Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

The Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology is an English-language biographical dictionary to persons of Greek and Roman history of antiquity. It was published in 1849 by William Smith and previously appeared in 1844 under a slightly different title.

The work was published in three volumes with a total of about 3,700 pages is considered a classic work of lexicography of the 19th century. To the topic Ancient Smith also published the Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities and the Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography.

In this encyclopedia a total of 35 other people, in addition to the editor, who also wrote some posts yourself, named as authors, often ancient historian or other academic experts on the subject field of biographierten person. Most of these co-authors worked at the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Bonn and at Rugby School. A large part of contributions to mythological themes derived from the emigrant German philologist and historian Leonhard Schmitz, who went on known so that the conclusions of the German Classical Studies in the UK.

Smith aimed at the widest possible inclusion of all persons known from antiquity, in his preface he wrote:

"The biographical articles in this work include the names of all persons of any, importance Which Occur in the Greek and Roman writers, from the earliest times down to the extinction of the Western Empire in the year 476 of our era, and to the extinction of the Eastern Empire by the capture of Constantinople by the turks in the year in 1453. "

" The biographical articles of this work include the names of all persons of importance in the works of Greek and Roman writers from the earliest times to the fall of the Western Empire in 476 and the fall of the Eastern Empire by the Turkish conquest of Constantinople Opel in the 1453 happen. "

Many of the definitions and articles used in the Dictionary was also referred to in more recent works. For example, Robert Graves was accused that the impressive acting references his work The Greek Myths can be seen as a direct and unaudited acquisitions from the dictionary often. The Dictionary is now in the public domain and on several websites on the internet easily accessible.

His statements are - in terms of the contemporary state of research - continues even today essentially as reliable, especially in the areas where there has been no fundamentally new findings since the publication of the Dictionary. Obtained by recent discoveries and research findings as they arise, for example, deciphering the Linear B or newer discoveries of writings and inscriptions missing. The resulting evaluation of individual products has changed in the meantime, taking into account further research many times.

1867 was William Smith, LL.D. the work in three volumes by Little, Brown, and Company of Boston, Ma. out the division at the time was as follows:

• Volume I: Abaeus - Dysponteus
• Volume II: Ea'rinus, Fla'vius - Nyx
• Volume III: Oarses - Zygia and Zygius

It also contains several summary tables and woodcuts found historical coins that show some of the biographierten people.

List of Authors

The following persons are named in the edition of 1870, as authors, the articles are not marked by name were written by the editor.