Bibliographical Help
This section contains some comments on how to use the library most effectively and how to find primary (i.e. ancient) sources. Ancient Historians are great users of abbreviations which can make getting to grips with a topic difficult. They make a much greater use of primary sources in teaching undergraduates than do modern historians and these sources can often be hard to find. If these suggestions do not bring up the desired result, then, ask for help.
Journals
Ancient Historians use large numbers of journals whose titles often have unfamiliar abbreviations. These here provide a good starting point, with some call numbers. L'Année Philologique provides a full list. Very few of these journals are held at FIU.
- AHR, American Historical Review, E171.A57
- AJA, American Journal of Archaeology, CC1.A6
- AJP, American Journal of Philology, P1.A5
- ANRW, Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt, DG 209.T36
- Britannia, DA145.B68
- BSA, Annual of the British School at Athens, DF11.B6
- CP, Classical Philology, PA1.C5
- CQ, Classical Quarterly, PA1.C59
- CR, Classical Review, PA1.C7
- CSCA, California Studies in Classical Antiquity, PA1.C3
- DOP, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, DF503.D84 Quarto
- G+R, Greece and Rome, DE1.G7
- GRBS, Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, DE1.G73
- Historia, D51.H5
- HSCP, Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, PA25.H3
- IHR, International History Review, D1.I52
- JHS, Journal of Hellenic Studies, DF10.J8
- JRA, Journal of Roman Archaeology, DE1.J697
- JRS, Journal of Roman Studies, DG 11.J7
- Latomus, PA2002.L3
- PBA, Proceedings of the British Academy, AS122.L5
- PBSR, Papers of the British School at Rome, DG12.B85
- PCPS. Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society, P11.C2
- P+P, Past and Present, D1.P37
- Phoenix, PA1.P48
- TAPA, Transactions of the American Philological Association, P11.A51
A useful on-line guide to journals is TOCS-IN, Tables of Contents of Classical Interest, and the on-line Bryn Mawr Reviews.
L'Année Philologique [Ref. Z7016.M35A and also available on a CD as the Database of Classical Bibliography] provides an index of all periodical articles in Classics/Ancient History/Classical Archaeology. It is divided thematically, Greek Social History, Authors, Science, etc.. It also has an index to modern authors, ancient names and ancient places at the back. Though published in France, it lists articles in English (and other languages), often with a short abstract. At the front is a full list of abbreviations for periodicals, which may prove useful when consulting footnotes elsewhere.
Primary Sources
Libraries often use arcane systems to catalog these, so don't be reluctant to ask me for help. Almost all authors you will encounter are available in an English translation, it's just a matter of tracking them down. In most cases, the Penguin edition is the best place to start. These are most quickly found in the library computer by K=Polybius and Penguin. But be warned. Some of these works have been abridged (Livy, Polybius), renamed (Ammianus, Xenophon) or rearranged (Plutarch). For more detail, for missing bits, or authors such as Cassius Dio or Diodorus who are not in the Penguin series, the next place to look is the Loeb Classical Library. These contain texts and parallel translations of most works. They come in two handy series, Roman (bound in Red) and Greek (bound in Green). These are identifiable by their place of publication, either Harvard or Heinemann. Most of these are in the PA sections, but some are elsewhere. They are most easily found by a K search, e.g K=Polybius and Heinemann.