Dictionnaire des Antiquités Grecques et Romaines
Encyclopedia
The Dictionnaire des Antiquités Grecques et Romaines d'après les textes et les monuments, contenant l'explication des termes qui se rapportent aux mœurs, aux institutions, à la religion, aux arts, aux sciences, au costume, au mobilier, à la guerre, à la marine, aux métiers, aux monnaies, poids et mesures, etc. etc., et en général à la vie publique et privée des anciens was a large illustrated French-language
dictionary
of Ancient Greece
and Rome
edited by Charles Daremberg and Edmond Saglio and published in 10 volumes between 1873 and 1919 by the publisher Hachette Livre
in Paris
. Individual entries consisted of (sometimes book-length) articles by prominent classical
scholars, François Lenormant
among them. It aimed to compete directly with the Altertumswissenschaft of German universities, who were the uncontested masters in the field from 1810 onward. In an 1887 review of the first volume of the Dictionnaire for The Classical Review, John E. B. Mayor praised the result, saying "No other nation as yet possesses anything approaching to it in beauty and completeness; it is absolutely necessary to every classical library and to every public library frequented by scholars or artists."
The Dictionnaire represented a work of extraordinary volume and was published at a slow pace. It took eleven issuings to finally complete volume 1, which spanned 1,703 pages and only covered through the letter C, in 1886. The first volume included 3,000 illustrations. Each of the eleven parts of the first volume, printed in large quarto form, was sold for five francs
. Some thirty years after it was begun, the Dictionnaire had only reached the middle of the alphabet.
Today the dictionary has value as a legacy work, amongst the other large dictionaries of antiquity that appeared in Europe around the same time: starting in 1893, the Germans published the monumental Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft in eighty-three volumes; the Italian Dizionario epigrafico di antichità romana began in 1886; the English also published several dictionaries concerning the fields of classical antiquity
, including William Smith
's 1,300-page A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities
, first published in 1842.
Although the articles are sourced from scholarship in a number of different fields, its contents are no longer up-to-date because of archaeological
, epigraphical
, and numismatic
discoveries made in the years since the Dictionnaires writing. The problems of studies of classical antiquity have also been profoundly renewed in the intervening years thanks to the contributions of sociology
and anthropology
, fields from which specialists in antiquity have integrated the methods.
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
dictionary
Dictionary
A dictionary is a collection of words in one or more specific languages, often listed alphabetically, with usage information, definitions, etymologies, phonetics, pronunciations, and other information; or a book of words in one language with their equivalents in another, also known as a lexicon...
of Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
and Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
edited by Charles Daremberg and Edmond Saglio and published in 10 volumes between 1873 and 1919 by the publisher Hachette Livre
Hachette Livre
-France:*Calmann-Lévy*Deux Coqs d'Or*Disney Hachette Edition*EDICEF*Editions 1*Editions du Chêne**E.P.A*Éditions Dunod*Editions Foucher*Editions Stock*Fayard**Editions Mille et Une Nuits**Editions Mazarine**Pauvert*Gautier-Languereau*Grasset...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Individual entries consisted of (sometimes book-length) articles by prominent classical
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
scholars, François Lenormant
François Lenormant
François Lenormant was a French assyriologist and archaeologist.-Early life:Lenormant's father, Charles Lenormant, distinguished as an archaeologist, numismatist and Egyptologist, was anxious that his son should follow in his steps...
among them. It aimed to compete directly with the Altertumswissenschaft of German universities, who were the uncontested masters in the field from 1810 onward. In an 1887 review of the first volume of the Dictionnaire for The Classical Review, John E. B. Mayor praised the result, saying "No other nation as yet possesses anything approaching to it in beauty and completeness; it is absolutely necessary to every classical library and to every public library frequented by scholars or artists."
The Dictionnaire represented a work of extraordinary volume and was published at a slow pace. It took eleven issuings to finally complete volume 1, which spanned 1,703 pages and only covered through the letter C, in 1886. The first volume included 3,000 illustrations. Each of the eleven parts of the first volume, printed in large quarto form, was sold for five francs
French franc
The franc was a currency of France. Along with the Spanish peseta, it was also a de facto currency used in Andorra . Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money...
. Some thirty years after it was begun, the Dictionnaire had only reached the middle of the alphabet.
Today the dictionary has value as a legacy work, amongst the other large dictionaries of antiquity that appeared in Europe around the same time: starting in 1893, the Germans published the monumental Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft in eighty-three volumes; the Italian Dizionario epigrafico di antichità romana began in 1886; the English also published several dictionaries concerning the fields of classical antiquity
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
, including William Smith
William Smith (lexicographer)
Sir William Smith Kt. was a noted English lexicographer.-Early life:Born at Enfield in 1813 of Nonconformist parents, he was originally destined for a theological career, but instead was articled to a solicitor. In his spare time he taught himself classics, and when he entered University College...
's 1,300-page A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities
A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities
A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities is an English-language encyclopedia first published in 1842 and then in many revised editions through 1890...
, first published in 1842.
Although the articles are sourced from scholarship in a number of different fields, its contents are no longer up-to-date because of archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
, epigraphical
Epigraphy
Epigraphy Epigraphy Epigraphy (from the , literally "on-writing", is the study of inscriptions or epigraphs as writing; that is, the science of identifying the graphemes and of classifying their use as to cultural context and date, elucidating their meaning and assessing what conclusions can be...
, and numismatic
Numismatics
Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, and related objects. While numismatists are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, the discipline also includes the broader study of money and other payment media used to resolve debts and the...
discoveries made in the years since the Dictionnaires writing. The problems of studies of classical antiquity have also been profoundly renewed in the intervening years thanks to the contributions of sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
and anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
, fields from which specialists in antiquity have integrated the methods.