Research Guides: Resources on the Legacy of Rome: Encyclopedias

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THE LEGACY OF ROME

ENCYCLOPEDIAS OF ROME AND THE ANCIENT WORLD

Oxford Classical Dictionary This link opens in a new window
Now handily available online, this is the major one-volume scholarly encyclopedia in the English language on all aspects of the Greco-Roman world. To learn not only what we know about a topic in antiquity, but how we know it, this is the place to look. The articles tell which ancient (and modern) authors tell us about an event, and exactly where in their writings to find it. The list of abbreviations for ancient authors and their works is the standard system used by classical scholars.

The following encyclopedias are excellent sources for learning more about Rome and the ancient world more generally.

Brill's New Pauly: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World
This is the major scholarly encyclopedia about all aspects of the Greek and Roman world. Fifteen volumes are devoted to Greco-Roman antiquity, while five volumes are devoted to the influence of the classical heritage from the end of the Roman Empire to modern times.
Cambridge Dictionary of Classical Civilization
In addition to surveying the ancient Greek and Roman world, this handy one-volume encyclopedia also covers other cultures with whom the Greeks and Romans were in contact.
Civilization of the Ancient Mediterranean: Greece and Rome
This is an excellent encyclopedia to start with to learn more about the ancient world. The highly readable articles are arranged by topic within broad subject areas (for example, "Roman Forms of Government" and "Slavery" are both articles in the section on Government and Society).
The Encyclopedia of Ancient History
This 13-volume encyclopedia covers the entire Mediterranean world, including the Near East and Egypt as well as ancient Greece and Rome, from the late Bronze Age through the seventh century CE.
Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome
This multivolume encyclopedia, aimed at the student and general reader, serves not only as a reliable source of factual information, but also as a guide to recent approaches and interpretations of the significance of many aspects of the classical world.