LibGuides: Classics: Reference Tools

Introduction

The reference tools shown here will include both paper and electronic resources, as both can be very important. The Library some of these resources in both formats.

Basic -- Dictionaries

Liddell & Scott's Greek Lexicon
The major Greek-English dictionary
Brill Dictionary of Ancient Greek
English translation of Franco Montanari’s Vocabolario della Lingua Greca. With 140,000 entries and new entries being added (online) on a regular basis, this is the most important modern dictionary for Ancient Greek and an invaluable tool for students and advanced scholars alike.
Oxford Latin Dictionary
The major Latin-English dictionary, but still useful is the older classic: Lewis & Short.
Thesaurus Linguae Latinae
A much more advanced dictionary, all in Latin. Also available online (see box on right).
A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature (3rd ed.)
This and the next two resources are for later (non-classical) Greek.
Lampe, Patristic Greek Lexicon
Sophocles, A Glossary of Later and Byzantine Greek
Du Cange, Glossarium mediae et infimae Latinitatis
A classic work for medieval and later Latin, old but still useful.
Niermeyer, Mediae Latinitatis lexicon minus = Medieval Latin dictionary (2nd rev. ed.)
A more recent dictionary of medieval Latin, especially based on historical and archival texts. Also in paper.
Dictionary of Renaissance Latin

Basic -- Encyclopedic works

Pauly-Wissowa
Paulys real-encyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft,
The original encyclopedia of Classical culture, updated and translated by the next item.
Brill's New Pauly
An update of the old Pauly-Wissowa. The basic section (Antiquity) covers the ancient world, but there are several supplements that are also very useful. All are included in this link.
Oxford Classical Dictionary (4th ed.)
A one-volume quick reference. Shorter articles with less bibliography, but may be more current.
Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome
Encyclopedia of Greece and the Hellenistic Tradition
Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium
Lexicon Topographicum Urbis Romae
with supplements following it on the shelf.
Oxford Companion to Classical Litererature (2nd ed.)
Oxford Companion to Classical Litererature ( 3rd ed., available online)

E-Resources

Brill's New Pauly This link opens in a new window
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An English translation (with revisions) of the German Der Neue Pauly
Brill's New Pauly is an English translation (with revisions) of the German Der Neue Pauly which itself is the latest revision of the great multi-volume encyclopedia of the ancient world, known familiarly as Pauly-Wissowa. This resource in print was known as the Realencyclopdie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft begun by August Pauly in 1839, with an expanded edition by Georg Wissowa published between 1890 and 1980. The New Pauly is still in progress, but includes access to the German edition, which was completed in 2003. The online version, like the print edition, includes two sections: Antiquity and the Classical Tradition.
Perseus This link opens in a new window
Covers the history, literature, and culture of the Greco-Roman world, current.
Current; resources for the study of ancient Greek literature, history, art, and archaeology. [This resource is publicly available.]
Oxford Reference This link opens in a new window
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Search 2 million entries spanning 25 subject areas across Oxford University Press dictionaries, companions, and encyclopedias, current.
Current; the core collection of Oxford Reference Online brings together 100 language and subject dictionaries and reference works published by the Oxford University Press into a single cross-searchable resource. The Premium Collection offers all of the above, plus added functionality and more detailed information across a broad subject range from titles in the world-renowned Oxford Companions Series, to enhance the coverage already provided by the Core Collection.