Classical Work Citation Generator
Cite an ancient Greek or Roman work — Homer, Plato, Aristotle, Virgil, Cicero — in APA 7, MLA 9 and Chicago 18. Enter the edition or translation you read and the passage's standard number, and get the reference, the in-text citation with its standard numbering, and the Chicago note. Free, no sign-up.
Classical work details
The name the author goes by. Leave it blank for an anonymous work such as The Epic of Gilgamesh.
Book and line for epic (1.1–5), Stephanus numbers for Plato (514a), Bekker numbers for Aristotle (1450b26) — the numbers printed in the margins of most editions.
Type it in sentence case — only the first word and proper nouns capitalized. The tool capitalizes it for MLA and Chicago.
Leave it blank when the date is unknown or disputed, as it is for Homer. A range such as 2750–2500 is fine.
Your citations
Enter the title of the work to see your citations.
How to Use the Classical Work Citation Generator
- 1. Enter the edition you read. The author, the title as your book prints it, the translator and the publisher and year of your edition — the version you actually quote, not the ancient original.
- 2. Add the passage's standard number. Find it in your edition's margins or headers: book and line for Homer, a Stephanus number for Plato, a Bekker number for Aristotle.
- 3. Add the original date if it is known. Choose B.C.E. or C.E. and tick approximate for a circa date. Leave it blank when the date is unknown or disputed, as it is for Homer.
- 4. Copy your citations. APA gets both dates and the passage, MLA the passage after the title, Chicago a note by standard number plus a bibliography entry for your translation.
Standard Numbers: How Classical Works Are Located
Page numbers differ from one translation to the next, so classicists cite the numbering that every edition shares. Your translation prints these numbers in the margin or at the top of the page — use them, not the page number, in every style.
| Works | System | Example | Means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homer, Virgil, Ovid | Book and line | 1.1–5 | Book 1, lines 1–5 |
| Plato | Stephanus number | 514a | Page 514, section a, of the 1578 Stephanus edition |
| Aristotle | Bekker number | 1450b26–27 | Page 1450, column b, lines 26–27, of Bekker's 1831 edition |
| Thucydides, Herodotus, Livy | Book, chapter, section | 2.40.2 | Book 2, chapter 40, section 2 |
| Presocratic philosophers | Diels–Kranz number | DK 22 B 30 | Heraclitus (author 22), fragment 30 |
How APA, MLA and Chicago Cite a Classical Work
APA 7 cites the edition you used as a book. The translator goes in parentheses after the title, the original date at the end — "(Original work published ca. 335 B.C.E.)" — and both dates appear in the text, earlier first. APA's manual asks for the "canonically numbered parts common across editions" instead of page numbers. When the original date is unknown or disputed, APA leaves it out and you cite only your edition's year.
MLA 9 also cites the translation you read, and needs the author's name in the text even for a famous work. The parenthetical gives author, title and standard number, with no comma before the number: (Homer, Odyssey 1.1–5). Chicago 18 cites classical works in notes by their standard numbers — no page, no comma between title and number — and lists your translation in the bibliography when you quote it or use its notes. Era abbreviations differ too: APA writes B.C.E. with periods, MLA and Chicago write BCE.
Classical Work Citation Examples
Aristotle's definition of a whole — "a beginning, a middle, and an end" — in Malcolm Heath's Penguin translation of the Poetics, dated ca. 335 B.C.E.:
APA 7th edition
Reference list:
Aristotle. (1996). Poetics (M. Heath, Trans.). Penguin Books. (Original work published ca. 335 B.C.E.)
In-text (parenthetical):
(Aristotle, ca. 335 B.C.E./1996, 1450b26–27)
In-text (narrative):
Aristotle (ca. 335 B.C.E./1996)
MLA 9th edition
Works Cited:
Aristotle. Poetics. Translated by Malcolm Heath, Penguin Books, 1996.
In-text:
(Aristotle, Poetics 1450b26–27)
Chicago 18th edition
Footnote:
Aristotle, Poetics 1450b26–27.
Bibliography:
Aristotle. Poetics. Translated by Malcolm Heath. Penguin Books, 1996.
The opening lines of Homer's Odyssey in Emily Wilson's translation — the example the MLA Style Center uses. Homer's date is disputed, so APA gives only the translation's year:
Homer, Odyssey 1.1–5
APA reference:
Homer. (2018). The Odyssey (E. Wilson, Trans.). W. W. Norton & Company.
APA in-text:
(Homer, 2018, 1.1–5)
MLA Works Cited:
Homer. The Odyssey. Translated by Emily Wilson, W. W. Norton, 2018.
MLA in-text:
(Homer, Odyssey 1.1–5)
Chicago footnote:
Homer, Odyssey 1.1–5.
Chicago bibliography:
Homer. The Odyssey. Translated by Emily Wilson. W. W. Norton, 2018.
Common Mistakes
- Citing a page number. Your page 214 is someone else's page 87. Use the standard number from the margin.
- Leaving out the translator. Translations differ in wording and line numbers; name the one you quoted.
- Giving the ancient date as the publication date. The main date is your edition's year. The ancient date is extra information — APA puts it at the end.
- Inventing a precise date. Write ca. for an approximate date, and leave the date out when scholars dispute it.
- Mixing era styles. APA uses B.C.E. with periods; MLA and Chicago use BCE without them.
- Dropping the author because the work is famous. MLA still wants (Homer, Odyssey 1.1–5), not just the numbers.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I cite Plato in APA 7?
- Cite the translation you read as a book: Plato. (Year). Republic (Translator, Trans.). Publisher. Then add (Original work published ca. 375 B.C.E.) at the end, with no period after it. In the text, give both dates and the Stephanus number: (Plato, ca. 375 B.C.E./Year, 514a).
- What is a Stephanus number?
- The page and section of Henri Estienne's (Stephanus's) 1578 edition of Plato, printed in the margins of nearly every modern edition and translation. 514a means page 514, section a — the start of the allegory of the cave in the Republic. Because every edition prints it, a Stephanus number lets any reader find your passage.
- What is a Bekker number?
- The page, column and line of Immanuel Bekker's 1831 Berlin edition of Aristotle. 1450b26 is page 1450, column b, line 26 — in the Poetics. Cite Aristotle by Bekker number in every style, the way you cite Plato by Stephanus number.
- Do I need a reference list entry for a classical work?
- In APA 7 and MLA 9, yes — cite the edition or translation you used, like any book. Chicago is the exception: classical works are usually cited in notes only, and the edition goes in the bibliography when you quote its translation or rely on its editor's notes.
- How do I cite the Iliad or the Odyssey by book and line?
- Give the book and line numbers separated by a period — 9.19 is book 9, line 19. MLA: (Homer, Iliad 9.19). Chicago note: Homer, Iliad 9.19. APA: (Homer, Year, 9.19), with the year of your translation. Use the line numbers of the translation you read; verse translations can differ from the Greek by a few lines.
- Should I write B.C. or B.C.E.?
- APA's guidance writes B.C.E. with periods, after the year: ca. 375 B.C.E. MLA and Chicago write BCE without periods. B.C. and A.D. are not wrong, but most academic writing now uses BCE and CE — follow your instructor and stay consistent.