The phrase "ancient narrative" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to refer to a story or account from a long time ago, often related to historical or mythological events.
Example: "The ancient narrative of the Trojan War has been retold in various forms throughout history."
Alternatives: "historical tale" or "old story".
Art, intrigue, sex, entire stone walls of ancient narrative and allure are out here, incised or painted on stone.
Graves takes us to a great ancient narrative of corruption (with the possibility of comparing it with the TV series).
And then -- most important -- it delivers the ancient narrative satisfaction of seeing a character deal with the inexplicabilities of time, the prospect of his own extinction.
The problem with her "Red Riding Hood" may be that it is both too coy and too obvious in mining the subtext of its ancient narrative, so that neither the romanticism nor the horror ever takes satisfying or potent shape.
Paying close attention to the role of memory and narrative in the formation of individual and communal selves, Sizgorich identifies a common pool of late ancient narrative forms upon which both Christian and Muslim communities drew.
She did not by any means require a conventional story, conventionally told, but she wanted something to have happened by the time she reached the end, some sea change to have occurred, some new narrative continent discovered, or some ancient narrative civilization destroyed.
Again and again, Hansen demonstrates how ancient narratives are often best understood in the context of the larger tradition.
The author of "The Gnostic Gospels" places the biblical book of Revelation in the context of other ancient narratives of visions and prophecy.
So he treats its ancient narratives as "stories" but still practises meditation: "Buddhism doesn't really care… and so I meditate and I find it really helpful, and centring.
If the disruptions hunters cause are apparent, it is less easy to discern the purpose they serve, as they prowl the woods enacting ancient narratives of stalker and prey.
With delightful stories like "Seven Blind Mice" and "Donkey Trouble," Ed Young, a Caldecott Award-winning author and illustrator, has become a masterly purveyor of these ancient narratives for the children of our relatively young culture.
