The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization

Editors: Hornblower, Simon, Spawforth, Antony and Eidinow, Esther
Publication Year: 2014
Publisher: Oxford University Press, Inc.

Price: Core Collection Only
ISBN: 978-0-19-870677-9
Category: History - History, Ancient
Image Count: 136
Book Status: Available
Table of Contents

Authoritative reference provides entries covering all aspects of classical civilization: history, politics, ethics, moral law, punishment, family life, society, religion, mythology, reception, technology, and scholarship.

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Table of Contents

  • Preface to the first edition
  • Preface to the second edition
  • List of new and replacement entries in the second edition
  • List of maps
  • Index to Initials of Contributors
  • Thematic listing of entries
  • Abbreviations
  • How to use this Companion
  • The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization
  • A
  • abortion
  • Academy,
  • Achilles,
  • Actium
  • Acts of the Apostles
  • adoption
  • adultery
  • Aegae (Vergina)
  • Aeneas,
  • Aeneas Tacticus,
  • Aeschines (c.397–c.322 bc), Athenian orator
  • Aeschylus, Athenian tragic dramatist.
  • aetiology
  • Africa (Libya), exploration
  • Africa, Roman
  • after-life
  • Agamemnon,
  • age
  • age classes
  • agōnes
  • agora
  • agrarian laws and policy
  • agricultural implements
  • agricultural writers
  • agriculture, Greek
  • agriculture, Roman
  • Agrippa (Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa),
  • Agrippina, Iulia Agrippina, ‘the Younger Agrippina’ (ad 15–59),
  • Ai Khanoum
  • Aias (Lat. Aiax, Eng. Ajax)
  • Ajax
  • Alcaeus, lyric poet,
  • Alcibiades (451/0–404/3 bc),
  • Alcman, lyric poet,
  • alcoholism
  • Alexander the Great (Alexander III of Macedon), 356–323 bc,
  • Alexandria
  • Amazons,
  • Ammianus Marcellinus (c.ad 330–95),
  • amphitheatres
  • Anacreon, lyric poet,
  • anatomy and physiology
  • Andocides (c.440–c.390 bc),
  • animals, attitudes to
  • animals, knowledge about
  • anthologies, Latin
  • anthropology
  • Antigonus Gonatas (c.320–239 bc),
  • Antigonus the One-eyed (Monophthalmos) (c.382–301 bc),
  • Antioch
  • Antiochus III (Antiochus the Great) (c.242–187 bc),
  • Antiphon,
  • anti-Semitism (pagan)
  • Antoninus Pius, Roman emperor ad 138–61,
  • Antony, Mark (Marcus Antonius), Roman statesman and general.
  • Aphrodisias
  • Aphrodite.
  • Apollo,
  • Apollonius of Rhodes (Apollonius Rhodius),
  • Apollonius of Tyana,
  • Appian
  • aqueducts
  • Ara Pacis,
  • archaeology, classical,
  • archaeology, underwater
  • Archilochus Greek iambic and elegiac poet,
  • architecture
  • archives
  • Ares,
  • Aristophanes,
  • Aristotle (384–322 bc), philosopher,
  • armies, Greek and Hellenistic
  • armies, Roman
  • arms and armour
  • Arrian (Lucius Flavius Arrianus) c.ad 86–160.
  • art, ancient attitudes to
  • art, funerary, Greek
  • art, funerary, Roman,
  • art, Jewish
  • Artemis
  • artillery
  • artisans and craftsmen
  • Asclepius (Lat. Aesculapius)
  • Asia, Roman province
  • Asia Minor
  • astrology,
  • astronomy
  • Athena
  • Athens (history)
  • Athens (topography)
  • athletics
  • atomism,
  • Atticus (Titus Pomponius Atticus), b. 110 bc
  • Augustine, St (Aurelius Augustinus) (ad 354–430)
  • Augustus (63 bc–ad 14),
  • Aurelius, Marcus,
  • B
  • Babylonia
  • Bacchanalia
  • Bacchylides (c.520–450 bc), lyric poet,
  • Bactria
  • banks
  • barbarian
  • baths,
  • belief (ancient religious)
  • bilingualism
  • biography, Greek
  • biography, Roman
  • biology
  • body
  • Boeotian confederacy
  • books, Greek and Roman
  • books, sacred and cultic
  • booty
  • botany
  • boulē,
  • Brauron
  • breast-feeding
  • bribery, Greek
  • bribery, Roman
  • brigandage (Gk. lēsteia, Lat. latrocinium),
  • Britain, Roman
  • Brutus (Marcus Iunius Brutus),
  • Byzantium
  • C
  • Caesar, Julius (Gaius Iulius Caesar),
  • cakes
  • Caligula, Roman emperor.
