Classics Reading Lists

Honour Moderations (Streams 1–3) for Literae Humaniores and CAME

The first examination after you have come to Oxford is Honour Moderations in Classics. This is taken after five terms, in the second year of the degree. Full details of the various Honour Mods courses will be given to you when you arrive, but if you would like more detail now of your particular course, please see the Classics Faculty website. Each stream in the course has its specific requirements, but as far as possible all candidates for Honour Moderations are integrated in one programme of teaching.

The most important task for you before you come up in October is, so far as is possible, to advance your knowledge of Classical literature and Greek and/or Latin language.

Before you come up to Oxford in October, attendance at a summer school (such as those held at Bryanston or Wells) is advised but not obligatory, and much can be done through careful, self-directed study. The linguistic requirements of Mods are stringent, and you should get used to independent work as soon as possible.

All students will study Paper II Greek Literature in their first term at Balliol. As preparation, we would like you to read in translation – several times – the whole of Homer’s Odyssey, Euripides’ Bacchae and Aristophanes’ Lysistrata before you come up. This is an absolute minimum requirement; it is a good idea to read well beyond this list, especially with regard to the texts for Paper III Latin Literature, which you will study in your second term at Balliol (see below for more information).

Those students with an A‑level or equivalent qualification in Greek must also read, in Greek, Books 9 and 12 of the Odyssey, lines 1–368 of Euripides’ Bacchae, and lines 1–253 of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata before they come up (texts and commentary details below).[1] Please note that you will be tested on your ability to translate from these texts when you arrive in Michaelmas Term. 

We would recommend that, if possible, you acquire the appropriate texts of the set authors, which are as follows for Paper II:

  • Homer – Allen, T. S. and Monro, D. B. (1920), Homeri Opera: Tomi III–IV, Oxford (OCT) (text); Bakker, E.J. (2024), Homer. Odyssey IX, Cambridge (commentary).
  • Euripides – Allan, W. and Swift, L. (2024), Bacchae, Cambridge (text and commentary).
  • Aristophanes – Henderson, J. (1990), Aristophanes: Lysistrata, Oxford (text and commentary).
  • Lucian – Macleod, M. D. (1972), Luciani Opera: Tomus I, Oxford (OCT) (text); Clay, D. & Brusuelas, H. (2021), Lucian: True History: Introduction, Text, Translation and Commentary, Oxford (commentary).

As well as being the set editions for this paper, they should be available both new and second hand from Blackwell’s Bookshop on the High Street, or from the various online retailers.

Suggested secondary reading

Again it should be stressed that nothing beats advancing your knowledge of the languages, and reading texts in the original (so far as this is possible), but here is some preliminary secondary reading for Paper II:

  • Homer – Rutherford, R. B. (2013), Homer (Greece & Rome New Surveys in the Classics), 2nd ed., Oxford.
  • Euripides – Mastronarde, D. J. (2010), The Art of Euripides, Cambridge.
  • Aristophanes – Robson, J. (2009), Aristophanes, an Introduction, London.
  • Lucian – Clay, D. & Brusuelas, H. (2021), Lucian: True History: Introduction, Text, Translation and Commentary, Oxford.

Your focus over the summer should be on the above texts for Paper II, but if you have time you might want to familiarise yourself with the texts that you will be reading for Paper III Latin Literature in your second term by reading through them in translation. Here is a list of the texts, together with some suggestions for translations:

  • Plautus, Menaechmi – Segal, C. (2008), Plautus. Four Comedies, Oxford (Oxford World Classics).
  • Terence, Adelphoe – Brown, P. (2009), Terence. The Comedies, Oxford.
  • Catullus – Goold, G. P. (2017), Catullus. Tibullus. Pervigilium Veneris, London; or Goold, G. P. (2009), Catullus, 2nd edition, London.
  • Ovid, Metamorphoses 7–9 – Martin, C. (2005) Ovid. Metamorphoses. A New Translation, London; or Kenney, E. J. and Melville, A. D. (2008), Ovid. Metamorphoses, Oxford (Oxford World’s Classics).
  • Seneca, Epistulae Morales 24, 33, 47, 64, 86 – Fantham, E. (2010), Seneca. Selected Letters Oxford (Oxford World’s Classics).
  • Seneca, De Brevitate Vitae – Reinhardt, T. and Davie, J. (2008), Seneca. Dialogues and Essays, Oxford (Oxford World’s Classics).
  • Tacitus, Annales XV.60–70 – Woodman, A. D. (2008), Tacitus. The Annals, London.

