The original post: /r/books by /u/Onequestion0110 on 2025-02-19 17:31:16.

So, ignoring the whole “only six stories” thing, I feel like there are some old stories and books that seem to have influenced entire cultures. Or maybe just define them. Or maybe they’re just old enough that they seem that way.

I’m thinking of stories like Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, or Beowulf, or Journey to the West, or the Bible (at least the first few books in it like Genesis and Exodus), or even stories that don’t really have original definitive versions like Robin Hood.

What else could fit that mold? Gilgamesh? Or would the fact that the Gilgamesh stories basically vanished for a few millennia before being rediscovered in the 19th century remove it from a list like that?

Are there more modern stories that approach this sort of importance? Shakespeare or Grimm’s Fairy Tales?

And, maybe I should consider if this is even an important classification to consider at all. If the criteria is the overall impact on society and culture, then why bother limiting it to super old stuff - Wizard of Oz might arguably be more impactful than anything written in antiquity.