Dictionnaire des Antiquités Grecques et Romaines
| Company type | Reference work |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing, Classical studies |
| Founded | 1873 in Paris, France |
| Founder | Charles Victor Daremberg, Edmond Saglio (editors) |
| Headquarters | Paris , France |
| Products | Ten-volume dictionary on Ancient Greece and Rome |
| Parent | Hachette Livre |
The Dictionnaire des Antiquités Grecques et Romaines d'après les textes et les monuments represents an extensive French reference work dedicated to the civilizations of Ancient Greece and Rome, overseen by editors Charles Victor Daremberg and Edmond Saglio. Released in Paris by Hachette Livre across a span from 1873 to 1919, this ten-volume series contained in-depth, occasionally book-length entries authored by prominent classical experts such as François Lenormant. Its creation sought to compete with the well-established German tradition of Altertumswissenschaft, which had been influential since 1810. In a review dated 1887, John E. B. Mayor acclaimed the dictionary for its unparalleled "beauty and completeness," deeming it indispensable for both classical scholars and public institutions.
Distinguished by its impressive scope and gradual publication schedule, the Dictionnaire saw volume 1 released in eleven parts by 1886, covering only up to the letter C with a total of 1,703 pages and featuring approximately 3,000 illustrations. Each segment was priced at five francs. After nearly three decades, the project had advanced only halfway through the alphabet.
As a significant scholarly achievement, this Dictionnaire aligns with other major European encyclopedic works on antiquity from its period: Germany’s Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft (comprising 83 volumes starting in 1893), Italy’s Dizionario epigrafico di antichità romana (initiated in 1886), and England’s William Smith’s A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (published in 1842).
Although its interdisciplinary scholarship covered a wide range of classical subjects, the Dictionnaire has become outdated due to later archaeological findings, advances in epigraphy and numismatics, and methodological innovations influenced by sociology and anthropology that have transformed modern classical studies.
External links
- Access to the Dictionnaire des Antiquités Grecques et Romaines online
- Dictionnaire des antiquités grecques et romaines, Paris, Librairie Hachette et c.ie, 1873: vol. 1 part 1, vol. 1 part 2, vol. 2 part 1, vol. 2 part 2, vol. 3 part 1, vol. 3 part 2, vol. 4 part 1, vol. 4 part 2, vol. 5.