General Dictionaries and Encyclopedias of the Ancient World:
The Oxford Classical Dictionary, Edited by Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth, REF DE5 .O9 2012
Commonly known as the OCD, this one-volume dictionary is the best place to start looking for a topic. Articles are written for the non-specialist and contain a basic bibliography as well as full cross-referencing.
Der Neue Pauly / Brill’s New Pauly, Ref DE5 .N39 (English edition) / DE5 .N4183 (German edition)
This multi-volume encyclopedia should be your next stop. DNP/BNP far exceeds the OCD in both the breadth and depth of its coverage. Originally published in German, an English translation is now available.
Paulys real-encyclopädie der classischen altertumswissenschaft (usually referred to as Pauly-Wissowa or RE), REF DE5 .P33 / List of Volumes with contents
Monumental multi-volume encyclopedia of the ancient world published in German between 1894 and 1978. This is extremely cumbersome to use, both due to its size and the fact that many articles appear in updated or revised forms in the 15 supplementary volumes. Consult Murphy, J. Index to the supplements and suppl. volumes of Pauly-Wissowa's R. E., REF DE5 .P33 sup., Index, 1980b to locate these. A monument to 19th century classical scholarship, many of the articles in Pauly-Wissowa are essentially full monographs instead of encyclopedia entries, and for many figures and events this is still one of the best resources available, especially for its citations of ancient sources, even if it is not the most accessible for undergraduates.
Encyclopedia of Ancient History, Ref D54 .E54 2012
More user friendly than Pauly-Wissowa or the New Pauly, but much more comprehensive than the OCD, this is an excellent resource for students looking for topics.
Civilization of the Ancient Mediterranean: Greece and Rome, Ref DE 59 .C55 1988
Unlike the above works, this 3 volume encyclopedia is composed of a small number of broad essays on major topics of the ancient world, including fairly thorough (if now out of date) bibliographies.
Databases & Guides for Scholarship and Bibliography
L’Année philologique Z7016 .M35A
The standard database of classical scholarship. Updated annually, with a lag of about two years. The print version is organized by author and topic, and fully indexed. The online database is somewhat awkward to use, but searches all volumes going back to 1927. Try keyword searches and jump to the most recent publications. A list of all abbreviations used can be downloaded here.
TOCS-IN
Searchable, online listing of articles published recently in major scholarly journals. Not nearly as comprehensive as, but updated more rapidly than, L’Année.
List of Online Journals Related to the Classical World at the U of A
The Bryn Mawr Classical Review
Free scholarly online journal that publishes reviews of recent books on the ancient world and related fields. Most reviews are in English, although some are in French, Italian or German. Up to date and fully searchable, the BMCR is a great resource for finding more recent works than those listed in the OCD or DNP or for getting an idea of where the scholarship is heading. Try doing searches with keywords associated with your topic.
Ancient History: Recent Work and New Directions, 1997
This book covers, in four parts, broad trends in research and scholarship in ancient history and the major pieces of scholarship, with a focus on works in English. Increasingly out of date, it is very useful for quickly gaining a broad overview of what is out there in the field of ancient history.
Classical Studies: A Guide to the Reference Literature, by Fred Jenkins. REF PA91 .J4 2006
An in-depth guide to all the encyclopedias, dictionaries, databases, journals, and more relating to the ancient world. Basically, a vastly more detailed and comprehensive version of this page.
Ancient Greece and Rome: A Bibliographic Guide, Ref DE86 .H67 1995
Subdivided by topic, this book provides extensive lists of recent and important works of scholarship. Focuses mainly on historical, cultural, and related topics. A quick way to start building your bibliography.
Classical Scholarship: an Annotated Bibliography, Ref DE59 .H35
Similar to the above, but with a much broader focus on all aspects of the classical world. Bibliographic entries are annotated, so this gives you some idea of the more specific focuses and trends of scholarly works.
