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Classics & Ancient Mediterranean Studies

Citing Classical Texts

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:

  • Abbreviations for authors and titles are found in the Oxford Classical Dictionary, Abbreviations section.
  • An “F” in the citation indicates that the work is fragmentary. 
  • Some citations will omit the title of a text because the author may have only one surviving work (Polybius, Herodotus).

Examples for Common Sources in Chicago Style: Author-Date Format

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. New York: 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, 69-80. Burlington, VT: 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 17 Contents in the top menu.You will see many other different types of sources outlined in this section. 

Examples for Common Sources in Chicago Style: Notes & Bibliography Format

The Chicago Manual of Style offers three different ways to cite sources in the Notes & Bibliography format:

  • notes -- use the first time you cite a source in a footnote
  • shortened notes -- use after the first time you have cited a source (second, third, fourth, etc. times)
  • bibliographies -- use this format in the bibliography which appears at the end of your paper

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 (New York: Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2015), 114-15.
Shortened note: Beard, SPQR, 201.
Bibliography: Beard, Mary. SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome. New York: 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 (Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing, 2005), 75-78.
Shortened note: Roux, "Archimedes," 76.
Bibliography: Roux, Suzanne. "Archimedes." In Meet the Philosophers of Ancient Greece, edited by Patricia F. O'Grady, 69-80. Burlington, VT: 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: 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 17 Contents in the top menu.You will see many other different types of sources outlined in this section.