Guide For Contributors

All Manuscripts should be sent to:
 

The Editor

Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures
Classics Section
Private Bag
Rondebosch 
7700
Republic of South Africa
 

E-mail: david.wardle@uct.ac.za

Phone: +27 (021) 6502319 (Office)
 

Fax: +27 (021) 6855530 (Fax)

General

1. Acta Classica publishes contributions on any aspect of Classical Studies, but also considers submissions on Patristic and Byzantine themes, especially where they relate to Africa.

2. The Editorial Committee assumes that the submitted contributions are the original work of the author(s).

3. All submissions are judged anonymously by two referees appointed by the Editorial Committee. In cases where the referees recommend changes in the manuscript, authors will be requested to make such adjustments as are deemed necessary by the Editorial Committee.

4. Articles should normally not exceed 7,000 words.

5. Acta Classica also publishes Notes which should ideally not exceed 2,500 words.

6. The journal publishes reviews of books, mainly by Southern African authors.

7. Authors will receive 10 offprints free of charge.

Manuscripts

1. Two hard copies should be submitted, in 1.5 spacing, on one side of A4 size paper, and with ample margins all round. Do not send a computer disk until requested. Alternatively, an article may be sent by e-mail as an attached document. For articles containing large amounts of Greek, the first method, or a combination of the two, is recommended. Please note: Do not use preset formatting (page size, style-sheet), preset tabs or paragraph-markers.

2. An abstract (maximum 150 words) of the article must accompany the submission.

3. The title of the article, author’s name and affiliation should be provided on a separate page, and the title alone should be repeated on the first page of the article.

4. The identity of the author must not be revealed in the manuscript itself. Acknowledgements or other indications of identity may be included in the final version.

5. Footnotes should be numbered consecutively in the text.

6. Greek words should be used in their original form. Extra care should be taken with regard to the form and placing of accents, breathings and subscript iotas.

7. Authors are advised to provide a translation of all Greek and Latin, particularly in the case of lesser-known works.

8. Authors will be provided with the reports of the anonymous referees in the event of changes being recommended. The author must then submit a final version on computer disk and in print form. Disks will not be returned. A final version sent by e-mail is also acceptable.

9. The Editorial Board will communicate by e-mail with the author on all corrections or problems. A camera-ready copy of the article will be sent to the author for final checking.

10. All final corrections are subject to the jurisdiction of the Editorial Committee.

Editorial Conventions

In order to save time and expense, contributors are requested to adhere as closely as possible to the following editorial conventions. Deviations required by specific needs (e.g., the language-medium or nature of the article) are permissible.

1. Italics must be used for the following, in full or abbreviated form: the titles of books and periodicals; the names of classical works; Greek and Latin technical terms; foreign terminology (e.g. Sturm und Drang, tour de force); shorter quotations in Latin, both in the text and in the footnotes.

2. Single quotation marks must be used for quotations other than Greek or Latin, the title of an article, chapter or contribution in a book. Double quotation marks must be used only for an interior quotation. Where a passage quoted is more than a few lines long, it will be set without quotation marks as a separate paragraph, in smaller type. Such quotations should be indented in the manuscript in order to make their presence clear.

3. Abbreviations of ancient authors and works should be those listed in the Oxford Classical Dictionary (2nd or 3rd edition), or the Oxford Latin Dictionary and Liddell-Scott-Jones’ A Greek-English Lexicon, or the Byzantinische Zeitschrift. Latin titles, not Greek or English, are preferred in abbreviations of ancient texts: for instance, Vesp. not Wasps; Carm. not Odes. References to unfamiliar names and titles of ancient authors and texts should be written in full. Names written in full in the text may be abbreviated in the footnotes. In all cases clarity rather than economy of space should be the first consideration.

4. Abbreviations of periodicals should be those used by L’Année Philologique.

5. In the citation of ancient texts, Arabic rather than Roman numerals should be used, and a full stop be placed after book, volume and chapter numbers. The first letter of titles should be capitalised. Where a writer’s full name is given, a comma must separate it from the name of the work. For example, Thuc. 6.71.2; 7.14.3-4; Hor. Serm. 3.2.275-77; Vitr. De Arch. 2.3.3; but Themistius, Orat. 3.4 (p. 31.15 ed. Dindorf). If the edition is rare or unfamiliar, add date and also place: (p. 31.15 ed. W. Dindorf, Leipzig 1831).

6. In referring to modern works, either one of two systems can be used. In both systems, page or column numbers must be given in full. The use of f. or ff. (or equivalents) should be avoided if at all possible. Reference to a footnote in a work must be marked by n. followed by the number of the footnote. Authors should adhere to one of the following systems of reference:

(a) Works can be cited in full on their first occurrence, and thereafter by author, number of note of first appearance in round brackets, and page number(s). For example:

N.G.L. Hammond, A History of Greece to 322 B.C. (Oxford 1959) 6-12; subsequently Hammond (note 2) 8.

E. Honigmann, ‘Syria’, RE (1932) 4A.1549-727; subsequently Honigmann (note 1) 1601-03.

G.E.R. Lloyd, ‘Plato as a natural scientist’, JHS 88 (1968) 78-92; subsequently Lloyd (note 5) 84.

In the case of edited collections, the following format should be followed:

R.J. Hankinson, ‘Determinism and indeterminism’, in K. Algra, J. Barnes, J. Mansfeld & M. Schofield (edd.), The Cambridge History of Hellenistic Philosophy (Cambridge 1999) 513-541.

(b)  A bibliography of cited works can be provided at the end of the article or note (author/s, initials, date of publication, title, place of publication, publisher), and references to these works in the text or footnotes then made by author’s name, date of publication, and page number(s). For example:

Hammond, N.G.L. 1959. A History of Greece to 322 B.C. Oxford: Clarendon Press; referred to as Hammond 1959:6-12.

Honigmann, E. 1932. ‘Syria.’ RE 4A.1549-727; referred to as Honigmann 1932:1601-03.

Lloyd, G.E.R. 1968. ‘Plato as a natural scientist.’ JHS 88:78-92; referred to as Lloyd 1968:84.

For edited collections, the following format should be followed:

Hankinson, R.J. 1999. ‘Determinism and indeterminism.’ In K. Algra, J. Barnes, J. Mansfeld & M. Schofield (edd.), The Cambridge History of Hellenistic Philosophy, 513-541. Cambridge: University Press.

7.  Readily recognisable works can be cited in brief form:

CIL 15.3579
IG 2²15, line 87
ILS 212, col. 2
BMC Imp 3.303 no. 507
TLL 5.1.448, line 41 (use ‘line’ or ‘lines’ rather than l. or ll., which may be confused with numerals)
Jacoby, FGrH 115 F 153
LIMC
LSJ
OLD

8. For cross references within an article where the paging is obviously not yet known, the page number should be indicated by 00 and the page number given in the margin of the manuscript.

9. All quotations and references should be verified against the original source, and the Editorial Committee does not accept responsibility for the accuracy of any citations.

10. The Oxford English Dictionary serves as the guide on matters of spelling and hyphenation.