  • Callimachus,
  • camps
  • capitalism
  • Caracalla,
  • careers
  • Carian language
  • Carthage (Qrtḥdšt (= ‘New Town’); Gk. Karchēdōn; Lat. Carthago)
  • Cassius Dio (c.ad 164–after 229), Greek senator and author
  • catacombs, Jewish,
  • Catiline (Lucius Sergius Catilina),
  • Cato the Elder (Marcus Porcius Cato), or ‘Cato the Censor’ (‘Censorius’) (234–149 bc),
  • Cato the Younger Marcus Porcius Cato, or ‘Cato of Utica’ (‘Uticensis’) (95–46 bc),
  • Catullus (Gaius Valerius Catullus), Roman poet.
  • censorship
  • Centaurs (Greek Kentauroi),
  • centuriation,
  • chariots
  • chastity
  • chemistry
  • childbirth
  • chorēgos,
  • Christianity
  • Chrysostom, Dio
  • Cicero (Marcus Tullius Cicero),
  • Cincinnatus (Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus),
  • circumcision
  • circus,
  • Cisalpine Gaul
  • cities
  • citizenship, Greek
  • citizenship, Roman
  • Civil Wars, Roman
  • Claros
  • class struggle,
  • Claudius (Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus) (10 bc–ad 54),
  • Cleisthenes, Athenian politician,
  • Cleopatra VII (69–30 bc),
  • climate
  • Clodia,
  • Clodius Pulcher, Publius,
  • closure,
  • Cocceius Nerva, Marcus,
  • coinage, Greek
  • coinage, Roman
  • colonization, Greek
  • colonization, Hellenistic
  • colonization, Roman
  • Colosseum,
  • colour, ancient perception of
  • comedy (Greek), Old, Middle, and New
  • comedy, Latin
  • commerce
  • Commodus, Lucius Aurelius,
  • confederacies
  • Constantine I, ‘the Great’ (Flavius Valerius Constantinus) (c.ad 272/3–337),
  • Constantinople
  • consul,
  • contraception
  • conversion
  • cookery
  • Coriolanus (Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus) (Gaius in Dion. Hal. and Plut.),
  • corn supply
  • corruption
  • court,
  • Crassus, (Marcus Licinius Crassus),
  • creolization
  • Crete, Greek and Roman
  • curses
  • cursus honorum,
  • Cybele (Gk. Kybelē; Lydian form Kybēbē, Hdt. 5. 102),
  • Cynics
  • Cyprus,
  • Cyrene (mod. Shahat)
  • Cyrus the Great (OP Kuruš),
  • D
  • dance (reception)
  • dancing
  • Darius I (OP Darāyavauš),
  • dead, disposal of
  • Dead Sea Scrolls,
  • death, attitudes to
  • debt,
  • Delian League,
  • Delos
  • Delphi
  • Delphic oracle,
  • deme,
  • Demeter,
  • democracy, Athenian
  • Demosthenes (384–322 bc),
  • diagrams
  • Diana
  • dictator,
  • Dio (Cassius),
  • Dio of Prusa (Dio Cocceianus, later called Dio Chrysostom (‘Golden-Mouthed’)) (c.40/50-110/120 ad), Greek orator, writer, local politician and moralist,
  • Diocletian (Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus), originally named Diocles.
