“Ancient” ballads’ plot in plans of v A. Zhukovsky in 1814

A list of ballads put together by V. A. Zhukovsky in 1814 for translation and imitation is studied in the article. Only one (“The Ring of Polycrates”) of the seven “ancient” (under the name of “Mythological” and “Greek”) plots was used by Zhukovsky. The “Mythological” and “Greek” plots, which were not realized by the author, are considered for the first time. The study of Zhukovsky’s library, letters, and diary entries helped to determine the sources of the plots in focus, as well as their place in the poet’s work. The main content of the article is devoted to this subject. It was concluded that Zhukovsky knew and continued to study ancient Greek and Roman literature. He wanted to give a new lease of life to foreign language patterns in Russian culture.