Do the Know Your Source tutorial before learning about the Chicago Manual of Style. Knowing what kind of source you need to cite is a skill to master before learning about any citation style.
The Chicago Manual of Style tutorial will guide you through the basics of using the Chicago Manual of Style.
To learn how to cite non-standard types of sources, watch a short video about Chapter 14 of the Chicago Manual of Style.
See the Chicago Manual of Style Citation Quick Guides for:
Notes and Bibliography format
Author-Date format
Whether you are making your own citations or reading citations given in secondary works, citations to classical works follow a specific convention. The format refers to the ancient text itself without referencing any particular translation.
Example: Ov. Am. 1.7.27.
The parts of this citation are:
Ov. | ancient author's name in abbreviated form |
Am. | abbreviated title of the ancient text in Latin and italicized |
1 | book number (sometimes you will see this number is a Roman numeral in a citation as in the Cambridge Ancient History) |
7 | chapter or section number |
27 | sentence (not all citations will have this element) |
Notes:
In-text citations from the Perseus Digital Library should include the author and title of the ancient text, and then whatever other information is necessary to lead your reader to the passage you are quoting: Book number, chapter number, passage number, etc.
Example:
(Sophocles, Electra, 86)
If you are using multiple editions or translations of the same ancient text, also include the specific editor's or translator's name in the parenthetical reference.
Example:
(Sophocles, Electra, ed. Jebb, 86)
Reference list citations for ancient texts from the Perseus Digital Library should include the title and author of the ancient text and the specific edition you used from the Perseus site, along with the site name, an accessed date and the work's URL/URI.
Example:
Sophocles. The Electra of Sophocles. Edited by Sir Richard Jebb. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1894. Perseus Digital Library. Accessed June 4, 2024. http://data.perseus.org/texts/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0011.tlg005.
Note: Capture the URL/URI from the Perseus site as the "Work URI":
Below are some examples of common types of sources and the format for citing them in the Author-Date format. Refer to the Chicago Manual of Style Quick Guide online for more examples.
Book
Reference list entry:
Beard, Mary. 2015. SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome. Liveright Publishing Corporation.
In-text citation:
(Beard 2015, 255-56)
Journal article
Reference list entry:
Ward, Roy Bowen. 1992. "Women in Roman Baths." Harvard Theological Review 85,no. 1 (April): 125-147.
In-text citation:
(Ward 1992, 131)
Chapter or Other Part of an edited book
Reference list entry: Roux, Suzanne. 2005. "Archimedes." In Meet the Philosophers of Ancient Greece, edited by Patricia F. O'Grady. Ashgate Publishing.
In-text citation:
(Roux 2005, 72)
Website content:
Reference list entry:
Hemingway, Colette, and Seán Hemingway. 2003. "Greek Gods and Religious Practices." The Metropolitan Museum of Art. https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/grlg/hd_grlg.htm.
In-text citation:
(Hemingway and Hemingway, 2003)
If the Quick Guide does not have the type of source you need to cite, turn to the full edition of the Chicago Manual of Style. Click on the link to CMOS 18 Contents in the top menu. You will see many other different types of sources outlined in this section.
The Chicago Manual of Style offers three different ways to cite sources in the Notes & Bibliography format:
Below are some examples of common types of sources and the format for citing them the first time in a footnote. Refer to the Chicago Manual of Style Quick Guide online for more examples.
Book:
Note: Mary Beard, SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome (Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2015), 114-15.
Shortened note: Beard, SPQR, 201.
Bibliography: Beard, Mary. SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome. Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2015.
Journal article:
Note: Roy Bowen Ward, "Women in Roman Baths," The Harvard Theological Review 85, no. 2 (April 1992): 131.
Shortened note: Ward, "Women," 132.
Bibliography: Ward, Roy Bowen. "Women in Roman Baths." The Harvard Theological Review 85, no. 2 (April 1992): 125-147.
Chapter or other part of an edited book:
Note: Suzanne Roux, "Archimedes" in Meet the Philosophers of Ancient Greece, ed. Patricia F. O'Grady (Ashgate Publishing, 2005), 76.
Shortened note: Roux, "Archimedes," 76.
Bibliography: Roux, Suzanne. "Archimedes." In Meet the Philosophers of Ancient Greece, edited by Patricia F. O'Grady. Ashgate Publishing, 2005.
Film or other media:
Note: Jordan Peele, Get Out (Universal City, CA: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, 2017), DVD, 104 minutes.
Shortened note: Peele, Get Out.
Bibliography: Peele, Jordan. Get Out. Universal City, CA: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, 2017. DVD, 104 minutes.
Note: include all relevant information and a stable URL if found online. Cite particular scenes as you would a chapter title.
Article in a print encyclopedia or other reference work:
[For more information see the Chicago Manual of Style here. For citing online reference sources see here.]
Note: Oxford Classical Dictionary, 4th ed., (2012), s.v. "Hittites."
Bibliography: Hornblower, Simon and Anthony Spawforth, eds. Oxford Classical Dictionary. 4th ed. Oxford University Press, 2012.
If the Quick Guide does not have the type of source you need to cite, turn to the full edition of the Chicago Manual of Style. Click on the link to CMOS 18 Contents in the top menu. You will see many other different types of sources outlined in this section.