  • Diodorus (Diodorus Siculus)
  • diolkos,
  • Dionysius I, born c.430 bc,
  • Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Greek critic and historian,
  • Dionysus (Linear B Diwonusos),
  • disease,
  • dissection
  • dithyramb,
  • divorce
  • Domitian (Titus Flavius Domitianus),
  • drama
  • dreams
  • dress
  • E
  • earthquakes
  • ecology (Greek and Roman)
  • economic theory (Greek)
  • economy, Greek
  • economy, Hellenistic
  • economy, Roman
  • ecstasy
  • education, Greek and Roman
  • Egypt
  • Egyptian deities
  • ekklesia,
  • ekphrasis,
  • Elagabalus (Marcus Aurelius Antoninus),
  • elections and voting
  • Electra,
  • elegiac poetry, Greek
  • elegiac poetry, Latin
  • elephants
  • Eleusis
  • emotions
  • encomium/enkōmion
  • Ennius, Quintus (239–169 bc), epic and dramatic poet.
  • Epaminondas (d. 362 bc),
  • Ephesus
  • Ephorus, of Cyme (c.405–330 bc),
  • epic
  • Epicurus (b. *Samos, 341 BC; d. Athens, 270 bc), moral and natural philosopher.
  • epideictic
  • epigram, Greek
  • epigram, Latin
  • epinician poetry,
  • equites
  • Eratosthenes, of Cyrene (c.285–194 bc),
  • Eros,
  • ethics
  • ethnicity
  • Etruscans (Gk. Tyrsēnoi, Lat. Tyrrheni, Etrusci),
  • Eucratides I (‘the Great’), Graeco-Bactrian king c.170–145 bc.
  • euergetism,
  • Euripides,
  • Eusebius, of Caesarea (c.ad 260–339), prolific writer, biblical scholar and apologist,
  • experiment
  • explanation, historical
  • F
  • Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, Quintus,
  • Failaka (off Kuwait).
  • family, Roman
  • famine
  • fantastic literature,
  • federal states
  • film
  • finance, Greek and Hellenistic
  • finance, Roman
  • fishing
  • Flamininus (Titus Quinctius Flamininus),
  • food and drink
  • food supply
  • Forma urbis,
  • forum Romanum,
  • freedmen, freedwomen
  • freedom in the ancient world
  • friendship, ritualized
  • G
  • Gaius (Gaius Iulius Caesar Germanicus) (‘Caligula’), (ad 12–41), emperor,
  • games (agōnes)
  • gardens
  • Gaul (Cisalpine)
  • Gaul (Transalpine)
  • Gellius, Aulus, Roman miscellanist,
  • gems
  • gender,
  • genealogy,
  • genre,
  • geography
  • Germanicus (Germanicus Iulius Caesar),
  • ghosts
  • Giants,
  • gladiators, combatants at games
  • glass (Gk. hyalos (also ‘rock crystal’), Lat. vitrum).
  • Gordian III (Marcus Antonius Gordianus),
  • Gorgias of Leontini, (c.485–c.380 bc),
  • Gracchus, Gaius (Gaius Sempronius Gracchus),
  • Gracchus, Tiberius (Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus),
  • Greece (geography)
  • Greece, prehistory and history of
  • Greek language
  • gymnasium
  • gynaecology
  • H
  • Hades,
  • Hadrian (Publius Aelius Hadrianus),
  • Hadrian's Wall
  • Hannibal, Carthaginian general.
  • Hector,
  • Helena Augusta,
  • Helios,
  • Hellenism, Hellenization,
  • Hellenistic philosophy
  • Hephaestus
  • Hera
  • Heracles,
  • Herculaneum
  • heresy
  • Hermes
  • Herodotus, of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum on the Aegean coast of Turkey), historian.
