Comparison of earliest surviving documents of ancient literature

C

Cypress

Well-known member
The oldest surviving copies of Aristotle's works date from the 1100s AD, which is roughly 1,400 years after Aristotle lived.

The oldest surviving manuscript of Plato's works is the Clarke Plato, which was copied in 895 CE, which is roughly 1,200 years after Plato lived.

The oldest surviving copies of Homer's works date back to the third century BCE, which is roughly one thousand years after Homer lived.

The oldest manuscripts of Confucius's documents date from the Song Dynasty (12th–13th century) and the Kamakura Period (1185–1333), which is roughly one thousand years after Homer lived.

The oldest manuscripts of Plutarch's Lives date back to the 10th and 11th centuries, which is roughly 900 years after Plutarch lived.

The oldest known copies of Histories by Herodotus are manuscripts from the 9th and 10th centuries CE, roughly 1,400 years after Herodotus lived.

AuthorDate Originally WrittenEarliest Surviving CopiesApprox. Time Span Between Original and Copy
PlatoEarly 4th century BCE895 CE1,200 years
Aristotle4th century BCE1100s CE1,400 years
Homer8th century BCE4th century BCE500 years
Analects of Confucious3rd century BCE12-13th century CE1,500 years
Plutarch1st century CE10th-11th centuries CE900 years
New Testament50 to 100 CE2nd to 3rd century CELess than 100 years to 200 years



data source: Google AI
 
The edit function timed out, and I forgot to add Herodotus and Siddartha Buddha

AuthorDate Originally WrittenEarliest Surviving CopiesApprox. Time Span Between Original and Copy
PlatoEarly 4th century BCE895 CE1,200 years
Aristotle4th century BCE1100s CE1,400 years
Homer8th century BCE4th century BCE500 years
Analects of Confucious3rd century BCE12-13th century CE1,500 years
Plutarch1st century CE10th-11th centuries CE900 years
New Testament50 to 100 CE2nd to 3rd century CELess than 100 years to 200 years
Herodotus5th century BCE9th and 10th century CE1,500 years
Written accounts of Alexander the Great4th century BCE2nd century BCE400 years
Dhammapada/Sidhartha Buddha4th century BCE16th century BCE2,000 years



data source: Google AI
 
Our sources for Roman Emperor Tiberius, who was contemporaneous with Jesus, include books written by Suetonius and Tacitus originally written 80 to 90 years after Tiberius died - but since we don't have the original documents, our earliest surviving copies of these works date to the 14th and 9th centuries, respectively, making them 800 to 1,300 years after the death of Tiberius.

The expectation that we are supposed to have original copies of documents written at the same time historical persons were alive is just an unrealistic expectation when it comes to ancient history.
 
Cypress said:
The oldest surviving copies of Aristotle's works date from the 1100s AD, which is roughly 1,400 years after Aristotle lived.

The oldest surviving manuscript of Plato's works is the Clarke Plato, which was copied in 895 CE, which is roughly 1,200 years after Plato lived.

The oldest surviving copies of Homer's works date back to the third century BCE, which is roughly one thousand years after Homer lived.

The oldest manuscripts of Confucius's documents date from the Song Dynasty (12th–13th century) and the Kamakura Period (1185–1333), which is roughly one thousand years after Homer lived.

The oldest manuscripts of Plutarch's Lives date back to the 10th and 11th centuries, which is roughly 900 years after Plutarch lived.

The oldest known copies of Histories by Herodotus are manuscripts from the 9th and 10th centuries CE, roughly 1,400 years after Herodotus lived.

AuthorDate Originally WrittenEarliest Surviving CopiesApprox. Time Span Between Original and Copy
PlatoEarly 4th century BCE895 CE1,200 years
Aristotle4th century BCE1100s CE1,400 years
Homer8th century BCE4th century BCE500 years
Analects of Confucious3rd century BCE12-13th century CE1,500 years
Plutarch1st century CE10th-11th centuries CE900 years
New Testament50 to 100 CE2nd to 3rd century CELess than 100 years to 200 years



data source: Google AI
Click to expand...
Is there a point?
 
Hume said:
Is there a point?
Click to expand...
Yes, I have run across about two million people on the internet who believe the existence of historical figures from antiquity is suspect, unless we have written sources that were recorded at the time they lived.

That's almost never the case that we have contemporaneous documents, and if we did make that the standard we would basically have to abandon the academic discipline of ancient history.
 
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