Conceptions and Sources
has been, or ever could be, completed without being already out of date.
Even to offeran extended guide to the basic bibliographyof classical epi-
graphyingeneral,^2 ofGreekinscriptions^3 orof Latinones,^4 isnowacon-
siderable enterprise which itself will be out of date immediately on pub-
lication.Themostsuccessfulofepigraphicpublicationsremainthosegreat
collectionsofthelatenineteenthandearlytwentiethcenturieswhichaimed
toprovideaverylargerepresentativesampleofGreekorLatininscriptions.
W.Dittenberger’sOrientis Graeci Inscriptiones SelectaeI–II(–)andSylloge
Inscriptionum Graecarum^3 I–IV (–), R. Cagnat’sInscriptiones Graecae ad
Res Romanas PertinentesI–IV (–), and H. Dessau’sInscriptiones Latinae
SelectaeI–III(–)remainthebestplacestobeginthepractice—which
isoffundamentalimportanceforunderstandingtheancientworldandar-
rivingatanoriginalviewofit—ofreadinginscriptionsin bulk.Thoughwe
mustalwaysbeconsciousof howmuchinscriptionswillnottellus—anda
largepartofthischapterisconcernedwithpreciselythoselimitations—it
is still the case that inscriptions, read in bulk, provide the most direct ac-
cesswhichwecanhavetothelife,socialstructure,thought,andvaluesof
theancientworld.Papyriandparchments,whichmaypreservepublicdocu-
mentsbutalsoofferusthousandsofexamplesofprivate,informaltexts—
letters,complaints,recordsofdreams,privatefinancialaccounts—arepoten-
tiallyevenmorerevealing.^5 Buttheveryspecialcircumstancesrequiredfor
theirpreservation,whichareconsistentlypresentonlyinthedesertareasof
MiddleandUpperEgyptandinpartsoftheNearEast,inevitablycreatea
markedgeographicalbiasintheevidencewhichtheypresent.
. NotethevaluableworkofA.Calderini,Epigrafia(Turin,),whichwouldpro-
videanexcellentorientationinthisfieldforanyoneundertakingresearchinanyareaof
Graeco-Romanhistory.
. TheessaybyRobertmentionedinn.isalmostentirelydevotedtoGreekepigraphy.
MoresystematicsurveysaregivenbyG.Klaffenbach,Griechische Epigraphik^2 (Göttingen,
),andG.Pfohl,ed.,Das Studium der griechischen Epigraphik(Darmstadt,).Notealso
A.G.Woodhead,TheStudyofGreekInscriptions^2 (Cambridge,).Thefullestsurveyofthe
typesofmaterialisM.Guarducci,Epigrafia grecaI–IV(Rome,–),whoreproduces
anddiscussesalargenumberoftexts,withillustrations.
. SeeI.CalabiLimentani,Epigrafia Latina con un appendice bibliografica di Attilio Degrassi
(Milan,),andE.Meyer,Einführung in die lateinische Epigraphik(Darmstadt,).The
classicworkofR.Cagnat,Cours d’épigraphie latine^4 (Paris,),hasstillnotbeenreplaced
asanintroductiontothesubject.SeenowG.L.Susini,Epigrafia romana(Rome,).
. Thestandard,andverygood,introductiontopapyrologyisE.G.Turner,GreekPapyri
(rev.ed.,Oxford,)withhisGreek Manuscripts of the Ancient World(Oxford,).Note
alsoO.Montevecchi,La papirologia(Turin,;suppl.,).