Bibliography icon
Shows the full bibliographic record for the selected author or work, including publication information and related details.
Search the TLG Canon
Use the Canon page to find authors and works in the TLG corpus, review bibliographic entries, make selections, and send your selection of authors and works to Text Search.
What the Canon contains
The Canon of Greek Authors and Works is a searchable database containing information about the authors and works included in the TLG corpus. You can search by entering a term, author name or TLG Author ID, choosing a search field, or limiting results with Canon fields such as date, generic or geographic epithet, and work classification.
Tip: A minimum of two characters must be entered in the main search box. Autocomplete suggestions may appear as you type. Please note that TLG names are entered in Latin.
1. Open Canon Search
From the Canon page, select Search. The Canon Search form opens below the button.
2. Enter search options
Use the Search form to enter a term, choose a search field, or refine your search with additional Canon fields.
| Control | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Search box | Enter a search term. Use at least three characters. |
| Search field menu | Choose where to search, such as All Fields, Author, Editor, Work Title, Publication Title, Series, or Publication Date. |
| Canon fields | Limit results by Date, Generic Epithet, Geographic Epithet, Work Classification, or Non-Standard Generic Epithet. |
| Vern./Dipl. | Choose whether to include or exclude vernacular and diplomatic editions, when available. |
| Complete author list | Open a complete list of authors and name forms related to the search. |
| Go | Run the search. |
| Reset | Clear the form and start again. |
More about autocomplete
When autocomplete is available, suggestions appear as you type. If you ignore the suggestion, the system searches for the string you entered.
3. Review results in List view
Search results appear in the center of the page. Results are displayed in pages, with pagination controls at the top. Use the page numbers or arrow controls to move through the result set.
Note: The result count at the top tells you which page of results you are viewing, for example, “1–50 of 1896 works.”
4. View an author's bibliography and works
In the results list, the booklet icon next to an author opens a dialog with that author's full bibliography and list of works represented in the Canon results.
Use this dialog to review the author’s works, publication information, classifications, word counts, and related links such as Cross references or Breakdown.
When checkboxes are available, select one or more works from the dialog. Selected works are added automatically to My Search Selection in the right sidebar.
5. Send selections to Text Search
As you select works, they are collected in the My Search Selection panel on the right side of the page. Use this panel to review, remove, or clear selected works.
- Select one or more works from the results list or the All Works dialog.
- Review the selected works in My Search Selection.
- Select Go to Text Search.
- The selected authors and works are transferred to the Text Search page.
- Run a Text Search to search only within the selected works.
Did you know? You can build a custom research corpus by selecting works from multiple authors and then sending the combined selection to Text Search.
6. Use the bibliography and browser icons
Next to each author or work entry, two action icons may appear.
Browser icon
Opens the Browser page so you can read the full text, when the text is available in the corpus.
7. Filter results
Use the Category panel to narrow results. Selecting a category, such as Author or Date, reveals the available values in the current result set.
Note: Epithets are assigned to authors. Work Classification applies to works. For example, a Generic Epithet search for rhetorical authors is different from a Work Classification search for rhetorical works.
8. View results on a map or timeline
Use the List, Map, and Timeline tabs to change how results are displayed.
Map view
Map view displays authors geographically when location data is available. Each author in the results list is a link to the author’s Canon entry.
Tip: Work collections do not always have geographical information and may not appear in Map view.
Timeline view
Timeline view displays authors by century. Select a column or use the right sidebar to view the list of authors for a century.
Tip: Work collections with dates entered as Varia or Incerta may not appear in the timeline.
Accessibility notes
- Instructions identify controls by name, not by color alone.
- Each screenshot has descriptive alternative text and a visible figure caption.
- Headings are structured in a logical order for screen-reader navigation.
- Links and interactive controls have visible keyboard focus indicators.
- The page is responsive and can be enlarged using browser zoom.