Research Guides: CSTS 227: Race and Ethnicity in the Classical World (HC): Background

Companion Series

Companions and handbooks are very helpful kinds of sources. They are edited by leading scholars in the particular areas of research, and those editors commission researchers to write individual essays on the subjects which are their specialties. As a result, students get a much better understanding of the issues involved in a particular subject area, since the authors go beyond factual summaries to analysis of differing arguments in the field.

For companions and handbooks involving ethnicity and race, see:

A Companion to Ethnicity in the Ancient Mediterranean (2014)

"Ethnic Prejudice and Racism" in The Oxford Handbook of Hellenic Studies (2009)

"Identity" in The Oxford Handbook of Roman Egypt (2012)

Additional relevant material may be found in the series below when looking by Classical author, literary genre, or topic.

Blackwell Companions - 65 Titles

Brill Companions - 35 Titles

Cambridge Companions - 44 Titles

Research Guides

Oxford Bibliographies in Classics
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Presents extensive annotated reading lists for authors, texts, and topics, with advice on editions, commentaries, translations, and recent studies. See, for example, the section on Ethnicity and Ethnic Identity in the essay on Hellenistic and Roman Egypt . Note that new articles are added twice a year to each section in OBO.

Library Resources in Classics
A thoroughly developed guide for research in Classics. Some of the material is particular to the Princeton campus but much of it will be of use to you as you work on your thesis.
Handbook for Classical Research
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Provides overview chapters for each of the fields embraced by classical studies, including philology, art and religion. Many sections represent the sort of guidance one might expect from a thesis advisor, with helpful summaries such as "How Laws Were Made in Ancient Rome."
Classical studies: a guide to the reference literature
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
By Fred W. Jenkins

Web Sites

Africans in Ancient Greek Art
Harvard University’s Hutchins Center for African and African American Research provides art images from antiquity which document the presence of Africans in ancient Greece.
Barack Obama -- and the first 'African-Roman' emperor of Rome
Blog from Mary Beard about race and politics.
Blacks in Europe
Part of a larger website documenting representations of Blacks in different time periods and places. The section labelled Gallery includes Greek and Roman examples.
Ethnic Identity in Roman Tebtunis
This online exhibit from the University of California considers the different categories which distinguished Egyptians from Greeks and from Romans,

Perseus Digital Library This link opens in a new window
Database of Greek and Latin texts and translations, images (coins, vases, sculpture) and resources for textual studies. Searchable in English, Latin, and Greek.

Sites on the Web (University of Kentucky)
A very extensive list of resource for Classics.

Encyclopedias

Brill's New Pauly by Hubert Cancik (Editor); Helmut Schneider (Editor); Manfred Landfester (Editor); Christine F. Salazar (Editor)
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Publication Date: 2003-12-01
Updated and translated version of the standard encyclopedia for Antiquity, Paulys Real-Encyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft. Articles are extensive and often address the topic in general before analyzing the issues in Greece and in Rome specifically. Bibliographies list books, essays, and journal articles for further reading.
There are also additional series published with the encyclopedia, including a five-volume set on the classical tradition and an ongoing series of supplements:
1) Chronologies of the Ancient World
2) Dictionary of Greek and Latin Authors and Texts
3) Historical Atlas of the Ancient World
4) Reception of Myth and Mythology
5) Reception of Classical Literature
6) History of Classical Scholarship - A Biographical Dictionary
Coming Fall 2016 7) Figures of Antiquity and Their Reception in Art, Literature and Music
Connect to BMC's supplement volumes online from a BMC IP address.
Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece by Nigel Wilson (Editor)
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Publication Date: 2005-10-31
Presents articles written by specialists in the field. Many specific topics treated. Again useful bibliographies at the ends of articles for further reading.
Latin Literature by Gian Biagio Conte; Joseph B. Solodow (Translator); Don P. Fowler (Revised by); Glen W. Most (Revised by)
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Publication Date: 1999-11-04
An authoritative and comprehensive history of Latin literature from the early republic through the late empire. Treats cultural history and reception in addition to the lives and works of authors, development of genres, and sources.
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome by Michael Gagarin; Elaine Fantham
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Publication Date: 2010-01-01
This new encyclopedia offers a comprehensive overview of the literature, history, archaeology, art, philosophy, science, and religion of the Greek and Roman world from the Bronze Age to the fifth century CE. It also covers the legacy of the classical world and its interpretation and influence in subsequent centuries. Essay-length articles include linked references to related entries as well as select list of titles for further reading.
The Oxford Classical Dictionary by Sander Goldberg (Editor)
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Publication Date: 2016
In its digital form, the new OCD is a continuously updated and ever-expanding resource that will ensure scholarship remains current and reflective of emerging subfields and perspectives. New and revised articles written by leading international authors will appear on a rolling basis. The OCD also incorporates intuitive search and browse features and multimedia, including images, links, and audiovisual clips that complement textual content and connect readers to innovative digital materials that have become integral to the field.

Subject Guide

Karen Viars

Email Me

Subjects: Africana & Black Studies, History, Political Science

Ethnicity in Greek Art

Aryballos in the form of an African's head, Walters Art Museum

Between 480 and 430 BCE (Source: Wikimedia Commons)