Citing Ancient Sources
The works of ancient Greek and Latin authors were arranged long ago into standard editions.
The numbers associated with these standard editions should appear in any form you find these
works, whether in print or online. These are the numbers you should use when you cite ancient
authors, because your reader will be able to find the part of the work you cited no matter what
edition or website he or she consults. These traditional citations are a system separate from
modern conventions, e.g. MLA. However, they are used in conjunction with modern
conventions. For example, an IA might use MLA for its modern sources, but will use the system
described here for all ancient sources.
Consider the following illustration. Below are pages taken from the 1999 Loeb edition of Virgil
(ed. by G. P. Goold). The page numbers at the bottom, 342-343, are good for citing this edition
only. For any other printed edition or any online version of Virgil’s Aeneid, those numbers will
not refer to the same passage. However, the book number at the top (II) and the line numbers
along the left hand margin will refer to the same passage of the Aeneid in all editions of Virgil.
Poets
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Poets are usually cited by their name, the name of the poem, book number (if
appropriate) and line number(s). Thus Virgil, Aeneid 2.405-409 means Virgil, Aeneid,
Book 2, lines 405-409. (On the reverse of this sheet, ad caelum . . . incurrimus armis)

Some poets, such as tragic playwrights, will just have their name, the name of the poem,
and the line numbers, e.g. Sophocles, Antigone 345-400.

Other poets, whose poems do not have names but are only given numbers, require even
less information. Catullus’ poetry is cited only by the number of his poem and line
numbers, e.g. Catullus 64.1-10.
Prose Authors
Most prose authors’ works are divided into conventional section numbers. These numbers
usually correspond to Book Number, Section Number, and, perhaps, Sub-section number. The
section and subsection numbers should be found in the margins of the text. For example, Livy,
Ab Urbe Condita 1.4.1-2 means Livy, Ab Urbe Condita Book 1, Section 4, Subsections 1-2.
Certain Other Authors
Certain other authors, such as some Greek philosophers, have a different system that uses
numbers and lower case letters. A citation of the beginning of Plato’s Republic, for example,
would look like Plato, Republic 327a. These numbers run consecutively through all of an
author’s works, so they can get very long. Scholars who know these authors well can tell just
from the number which work of that author is being cited. A Plato scholar would know simply
from Plato 327a that this refers to the beginning of the Republic. However, most people would
not know this so it is best to cite the name of the work as well.
Finding Citations
Scholarship on classical topics will often abbreviate authors’ names and works, making it more
difficult to find the work cited. A useful guide to abbreviations can be found in the Oxford
Classical Dictionary. (Both in print and online; log-in required.)
Remember that these citations only work for the original texts; translations will not correspond to
them exactly, and perhaps not at all.