Established in 1994 and consisting of around 1,000 pages dedicated to all aspects of ancient Greece and Rome, The Classics Pages are the project of Andrew Wilson. Topical coverage is broad and fairly comprehensive. As one may expect the site covers prominent literary figures of the ancient world including Homer, Aeschylus and Euripides for the Greek and Catullus, Virgil and Horace for the Latin. Other sections offer an insight into women, mythology, architecture, pottery, archaeology and philosophy. An interesting addition is the section on the ancient Greek translation of Harry Potter (translated by Wilson himself) and including notes and commentary on the text. Perhaps a subtle way of attracting a more popular audience to the delights of the Classical world! The inclusion of an entertainment section with games, quizzes and an area entitled Fun with Latin also ensures that the web site remains light‐hearted and appealing to a younger audience.
Sections vary in length and content but frequently include images, questions, interactive tours and links to further resources. A brief exploratory search of “the top 21 classical websites” led me in one instance to the well regarded Perseus Digital Library (www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/) and in another to Nuntii Latini (www.yleradio1.fi/nuntii/), a news site featured entirely in Latin. Although the list has not been updated since February 2006 all links appeared to be working.
One general criticism of the site is that there does appear to be a lack of consistency in section length and at times content does not seem proportional to the weight of the subject matter. The philosophy category contains only a brief section on Plato's Republic despite philosophy actually featuring a large number of other great figures. Socrates, though mentioned briefly in a number of other categories, is given no dedicated section despite being widely credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy. Having said this, for a website that is maintained by a single individual coverage of topics is fairly impressive and does at the very least provide a solid starting point for information seekers. Based on this I would suggest the web site is most suitable as an introductory resource for young people interested in finding out more about the Classics. University students are likely to find the site too basic in places but it may still be valuable as a pathway to other resources. Users can choose to search by keyword or browse through the well‐structured main site index which gives a clear overview of the site contents.
One difficulty encountered was in determining how frequently the web site is updated. There was little information to suggest it is done regularly and the What's New? section was last updated in February 2007. I would not find this unduly concerning since Classics theory does not tend to become quickly outdated though it does suggest that the site may not be regularly maintained. However, the Oracle of Loxias service which aims to provide an answer to email queries within 48 hours does seem to highlight the author's commitment to his site's users though this was not put to the test for the purpose of this review.
The Classics Pages are testament to Andrew Wilson's passion and enthusiasm for his subject matter. The overriding impression is of an extensive and well‐researched resource that offers something for everyone, from children or university students to the casual information seeker with a Classics related query. Recommended.
