Research guides: Classical Studies: Ancient Texts

What is a Primary Source?

A primary source is an original material produced at the time of the period or event being studied.

A secondary source is an interpretation or analysis of a primary source.

A tertiary source summarizes information from primary and secondary sources in encyclopedia articles or subject dictionary entries.

Primary Source Electronic Texts

Loeb Classical Library
Over 520 volumes of Latin, Greek, and English texts, with an interface allowing readers to browse, search, bookmark, annotate, and share content.
Coverage:Varies
Virtual library of key Greek and Latin texts with up-to-date texts and accurate English translations,including: epic and lyric poetry; tragedy and comedy; history, travel, philosophy, and oratory; the great medical writers and mathematicians; those Church Fathers who made particular use of pagan culture. More than 520 volumes of Latin, Greek, and English texts are available.
Brill's New Jacoby
A collection of texts and commentary on fragments of the work of 856 Greek historians.
Coverage: ancient - present
This edition of Jacoby is supplemented with English translations and critical commentary. Also includes an online edition of the original "Die Fragmente der Griechischen Historiker I-III."
Patrologia Latina
Original texts, critical apparatus, and indexes relating to Early Christian history and the writings of Church Fathers.
Coverage: 200 - 1216
Find the first edition of Jacques-Paul Migne's Patrologia Latina, published between 1844 and 1855 and the four volumes of indexes published between 1862 and 1865. The Patrologia Latina comprises the works of the Church Fathers from Tertullian in 200 AD to the death of Pope Innocent III in 1216. Migne's column numbers, essential references for scholars, are included.
Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum
Bibliography on aspects of Greek epigraphy, as well as summaries of Greek inscriptions.
Coverage: varies

Classical Latin Texts
Latin literature to A.D. 200, provided by the Packard Humanities Institute.
Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL)
The Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL) is a comprehensive collection of ancient Latin inscriptions from all corners of the Roman Empire.
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Available funding covers the digitization of the volumes with an imperfect OCR searching capability.
Greek and Roman texts
from the Perseus Digital Library
Internet Classics Archive

Is the Text Available Locally in Print?

Search the Library's catalogue (Omni) using the ancient author as your search term in the author field. Include the editor or series name to retrieve a specific edition.

The major series that publish translations of classical authors include the Penguin Classics, Oxford World Classics, and the Loeb Classical Library.

Find Texts by Ancient Authors

Consult these reference works to find a bibliography of the works written by an ancient author and the various editions and translations as well as important secondary sources such as critical studies.

Ancient Writers: Greece and Rome.
Ref PA3002.A5 1982 Porter

Brill's New Pauly
Ref DE5 .N3913x Porter