  • Hesiod,
  • heterosexuality
  • Hieronymus of Cardia historian and statesman,
  • Hippocrates, Hippocratic corpus
  • historiography, Greek
  • historiography, Hellenistic
  • historiography, Roman
  • history of classical scholarship
  • Homer
  • homosexuality
  • Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus)
  • household
  • houses, Greek
  • houses, Italian
  • housework,
  • hubris,
  • Hyperides (389–322 bc), prominent Athenian statesman,
  • I
  • Icaros (mod. Failaka),
  • imagery
  • immortality
  • imperialism
  • imperium
  • incest,
  • India
  • industry (Greek and Roman).
  • initiation
  • interest, rates of
  • intolerance, intellectual and religious
  • Ionian Revolt
  • Isaeus, Athenian speech-writer (c.420–340s bc)
  • Isocrates (436–338 bc),
  • Italy
  • ivory (Gk. elephas, Lat.ebur),
  • J
  • Janus,
  • Jews
  • Jocasta
  • Josephus (Flavius Iosephus) (b. ad 37/8), was a Greek historian but also a Jewish priest
  • judges, foreign,
  • Julia,
  • Julian ‘the Apostate’ (Flavius Claudius Iulianus),
  • Julii Caesares
  • Julius Caesar
  • Juno,
  • Jupiter
  • Justinian's codification
  • Juvenal (Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis), Roman satirist.
  • K
  • kingship (basileia)
  • kinship
  • L
  • labour,
  • Laius (Laïos),
  • Latin language
  • law and procedure, Athenian
  • law and procedure, Roman
  • law in Greece
  • lawyers, Roman
  • Lefkandi
  • legal literature
  • Lepidus (Marcus Aemilius Lepidus),
  • Lesbos (now Lesvos or Mytilini),
  • libraries
  • Libya
  • limes
  • literacy
  • literary criticism in antiquity
  • literary theory and classical studies
  • Livia (Livia Drusilla), b. 58 bc,
  • Livy (Titus Livius),
  • Londinium (mod. London)
  • Lucan (Marcus Annaeus Lucanus) (ad 39–65),
  • Lucian (Gk. Loukianos), of Samosata in SE *Asia Minor (b. c. ad 120),
  • Lucretius (Titus Lucretius Carus),
  • Luwian
  • Lycophron
  • Lycurgus,
  • lyric poetry
  • Lysander (d. 395 bc),
  • Lysias, Attic orator.
  • Lysimachus (c.355–281 bc),
  • M
  • Maccabees
  • Macedonia
  • Macedonian language
  • madness
  • Maecenas, Gaius
  • maenads,
  • magic
  • magistracy, Greek
  • magistracy, Roman
  • manuscripts
  • maps
  • Marius, Gaius,
  • markets and fairs
  • marriage law
  • Mars,
  • Martial (Marcus Valerius Martialis),
  • Marxism and classical antiquity
  • Masada
  • masculinity
  • materiality
  • mathematics
  • matriarchy
  • Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the
  • meals
  • Medea,
  • medicine
  • Mediterranean
  • mercenaries
  • Mercury (Lat. Mercurius),
  • Messal(l)ina
  • metics
  • migration
  • mineralogy
  • Minerva
  • mines and mining
  • Minoan civilization,
  • miracles
  • Mithradates VI (Eupator Dionysus) (120–63 bc),
  • Mithras,
  • monopolies,
  • mosaic
  • Muses,
  • music in Greek and Roman life
  • Mycenaean civilization
  • mysteries
  • mythology
  • N
  • Naevius, Gnaeus (c.280/60–200 bc), dramatic and epic poet
  • narrative, narration
  • nationalism
  • nature
  • navies
  • navigation
  • Nemrut Dağ (Mt. Nemrut)
  • Neptune (Lat. Neptunus),
  • Nero (Nero Claudius Caesar),
  • Nerva, Marcus Cocceius,
  • Nicias (c.470–413 bc), Athenian politician and general.
