Classics
Art and Archaeology
Subject Headings:
Classical antiquities (not Classical Archaeology)
Architecture, Classical
Art, Greek, or Art, Roman
Archaeology – Place or region; i.e. Archaeology – Crete
Antiquities – Place or Region, i.e. Antiquities – Turkey
Excavations (Archaeology)
Lexicon iconographicum mythologiae classicae (LIMC), ed. J. Boardman. Zürich: Artemis Verlag, [1981]-1999.
Lilly Reference -- 704.947 L679, 1981
The ultimate source for classical myth in ancient art, with detailed citations from classical texts as well as exhaustive illustrations. Eight volumes, each in two parts (text and plates), plus two index volumes. Articles in English, French, Italian and German.
Grove Art Online
A full-coverage encyclopedic dictionary for all periods of art, very useful as a preliminary resource for ancient art and architecture. Searchable by entry titles, but also keyword-searchable for words in articles. Contains web links to illustrations of works described, cross-references to other subjects within the dictionary, and bibliography.
An Encyclopedia of the History of Classical Archaeology, ed. N. T. de Grummond. Westport, Ct: Greenwood Press, c1996.
Perkins Reference -- DE5 .E5 1996.
Short entries for works of art (including buildings), artists, archaeological sites, and modern scholars of classical art and archaeology. Covers all of Greek and Roman antiquity, and also prehistoric Greece and the Etruscans. Includes scholarship from the medieval period to the present. Bibliography and cross-references.
Enciclopedia dell'arte antica, classica e orientale. Rome: Istituto della Enciclopedia italiana [1958-1966].
Lilly Reference --- 709.3 E56, 1958
Illustrated; 7 volumes plus supplements; in Italian.
Denkmäler des klassischen Altertums zur erläuterung des Lebens der Griechen und Römer in Religion, kunst und sitte, A. Baumeister. Munich: R. Oldenbourg, 1885-1888.
Perkins Reference --- DE5 .B34 1885.
Lilly Reference --- 913.38 B347D
Some illustrations; 3 volumes; in German.
Dictionnaire des antiquities grecques et romains d'après les textes et les monuments, ed C. Daremberg. Paris, Hachette, 1877-1919.
Perkins Reference --- Oversize DE5 .D21 1877.
Some illustrations, 8 volumes, in French.
These three older, foreign language encyclopedias of ancient art and archaeology can be useful when the briefer English language sources listed above are not completely adequate.
Princeton Encyclopedia of classical sites, ed. R. Stillwell, W. L. MacDonald, M. Holland McAllister. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1976.
Perkins Reference – DE59 .P7 1976.
Lilly Reference -- 938.003 P957, 1976
The place to start if you are researching a site. Comprehensive encyclopedic dictionary of archaeological sites with classical period (750 B.C.E.-600 C.E.) remains. Includes detailed bibliography, but only general maps in the appendix. Heavily cross-referenced.
Atlas of classical archaeology, ed. M. I. Finley. New York: McGraw-Hill, c1977.
Perkins Reference -- G1046.E15 A8 1977.
Lilly Reference -- 930.1 A881
Organized by region but with an alphabetic index, this atlas is not comprehensive. It has general introductions to regions and detailed coverage, including site plans and illustrations, for selected major cities; useful for class handouts.
Pictorial Dictionary of Ancient Athens, J. Travlos. New York: Praeger, 1971.
Perkins Reference --- NA280 .T68 1971 also a copy in the stacks.
The authority for city plans and buildings in classical (Mycenaean to Roman) Athens; heavily and excellently illustrated. A good source for handouts for classes.
Pictorial Dictionary of Ancient Rome, E. Nash. New York: Praeger [1961-62].
Perkins Reference --- NA310 .N28 1961.
A very thoroughly illustrated alphabetic catalog of ancient sites and monuments in the city Rome; weak on site plans.
Unless otherwise specified on this page, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.