Handbooks and Companions
The Oxford Handbooks are large multi-author works that introduce the major topics, issues, and approaches in the study of the ancient world. The library has access to many topical ones, but the most relevant for ancient history are:
The Oxford Handbook of Hellenic Studies
The Oxford Handbook of Roman Studies
The Oxford Handbook of Late Antiquity
The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies
The Cambridge Companions are smaller, more accessible multi-author works. They don’t strive for the completeness of some of the Oxford Handbooks, but are usually more focused on the issues in a specific period. The most relevant for ancient history are:
The Cambridge Companion to Archaic Greece
The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Athens
The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Pericles
The Cambridge Companion to the Hellenistic World
The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Rome
The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic
The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Augustus
The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Nero
The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine
The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Attila
The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Justinian
The library also has several other companions from the Wiley-Blackwell series. Like the Cambridge Companions these are more focused on specific periods, but they are more comprehensive:
A Companion to the Classical Greek World
A Companion to the Roman Republic
A Companion to the Roman Empire
Specialized Resources
The Cambridge Ancient History / 3rd edition, D57 .C252
Multi-volume history of the ancient world, written by a wide range of leading scholars. The individual volumes focus on specific periods and normally include chapters discussing source problems, narrative history, and other developments.
The Cambridge History of Christianity / BR143 .C36 1987
Multi-volume history of Christianity - volumes 1 & 2 are the most relevant for the ancient world.
The Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Warfare
Volume 1 covers Greece, the Hellenistic Era, and the early Roman Republic, Volume 2 covers the Late Roman Republic and Empire.
The Cambridge History of Classical Literature, Volume 1: PA3052 .G73 1985; Volume 2: PA6003 .L3
Two volume overview of classical literature. Volume 1 covers Greek literature and volume 2 covers Latin literature. Volume 1 is very accessible to non-specialists, but Volume 2 is less successful. A far better resource for Latin literature is:
Latin Literature: A History, PA6008 .C6613 1994
Brill's Jacoby / Off Campus Link
Massive, searchable collection of the fragmentary Greek historians, including translations and commentaries. Includes Felix Jacoby's original Die Fragmente der Griechischen Historiker Parts I-III, the updated and revised New Jacoby, and the new continuation of Jacoby's original plans for Parts IV-V (biography, antiquarian literature, geography). This is an ongoing project with much still to be written.
Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites, Ref DE59 .P7
Standard dictionary of major archaeological sites from the classical world. Useful for those working on archaeological topics.
Pictorial Dictionary of Ancient Athens, Ref NA280 .T68 1971
Standard, lavishly illustrated guide to all ancient sites and buildings of Athens.
New Topographical Dictionary of Rome, Fal DG68. R5 1992
Standard dictionary of of the ancient city of Rome, with detailed plans and bibliographies on individual sites and buildings.
Greece & Rome: New Surveys in the Classics. Annually published overviews of recent scholarship and trends in various fields of the Classics. These tend to be more oriented towards literature and culture rather than history, but are still very useful. Some of the most potentially helpful for ancient historians:
The Second Sophistic, B288 .W45 2005
Roman Art, N5760 .S67 2004
Greek Historians, D56 .M37 2001
Roman Religion, BL802 .N67 2000
Greek Science, Q127 .G7 R54 1999
Latin Historians, DG206 .A2 K73 1997
Greek Thought, B171 .G55 1995
Greek Religion, BL785 .B655 1994
Greek Art, NB90 .S62 1991
Slavery, HT863 .W43 1987
The Athenian Empire, DF227 .R45 1985
The Early Principate, Augustus to Trajan, DG276 .G366
Livy, PA6459 .Z5 W3
Thucydides, PA4461 .D65
Sites for ancient texts
LacusCurtius
Excellent site, oriented towards Roman history but including many obscure authors and texts. Derived mainly from old Loeb volumes, many texts include Greek/Latin along with English and some notes. Highly recommended.
Ancient History / Biblical Studies
Includes works of Caesar, Tacitus, and Livy, with chapter subdivisions.
Tertullian Project
Mostly translations of early church fathers, but also includes a number of important pagan sources such as Herodian, Justin, Nepos, Eutropius, Zosimus.
Abbreviations
Dictionary of Bibliographic Abbreviations Found in the Scholarship of Classical Studies and Related Disciplines REF PA99 .W44 2003
The most comprehensive guide to abbreviations. Covers all systems and styles currently in use.
List of abbreviations used in L'Année Philologique, one of the most common systems.
List of abbreviations used in the American Journal of Archaeology, another common system.