  • Nicopolis
  • Nike,
  • nomads
  • Notitia Dignitatum
  • novel, Greek
  • novel, Latin
  • O
  • Octavian
  • Odysseus
  • Oedipus,
  • oligarchy (‘the rule of the few’),
  • olive
  • Olympia
  • opera
  • oracles
  • orality
  • Orientalism
  • Orpheus,
  • Ostia
  • ostracism
  • Ovid
  • P
  • Paestum (mod. Pesto)
  • painting, Greek and Roman
  • Palmyra (Tadmor)
  • Pan,
  • Parthia, Parthian empire
  • pastoral poetry, Greek
  • pastoral poetry, Latin
  • pastoralism, Greek
  • pastoralism, Roman
  • patricians
  • patronage, non-literary
  • Paul, St
  • Pausanias,
  • Peloponnese
  • Peloponnesian War
  • Pergamum
  • Pericles (c.495–429 bc), Athenian politician,
  • Persephone/Kore,
  • Persepolis
  • Persia
  • Persian Wars
  • personification,
  • Petronius Arbiter,
  • philhellenism
  • Philip II (382–336 bc), king of Macedon and architect of Macedonian greatness.
  • philosophers and politics
  • philosophy
  • Phoenicians (Gk. Phoinikes, Lat. Poeni),
  • physics
  • physiology
  • pilgrimage (Christian)
  • Pindar, lyric poet,
  • piracy
  • Pisistratus (Gk. Peisistratos),
  • plague (Gk. loimos, Lat. pestis),
  • Plato of Athens, c.429–347 bc,
  • Plautus (Titus Maccius Plautus), comic playwright,
  • plebs,
  • Pliny the Elder (ad 23/4–79),
  • Pliny the Younger (c.ad 61–c.112),
  • Plutarch (Lucius (?) Mestrius Plutarchus) of Boeotian Chaeronea; b. before ad 50, d. after ad 120; philosopher and biographer.
  • police
  • polis (plur. poleis),
  • political theory
  • politics
  • pollution, the Greek concept of
  • Polybius (c.200–c.118 bc), Greek historian
  • Pompeii
  • Pompey (Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus), b. 106 bc
  • popular culture
  • population, Greek
  • population, Roman
  • pornography
  • portraiture, Greek
  • portraiture, Roman
  • Poseidon
  • postal service
  • pottery, Greek
  • pottery, Roman
  • prayer
  • Presocratic philosophers,
  • priests (Greek and Roman)
  • prison
  • procurator
  • propaganda
  • Propertius, Sextus,
  • proscription,
  • prosopography
  • prostitution, sacred
  • prostitution, secular
  • provincia/province
  • Ptolemy I (Ptolemaeus) Soter (‘Saviour’) (c.367–282 BC)
  • Ptolemy II Philadelphus (‘Sister-loving’) (308–246 bc),
  • publicani
  • Punic Wars
  • punishment, Greek and Roman practice
  • pygmies,
  • Pyrrhus of Epirus (319–272 bc),
  • Pythagoras, Pythagoreanism
  • Pytheas (c.310–306 bc), Greek navigator
  • Q
  • Quintilian (c.ad 35–sometime in the, 90s).
  • R
  • race
  • rape
  • reception
  • reciprocity (Greece)
  • records and record-keeping, attitudes to
  • religion
  • religions, ancient, cognitive anthropology of
  • Res gestae
  • Rhamnus
  • rhetoric, Greek
  • rhetoric, Latin
  • Rhodes
  • ‘Riace warriors’,
  • ritual
  • roads
  • Romanization
  • Rome (history)
  • Rome (topography)
  • Romulus and Remus,
  • ruler-cult
  • S
  • Sabbath
  • sacred laws
  • sacrifice, Greek
  • sacrifice, Roman
  • Sadducees,
  • Sallust (Gaius Sallustius Crispus), Roman historian, probably 86–35 bc.
  • Samaritans
  • Samos
  • sanctuaries
  • sanitation
  • Sappho,
  • satire (Lat. satura)
  • satyrs and silens
  • scholarship, ancient
  • scholarship, history of classical (from the Renaissance)
  • Scipio Aemilianus (Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus (Numantinus)),
  • Scipio Africanus (the elder), (Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus),
  • sculpture, Greek and Roman
  • Second Sophistic
  • Sejanus (Lucius Aelius Seianus), d. ad 31,
  • Seleucids,
  • Seleucus I (Nicator) (Conqueror) (c.358–281 bc),
  • senate
  • Seneca (Lucius Annaeus Seneca), (Seneca the Younger)
  • senses, ancient conceptions of
  • Septimius Severus, Lucius,
  • Sertorius, Quintus, (c.126–73 bc),
  • Seven Wonders of the ancient world,
  • Severus Alexander (Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander), Roman emperor ad 222–35.
