Primary sources

Primary sources provide firsthand evidence and/or testimony about a topic. From an investigative perspective, they are often created by witnesses who experienced an event themselves. In ancient writing there are sometimes authors, especially those we might classify as historians (e.g., Herodotus), who write about events that occurred in their own past, real or imagined (like mythology). Even though in this case the authors are not “first hand witnesses” to these events, we still consider the literary texts they produced to be primary sources, because their writing is a part of the cultural milieu it describes, and considered an “insider” perspective. Primary sources are characterized by this insider nature, regardless of the medium, format, or genre. For that same reason the content of ancient texts is considered a primary source regardless of whether the language/words are reprinted in a modern book publication or located on the original papyrus or manuscript.

Typical Primary sources in Classics can include: 

• Greek and Latin texts in the original language or in translation (e.g., epic, tragedy, poetry, historical accounts, ancient novels, philosophical treatises, letters, etc.)
• Archaeological sites
• Archaeological artifacts and ancient art
• Inscriptions (e.g., tombstones, curse tablets, public monuments, graffiti and painted inscriptions, etc.)
• Coins
• Manuscripts and papyri
• Memoirs (common for reception studies)
• Oral histories (common for reception studies)
• Adaptations of ancient sources (e.g., plays, works of fiction) or a response in any form to ancient work (e.g., reaction essays, poetry, etc.) can be primary sources when working in reception studies
• Scholia: Scholia are grammatical, critical, or explanatory notes on ancient texts made by premodern authors; they can be separated from the works they address by decades, centuries, or a millennium. Your specific project will determine if scholia are a primary or secondary source.