% christianity 15% rabbinic-judaism 5% israelite-wisdom +3

#1886

Dialogue with Yajnavalkya (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3.6, 3.8)

Anonymous (Upanishadic tradition); Gargi Vachaknavi as interlocutor · c. 7th century BCE

Philosophical dialogue embedded in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad · Vedic / early Upanishadic

On what is the whole world woven, warp and woof? — the relentless questioning that drove Upanishadic inquiry to its absolute limit

30% advaita-vedanta 25% feminism 20% mysticism 15% perennial-philosophy 10% philosophy-of-language 5% vedic-tradition +3

#1887

Apology of Hattusili III

Hattusili III · c. 1267–1237 BCE

Royal autobiography / political apology · Hittite royal literary tradition

Ishtar, my lady, always rescued me — the first autobiography, a usurper's masterwork of political self-justification through divine destiny

30% political-realism 25% conservatism 20% mysticism 15% natural-law 10% humanism 5% mesopotamian-wisdom +3

#1888

Dialogue on Immortality (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.4, 4.5)

Anonymous (attributed to Maitreyi and Yajnavalkya) · c. 7th century BCE

Philosophical dialogue embedded in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad · Vedic / proto-Vedanta

"What should I do with that by which I do not become immortal?" — the question that made knowledge of the Self the supreme pursuit

40% advaita-vedanta 25% vedanta 20% mysticism 15% feminism 5% vedic-tradition +2

#1889

Rig Vedic Hymns (Mandala 1, selected hymns attributed to Agastya)

Agastya (attributed) · c. 1500–1200 BCE (Vedic period)

Liturgical hymns (suktas) in metrical verse · Vedic / Rig Vedic

Sacred speech that yokes cosmic order to ritual fire — the seer's hymns to the storm-gods, the divine fire, and the king of the gods

40% hinduism 25% vedanta 20% perennial-philosophy 15% animism-relational-indigenous 5% vedic-tradition +2

#1890

Speeches in the Shangshu (Call of Shao and others)

Duke of Shao (attributed) · c. 11th century BCE (events); written form c. 10th–5th century BCE

Political speeches preserved in the Shangshu (Book of Documents) · Zhou dynasty / early Chinese political thought

"The people are the root" — the speeches that grounded political legitimacy in popular welfare and the lessons of dynastic failure

45% confucianism 20% civic-republicanism 20% conservatism 15% communitarianism 5% zhou-ritual +2

#1891

Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta

Anonymous (Sumerian scribal tradition) · c. 2100–2000 BCE

Epic/narrative poetry on clay tablets · Sumerian literary tradition

The messenger's mouth was too heavy — so the king invented the clay tablet: the origin myth of writing as the technology that overcomes the limits of memory and distance

40% dataism-information-ontology 25% political-realism 20% classicism 15% perennial-philosophy 5% mesopotamian-wisdom +2

#1892

Book of Ruth

Anonymous · c. 6th–4th century BCE (literary form); set c. 1100 BCE

Short narrative (novella) in four chapters · Israelite / Hebrew Bible (Ketuvim / Writings)

"Where you go I will go" — the story of loyal love that made a Moabite woman the ancestor of David and challenged every boundary of belonging

30% rabbinic-judaism 25% christianity 25% virtue-ethics 20% feminism +1

#1893

Boundary Stelae and Amarna Inscriptions (attributed)

Nefertiti and Akhenaten (attributed) · c. 1350–1335 BCE

Monumental inscriptions (boundary stelae, temple reliefs, royal decrees) · Ancient Egyptian / Amarna theology

The sole god whose light creates all things — the inscriptions that defined the most radical theological revolution in ancient Egypt

35% deism 25% naturalism 20% feminism 20% perennial-philosophy +1

#1894

Speeches and Narratives (1 Samuel 1-16)

Anonymous (Deuteronomistic historians) · c. 7th–6th century BCE (written form); events c. 11th century BCE

Prophetic narrative and political speeches embedded in historical books · Israelite prophetic / Deuteronomistic

"This will be the manner of the king" — the narrative of the prophet who anointed kings while warning Israel that monarchy would cost them their freedom

30% rabbinic-judaism 20% christianity 20% classical-liberalism 15% liberation-theology 15% natural-law 5% hebrew-prophecy +3