The oldest work of fantasy?

[T.Fenske1985]

What is the oldest work of fantasy? Indigenous myth and religion I do not think count because people actually believed that stuff.

 

[Mari]

Flatland?

Gulliver's Travels?

Utopia?

 

[Gem]

Beowulf, Gilgamesh, and the Arthurian stories come to mind. But if you mean the more modern sort then i'd say the first ones started in the 18th century with that Morris fellow, can't remember the first name, i'll go and look it up and also Lord Dunsany(sp?)

 

[Gem]

It was William Morris.

Just been googling and found this at wiki.

 

[Brys]

Gilgamesh? For more modern fantasy, William Morris, Arthur Machen and Lord Dunsany are some of the great late 18th/early 19th century fantasists.

This article is good on the origins of fantasy.

 

[Sitaram]

Australian aboriginal cave paintings depicting "Dream Time" mythology have been estimated at 50,000 years old, which makes the aboriginal religion the oldest religion still in practice. Therefore, in some sense, the fantasy stories of "Dream Time" may be the oldest that we know of.

Although. I did read somewhere that Ally-Oop had written some chic lit (just kidding).

 

[Gem]

Brys,

Gilgamesh?

The epic of Gilgamesh is one of the oldest if not the oldest work in literature, its about a babylonian king. Stories were written about him and then those stories were turned into an epic poem. The link provides better information:

Gilgamesh

 

[Brys]

I know what Gilgamesh is, sorry, I just wasn't certain if it's the oldest written fantasy (though it seems very likely it is)

 

[pgtr]

Some of the answers beg another question. Namely what is the delineation between 'fantasy fiction' and...

- myth
- fable
- legend
- horror or supernatural fiction
etc...

 

[sirmyk]

The Old Testament?