History

For an overview of the ancient world combining literature, art and history, the following volume is still a very good introduction: Boardman, J., Griffin, J. and Murray, O. (eds.) (1986), The Oxford History of the Ancient World, Oxford 1986 (a paperback version has subsequently been published in two volumes, Greek and Roman). There are many good surveys and introductions of the major periods, some more inspiring than others:

  • Murray, O. (1993), Early Greece, 2nd ed., London – inspiring and elegantly written work on Archaic Greece down to the Persian Wars.
  • Hornblower, S. (2011), The Greek World, 4th ed., London (earlier editions also good) – punchy, full of sharp ideas, evidence, and a masterly outline of the Greek world.
  • Goodman, M. (2011), A History of the Roman World from 44 B.C. — A.D. 180, 2nd ed., London – particularly good on the broad sweep of the Roman Empire to the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond.
  • Beard, Μ. (2015), SPQR. A History of Ancient Rome, London – engaging, popular and very well written. This supersedes H. H. Scullard’s text book on the late Republic (still in print).

Philosophy

One of your papers at Mods will be in philosophy. You are likely to study this in your third term, and will be able to choose between (i) Plato’s Euthyphro and Meno; (ii) Cicero’s De Finibus I (which deals primarily with Epicurean ethics); and (iii) Introduction to Logic. No prior knowledge or experience of philosophy is expected or required, so there is no need to prepare for this paper over the summer before you arrive in Oxford.

In case you are keen, however, some suggestions for introductory reading are as follows. Do not try to read all or even many of them. Reading philosophy is hard; it is best to proceed very slowly and carefully, taking notes and pausing every few pages in order to be sure that you have understood the course of the argument. Typically, you will need to read something at least twice in order to understand it completely.

General introductions and logic

  • Blackburn, S. (1999), Think, Oxford.
  • Nagel, J. (2014), Knowledge: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford.
  • Conee, E. and Sider, T. (2014), Riddles of Existence: A Guided Tour of Metaphysics,Oxford.
  • Halbach, V. (2009), The Logic Manual, Oxford – This is the textbook used in the Introduction to Logic course.
  • Hodges, W. (2001), Logic, 2nd ed., London – This covers roughly the same material as The Logic Manual. It is more elementary and differs from Halbach’s treatment in a few respects, but is less abstract and may be more helpful as a starting point.

Ancient philosophy

If you are interested in Plato, it is best just to read some of his dialogues: you might start with the Euthyphro and Apology, and move on to the Phaedo, Crito, and Meno if you are eager for more. Further suggestions are as follows.

  • Irwin, T. (1989), Classical Thought, Oxford – A highly recommended introduction to ancient philosophy as a whole.
  • Barnes, J. (2000), Aristotle: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford – You will not study any Aristotle at Mods, but it might be interesting to read this for a taste of quite a different style of philosophy from Plato’s.
  • Cooper, J. M. (2012), Pursuits of Wisdom, Princeton – Wide-ranging study of six ‘ways of life’ associated with various ancient philosophers. An introduction to ancient ethics. Chapters 2 and 5 will be helpful for the Plato and Cicero Mods papers respectively.

Translation guide

The Oxford Classics degree throws a lot of text at you, and expects you to be able to translate it on sight. The preparation of your texts is therefore extremely important, and there are ways to do this correctly and ways to do this incorrectly. This note on preparing texts sets out the correct procedure, and warns you against various incorrect procedures. Please make sure you read it carefully, and refer to it during your first terms to get into good habits early on.

Alexander Bown, Fellow & Tutor in Ancient Philosophy
Adrian Kelly, Fellow & Tutor in Ancient Greek Literature
Matthew Robinson, Fellow & Tutor in Latin Literature
Rosalind Thomas, Fellow & Tutor in Ancient History

July 2025

[1] There are many copies of these books in the libraries in Oxford; if you’re having trouble accessing them before you come up, please do contact us and we can help.