Citation of writers, ancient and modern The citation of ancient evidence is based upon conventions dating back to the initial printed editions of the ancient authors. Citations of these authors are best indicated using parenthetical references in your text using the following conventions. I. Long works: Most ancient prose texts are divided into “books” (like a long modern chapter) and “chapters” (like a long paragraph or more). Sometimes these works are further divided into “sections” (often just a sentence or two). Long poems are also divided into books, with specific citation given to line numbers. One usually cites a work by citing the name of the work (in italics), book number, chapter number or line number, and section number (where applicable) in Arabic numerals separated by periods. For most of the translations you’ll be using, there are no section numbers.
II. Shorter works: Some works do not have book divisions, but only chapter or line numbers.
III. Collections: Some ancient works are collections, and therefore refer not to chapter numbers but individual units of the text, like letters or poems. In these instances you will want to cite the work name, book number (if applicable) and unit number, again separated by periods.
IV. Modern works: With modern works you should use a conventional form of citation (MLA or Chicago). You should provide a works cited list at the end of your paper, including the full reference for modern works. The ancient translations may be cited by ancient author, work, translator, and (if applicable) web source. Abbreviations of modern scholarly works on Classical Antiquity (as well as abbreviations of the ancient writers) may be found at the beginning Oxford Classical Dictionary. A list of abbreviations of journal titles may be found here. |