Classical Literature Subject Guide

The following list represents some examples of the specialized reference work types in the Von der Ahe Library useful for research in Classical Literature. For additional sources, please consult LINUS and/or the Reference Librarian.

Examples of Reference Sources
Oxford Classical Dictionary, 4th ed.     REF DE 5 .O9 2003   Also 3rd ed. (1996), available online via Past Masters (see below)
Brill's New Pauly : encyclopaedia of the ancient world.    REF DE5 .N4813 2002 v.1 (in progress)
Civilization of the Ancient Mediterranean: Greece and Rome, 3 vols.     REF DE 59 .C55 1988  
McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama, 2nd ed., 5 vols.     REF PN 1625 .M3 1984
Oxford Companion to Classical Literature, 2nd ed.     REF PA31.H69 1989
Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World     REF DF 16 .S23 1995
Encyclopedia Mythica  
Literature Resource Center   LMU only 

Individual Authors and Literatures   
Ancient Writers: Greece and Rome     REF PA 3002 .A5 1982
Greek and Latin Authors: 800 B.C.- A.D. 1000.     REF PA 31 .G7
Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism (multivolume anthology of articles/excerpts)    REF PN 610 .C53   

Bibliographical Resources: Examples
Classical Greek and Roman Drama: An Annotated Bibliography     REF PA 3024 .F67 1989
Greek and Roman Authors: Checklist of Criticism, 2nd ed.     REF PA 3001 .G9 1982
Classical Scholarship: An Annotated Bibliography. REF DE 59 .H34 1986
TOCS-IN (Some full-text articles back to 1992, citations back beyond.) 

Concordances: Example
A Complete Concordance to the Comedies and Fragments of Aristophanes  MAIN STACKS PA 3888.Z8 D8 1973

Classical Texts are available both in print and online, some translated into English or other modern languages, some in the original language, and some with both languages "face to face".  Use LINUS to identify books and media of interest. Search by author or title for items you know.  Here are a few examples.

Voice of the Shuttle     UC Santa Barbara. Click on "Classical Studies" for a long list. 

The Perseus Digital Library    Tufts University. Hydra-headed extensive compilation of classical sources, including texts, photographs, maps. Includes online version of the Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites with links to classical texts documenting the places described.

Diotima  The Study of Women and Gender in the Ancient World.  

Past Masters  LMU only Online texts include Plato, Aristotle, and the Oxford Classical Dictionary.

Note: Using expert lists of worthwhile sites is more fruitful, as these sites have been examined by a knowledgeable person or persons, and judged worthy of perusal, unlike results from a general search engine.

Search known books by author or title. For media items, directors and actors are considered authors. If you don't know of a specific book or media item, search for a topic by a WORD (keyword) search.  Then select the best SUBJECT HEADINGS from the links you find when you open up a single book or media record.  Use and between elements of your Word search to narrow the resulting hits. Remember that LINUS will search two adjacent words as a phrase (e.g. New Comedy), so be sure to use and to separate terms.

Sample Word searches:     classical greece and religion      greek tragedy and women        Euripides and violence

Sample Subject Headings(exact)  Subject Headings with Subheadings
Classical Literature                                 Classical Literature - History And Criticism
Greek Drama                                         Greek Drama (Tragedy) - History & Criticism   
                                                            Greek Drama (Comedy) - Dictionaries 
Latin Drama                                       Latin Drama - History & Criticism - Collected Works

Look for individual authors as authors by name, sometimes with subheadings; look for works about them by subject, also with subheadings:

As Author:   Aristophanes      Sophocles      Cicero, Marcus Tullius  (works listed by title)
As Subject:  Aristophanes - Clouds - Criticism  & Interpretation
  Cicero, Marcus Tullius - Death and burial               Sophocles. Oedipus Rex
  Sophocles - Characters              Cicero, Marcus Tullius - Correspondence

The Charles Von der Ahe Library provides access to  journal articles in Classics and related disciplines via print and online subscriptions (see Databases).  If you are off campus, please read Connect to LMU's library databases from off campus.  Students of classics can benefit from several excellent indexes, including the following:

Humanities Abstracts   LMU only
Indexes over 460 periodicals in the humanities, including classics, from 1984 to the present.From 1994 on, may include abstracts and even some full text.
Print version, available as Humanities Index, goes back to 1974.   INDEX HM 1.A3 S61

ProQuest Research Library    LMU only
Indexes journals and magazines; some with full-text available. Limiting to the Humanities module in the Collections menu will limit search to mostly academic journals.  

ATLA Religion Database (1949+ )  LMU only
A comprehensive index covering over 1000 journals covering religions of the world, including those of the classical period, and their interactions with life and literature. Also indexes books and book chapters.

L'Annee Philologique: Bibliographie Critique et Analytique de l'Antiquite Greco-Latine.  [print index]
Comprehensive index to literature, language, arts, and culture of the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations.Indexed in French; articles in several languages, English included. Annual. 1924+ .INDEX PA 29 .A55

Classics Web Sites

Search Engines

Remember: keep track of ALL the resources you use in your research/writing. Complete citations are a must!  Check the LMU style manual, or the Style Guides. For citations help, ask at Reference. We can look at the printed handbook or Web site together for solutions.

Tony Amodeo
English Subject Liasion
Reference Librarian / Library Instruction Coordinator