MA in Classics Reading Lists
Original Writings
| Author | Writings |
|---|---|
| Aeschylus | Eumenides |
| Christian Scripture | John 1-3 |
| Euripides | Bacchae |
| Herodotus | Hist. 1.1-13, 1.29-33, 1.46-56, 1.79-89, 1.107-140, 1.141, 1.152-3, 1.204-216 |
| Hesiod | Theogony; Works and Days |
| Homer | Iliad 22, Odyssey 9 |
| Lucian | True History, Book 1 |
| Lysias | On the Murder of Erastosthenes |
| Plato | Apology |
| Sappho | 1, 16, 31 + the 2 new poems |
| Sophocles | Ajax |
| Thucydides | Selections from narrative and speeches |
| Apuleius | Metamorphoses, 4.28.1-4.35; 5.26; 6.9-6.24 |
| Catullus | Carmina, 1-16, 23, 29, 64, 68, 85, 86, 88, 93, 99, 101, 116 |
| Cicero | In Catilinam 1 |
| Horace | Satires 1.5, 1.8, 1.9, 1.10, Odes 1.1, 1.3, 1.5, 1.9, 1.22, 1.37, 1.38 |
| Juvenal | Satire 3 |
| Livy | Ab Urbe Condita Libri, 22.37-61 |
| Lucan | Pharsalia, Book 1 |
| Lucretius | De Rerum Natura, 1.1-369; 2.216-224; 251-271; 3.1-30, 136-160; 4.1058-1169; 5.772-836; 6.1138-1286 |
| Petronius | Satyricon, 12-15, 26-33, 41-49, 61-64, 71-78, 111-112 |
| Plautus | Casina |
| Pliny | Letters, 1.1, 3.21, 5.9, 6.16, 6.20, 9.6, 10.96-97 |
| Ovid | Amores 1 |
| Vergil | Aeneid 1 |
Translated Writings
| Author | Writings |
|---|---|
| Aristophanes | Frogs, Clouds |
| Aristotle | Poetics |
| Demosthenes | On the Crown |
| Euripides | Medea, Bacchae |
| Herodotus | Histories, 1, 3.61-89, 4.42-45, 4.59-82, 4.118-142, 5.30-38, 5.49-54, 5.97-107,6.1-20, 6.42-43, 6.94-117, 7, 8.1-110, 9.122 |
| Homer | Iliad and Odyssey |
| Longus | Daphnis and Chloe |
| Pindar | Olympian Ode 1, Pythian Ode 10 |
| Plato | Apology, Symposium |
| Plutarch | On the Daimonion of Socrates |
| Sophocles | Oedipus Tyrannus, Antigone, Ajax |
| Thucydides | History of the Peloponnesian War, 1.1-1.23, 1.56-1.88, 1.139-1.146; 2.34-2.65; 3.36-3.50, 3.69-3.85; 5.13-5.26, 5.84-5.116; 6.8-6.41; 7.1-7.18, 7.42-7.59, 7.72-7.87 |
| Cicero | In Catilinam 1-4 |
| Horace | Satires 1, Odes 1, Ars Poetica |
| Juvenal | Satires |
| Lucretius | De Rerum Natura, 1, 2, 3, 4 (1058-1287), 5 (772-1457), 6 (1-42; 1090-1286) |
| Livy | Ab Urbe Condita Libri, 1-5, 21-22, 30 |
| Ovid | Metamorphoses |
| Propertius | Book 1 |
| Quintilian | Institutio Oratoria, 10 |
| Seneca | Medea, Thyestes, Apocolocyntosis |
| Tacitus | Annales |
| Terence | Heautontimorumenos, Andria |
| Vergil | Eclogues, Georgics, Aeneid |
Students preparing for comprehensive examination should be familiar with the following textbooks:
Latin Literature—Gian-Biagio Conte—Latin Literature: A History. John Hopkins University Press 1999
Greek Literature--Tim Whitmarsh’s book, Ancient Greek Literature. Cambridge Polity Press, 2004. Cambridge History of Classical Literature; Oliver Taplin -Literature in the Greek World. OUP 2001
Greek History - Ian Morris and Barry B. Powell, The Greeks: History, Culture, and Society. Upper Saddle River, NJ. 2006
Roman History -- Boatwright, Mary, T. et al. A Brief History of the Romans. Available from: VitalSource Bookshelf, (2nd Edition). Oxford University Press Academic US, 2013.