Classical Studies : Ancient Philosophy :
a guide to Library Resources

Contents:
Starting points | Finding books | Finding journal articles etc. | Primary sources

STARTING POINTS

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias dealing with Ancient Philosophy are good starting points if you need to define your topic and/or get some background reading. 
The following more broadly based philosophy encyclopedias also cover Ancient Philosophy: 

Routledge encyclopedia of philosophy [print]
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy [web access] 
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy [web access]

The following are selected introductory texts/overviews

Blackwell guide to ancient philosophy (2003) [print]
[A guide to the principal figures and movements of philosophy from its origins into its final developments in late antiquity]

Cambridge companion to early Greek philosophy (1999) [print]
[A guide for beginners]

Cambridge companion to Greek and Roman philosophy (2003) [print]
[Wide-ranging introduction to Greek and Roman philosophy]

Cambridge companion to the Stoics (2003) [electronic]
[A guide to Stoicism]

Cambridge history of Hellenistic philosophy (1999) [print]

[An account of ancient philosophy from c.320 BCE until 100 BCE]

Cambridge history of later Greek and early medieval philosophy (1967) [print]

[Covers the period from the 4th century BCE to the 12th century CE]

Companion to ancient philosophy (2006) [print]

[Provides an overview of the history of ancient Greek and Roman philosophy from its origins until late antiquity]

Companions to ancient thought (4 volumes, 1990-1998) [print]
[A series of companions to ancient philosophy. Topics covered are Epistemology, Ethics, Language and Psychology]

Epistemology (1990) [print]
[A collection of critical essays on epistemology]

Greek thought (1995) [print]
[A survey of Greek thought in the areas of psychology, ethics, politics, and the idea of nature as an ethical norm. Part of the New Surveys of the Classics series]

History of Greek philosophy (1962-1981) [print]

[Guthrie's  6 volume survey of Greek philosophy from its beginnings to Aristotle is the standard work in the field]

Introduction to ancient philosophy (1998) [print]

[Introduces the central tenets of each philosopher or school in ancient times]

Oxford history of Western philosophy (1994) [print]

[The story of Western philosophy from its ancient beginnings to the present day]

Presocratic philosophers (1979) [print]
[Vol. 1. Thales to Zeno.--vol 2. Empedocles to Democritus]

Retrieving the ancients: an introduction to Greek philosophy (2004) [print]

[Begins with Thales and culminates in a discussion of the works of Aristotle]

FINDING BOOKS USING THE LIBRARY CATALOGUE

Books can be found by searching the library catalogue. The following are terms which can be browsed using the Subject Heading option:  

Atomism
Cosmology Ancient
Ethics Ancient
Gnosticism
Logic Ancient
Neoplatonism
Philosophy Ancient
Platonists
Pre-Socratic philosophers
Pythagoras and the Pythagorean School
Skeptics (Greek philosophy)
Sophists (Greek philosophy)
Stoics

Or construct your own keyword searches. Here are some examples:

skey platonists or platonism

skey "ethics ancient" and morality

skey "philosophy ancient" and christian?

Click here if you need help with constructing searches using techniques such as truncation and Boolean operators

FINDING JOURNAL ARTICLES ETC. USING DATABASES & BIBLIOGRAPHIES

For most topics the databases listed in the Databases for Classics guide should be sufficient, but those researchers needing to undertake a more comprehensive literature search should note the following additional sources:

 L'Annee philologique [print]
[The premier index for Classics - if it's unfamiliar, read this description before attempting to use it. See especially Section VII Philosophie et Histoire des Idees in each annual printed volume for topics in philosophy]

Philosophers Index [electronic]
[Indexes the literature of philosophy and related subjects]

Additional bibliographic sources held by the library can be identified through this search of  the library catalogue

PRIMARY SOURCES

This library catalogue search will identify many of the translations of the principal sources in ancient philosophy.  Click on the following catalogue links for more primary source material for Greece and Rome

This page is maintained by Jennifer Osborn
Last update: 3 September 2007