  • Sicily
  • Silius Italicus (Tiberius Catius Asconius Silius Italicus) (c.ad 26–102), Roman politician and poet,
  • Simonides, Greek poet,
  • sin
  • slavery
  • Social Wars
  • Socrates (469–399 bc), Athenian
  • Socratic dialogues
  • Solon Athenian politician and poet,
  • sophists
  • Sophocles, Athenian tragic playwright.
  • soul
  • Spain
  • Sparta
  • sphinx,
  • stadium (Gk. stadion),
  • Statius, Publius Papinius Roman poet.
  • status, legal and social
  • Stesichorus, Greek lyric poet,
  • Stoicism,
  • Strabo
  • Suetonius (Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus) (b. c.ad 70), Roman biographer.
  • suicide
  • Sulla (Lucius Cornelius Sulla), surnamed Felix, ‘Lucky’, born c.138 bc
  • supplication, Greek
  • sycophants (Gk sykophantai),
  • symposium
  • synagogue (Gk. synagogue),
  • synoecism (Gk. synoikismos),
  • Syracuse (Gk. Syrakousai, mod. Siracusa)
  • Syria
  • T
  • Tacitus, Roman historian.
  • Tadmor
  • Tarquinius Superbus, Lucius,
  • technology
  • temple
  • Terence (Publius Terentius Afer),
  • textile production
  • theatres (Greek and Roman), structure
  • theatricality
  • Themistocles (c.524–459 bc), Athenian politician
  • Theocritus,
  • Theopompus
  • Theseus,
  • Thessaly
  • Thucydides,
  • Tiberius (Tiberius Iulius Caesar Augustus), emperor (b. 16 November 42 bc; d. 16 Mar. ad 37)
  • Tibullus, Albius,
  • Timaeus
  • timber
  • time-reckoning
  • Titus (Titus Flavius Vespasianus), Roman emperor,
  • toga
  • topos,
  • torture
  • tourism
  • trade, Greek
  • trade, Roman
  • tragedy, Greek
  • tragedy, Latin
  • Trajan (Marcus Ulpius Traianus),
  • Transalpine Gaul
  • translation
  • transport, wheeled
  • tribune of the plebs
  • tribus,
  • tributum
  • trierarchy
  • trireme
  • triumph
  • trophies (Gk. tropaia, Lat. trophaea, from tropē, a turning i.e. rout of the enemy).
  • Troy (mod. Hisarlık)
  • Tullius, Servius,
  • Twelve Tables
  • tyranny (tyrannos, ‘tyrant’, was perhaps a Lydian word)
  • U
  • Ulysses
  • urbanism
  • V
  • Valerius Flaccus (Gaius Valerius Flaccus Setinus Balbus),
  • Varro (Marcus Terentius Varro) (116–27 bc),
  • Velleius Paterculus, Roman historical writer,
  • Venus
  • Vergina
  • Vespasian (Titus Flavius Vespasianus),
  • Vesta, Vestals
  • villa
  • Vindolanda tablets
  • Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro) (70–19 bc), Roman poet.
  • Vitruvius (Pol(l)io),
  • vivisection
  • Vulcan
  • W
  • wall of Hadrian
  • warfare, attitudes to (Greek and Hellenistic)
  • water (Gk. hudōr, Lat. aqua)
  • wealth, attitudes to
  • wheel, wheeled transport
  • wine (Greek and Roman)
  • women
  • X
  • Xanthus
  • Xenophon
  • Xerxes I (OP Khšāyaršā),
  • Z
  • Zeus,
  • Chronology
  • Select bibliography
  • Maps