Classical studies, often referred to as the Classics, is the academic discipline devoted to the languages, literature, history, and culture of ancient Greece and Rome.
At its core lies the study of texts written in Greek and Latin, works that have shaped Western intellectual traditions for over two millenia. The field is not merely antiquarian, but a living dialogue between the ancient and contemporary worlds, reinterpreted by each generation.
The term classics is derived from the Latin word classicus, originally meaning "of the highest class" or "belonging to the first rank of citizens." By late antiquity, the word came to signify works of literature considered exemplary in style and thought. Thus, the Classics became shorthand for the canonical texts of Greece and Rome, regarded as models of excellence in the literary world.
One might ask why only Greek and Roman literature is traditionally called the Classics when other civilizations, such as Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Indian, and Chinese, produced profound works of their own. The answer lies in historical transmission. Greek and Roman texts were preserved, studied, and imitated throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance era in Europe, becoming the foundation of Western education. Their languages, Latin primarily, remained the medium of scholarship, law, and religion for centuries. This continuity cemented their privileged status as the Classics, even though modern scholarship increasingly recognizes the value of other ancient traditions.
The systematic study of the Classics began in the Renaissance, when humanists rediscovered ancient manuscripts and sought to revive the eloquence of Cicero and the wisdom of Plato. By the 18th and 19th centuries, Classical Studies had become a cornerstone of European education, with philology (the close study of language and texts) at its core. Today, the field has expanded to include archaeology, philosophy, art history, and reception studies.
These are the subdisciplines of Classical Studies: philology (the study of ancient languages and texts), literary criticism (analysis of style, genre, and meaning), history and historiography (examining ancient accounts of events and their biases), philosophy (exploring ethics, metaphysics, and political theory), archaeology and art history (material culture, from temples to pottery), and reception studies (how later eras have interpreted and reimagined antiquity).
Although grouped, Greek and Roman literature differ in tone, themes, and cultural context. Greek literature emphasizes myth, tragedy, and philosophical inquiry, while Roman literature is more pragmatic, often reflecting Rome's political and imperial ambitions. Homer's Iliad and Odyssey established epic poetry as a genre of heroic and moral exploration, while Virgil's Aeneid reimagined Homeric epic as a national myth of Rome's destiny. Greek tragedies (Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides) probed human suffering and divine justice, while Roman satirists like Juvenal and Horace critiqued society with biting wit. Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle laid the foundations of Western thought, while Roman prose (Cicero's orations, Livy's histories, Tacitus' annals) demonstrated mastery of rhetoric and political analysis. In short, Greek literature often sought universal truths, whereas Roman literature adapted those truths to serve the state, law, and civic identity.
The Classics have left an indelible mark on contemporary literature. James Joyce's Ulysses reworks Homer's Odyssey into a modernist masterpiece. Modern drama playwrights, such as Eugene O'Neill and Sarah Kane, draw on the themes of fate and suffering found in Greek tragedy. In poetry, T.S. Eliot and Seamus Heaney engage with classical myth and form. The political concepts of democracy, republicanism, and rhetoric have their roots in Athens and Rome.
By studying the Classics, we gain insight into the origins of storytelling, philosophy, and political thought.
Recommended Resources
With a focus on the works of William Shakespeare, the site provides an online resource for Shakespeare's plays, poetry, and sonnets, as well as summaries of many of his works, essays, and biographical information. Other resources include a glossary of terms used in Shakespeare's works, study guides, trivia questions, paintings of scenes from his work, and information about films that have been made of his works. A directory of other online resources is included.
https://absoluteshakespeare.com/
The online school offers live, interactive courses that teach Classical Greek and Koine using natural, spoken-language methods, designed for students aged eight and above. Its core offerings include beginner to advanced classes focused on reading, speaking, and understanding Ancient and Koine Greek, as well as short thematic courses on Greek words and roots. Additionally, the program features digital classroom delivery using Zoom for synchronous lessons. Its leadership approach is discussed.
https://academyofclassicalgreek.com/
The AWMC is an interdisciplinary research center at the University of North Arcolina at Chapel Hill. It promotes cartography, historical geography, and geographic information science (GIS) as essential disciplines within ancient studies through innovative research, teaching, and community outreach. The Center continues the legacy of the Classical Atlas Project, which culminated in the publication of the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World in 2000.
https://awmc.unc.edu/
Classical Literature is a layperson's online guide to major works of ancient Greece, Rome, and selected other ancient civilizations, covering roughly 1000 BCE to 400 BCE. Its primary coverage is of Greek and Roman literature, including tragedy, lyric poetry, comedy, satire, epic poetry, and selected prose works. In-depth coverage of philosophical, historical, and some canonical authors is deliberately minimized, as non-Western classical traditions are largely outside the site's remit.
https://ancient-literature.com/
Internet Classics Archive, The
Hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Information Systems & Technology (MIT IS&T), the Internet Classics Archive is a free online collection of 441 English translations of mainly Greco-Roman classical works by 59 authors, curated to make classical literature widely accessible. Most of its translations are of Greek and Roman texts, although a few Chinese and Persian texts are also included. Readers may browse by author or work, user-driven commentary, and "reader's choice links.
http://classics.mit.edu/
Designed to make classical literature accessible to scholars and general readers, the Loeb Classical Library is a long-standing bilingual series of Greek and Latin texts accompanied by facing English translations. James Loeb launched the series in 1912 to bring Greek and Latin works "within the reach of all who care for the finer things in life." Heinemann originally published it, co-published it with Harvard University Press since 1934, and was fully assumed by Harvard in 1989.
https://www.loebclassics.com/
Memoria Press: Classical Studies
Memoria Press is a family-run publishing company that produces classical Christian materials for home and private schools. Classical studies are the natural companion to Latin. Students study Greek mythology, as well as Greek and Roman history and literature, every year, gradually deepening their knowledge and understanding. This long grounding prepares students to read the classics of Greek, Roman, and English literature, and to study and understand the modern world.
https://www.memoriapress.com/classical-studies/
Focused on the heroes, gods, and monsters of Greek mythology, such as the Olympian gods and the heroes Bellerophon, Hercules, Jason, Odysseus, and Perseus, and several others, the site offers an introduction to each, including passages from Greek literary works in which they are referenced. Greek myths that have found their way into modern language are pointed out, and there is an encyclopedia of Greek mythology, and the text of the epics of Homer: The Iliad and The Odyssey.
https://www.mythweb.com/
Founded in 1869 as an outgrowth of the Classical Section of the Oriental Society, and formerly known as the American Philological Association, the SCS is a non-profit North American scholarly organization devoted to all aspects of Greek and Roman civilization. It publishes a journal, "Transactions of the American Philological Association," and is currently based at New York University. Membership information, affiliates, meeting schedules, and career information are posted.
https://www.classicalstudies.org/
TLG is a research program based at the University of California, Irvine. Founded in 1972, it has digitized nearly all literary texts written in Greek from Homer (8 BCE) through the 19th century, aiming to build a comprehensive digital library of Greek literature. Access tiers include Full Corpus (complete collection, subscription required), TLG Canon (open-access bibliographic database with over 12,000 author and work records), and Abridged TLG (open-access subset featuring core instructions).
https://stephanus.tlg.uci.edu/
This is a curated, scholarly resource hub devoted to Virgil and Vergillian studies, offering bibliographies, links to primary texts, commentaries, and research tools for students, teachers, and researchers into the Classics. The site was created and maintained by David Wilson-Okamura, and it has been online since at least 1998. Its purpose is to collect and organize reliable online resources about Virgil's works and their reception for readers without direct access to print bibliographies.
http://virgil.org/
