Academic Proofreading: A Quick Guide to Stephanus Numbers

Plato is such an important part of Western philosophy that he has his own citation system: Stephanus numbers. But what do you need to know about Stephanus numbering as an academic proofreader? In this post, we’ll explain how these numbers work.

What Are Stephanus Numbers?

As well as being the man who gave us “platonic” love, Plato was a Greek philosopher who wrote about everything from metaphysics to the morality of art. And because of this wide-ranging influence, students and academics around the world still refer to his work today.

Most scholarly editions of Plato’s works include “Stephanus numbers”. These are named for Henricus Stephanus, who published an influential edition of Plato’s collected works in 1578.

Like the Bekker numbers used in works by Aristotle, these numbers are consistent across different editions of Plato’s works. Writers can therefore cite these numbers – in place of a standard citation – and know readers will have the same numbering in their version.

As a result, Stephanus numbers are the standard way of citing Plato in academic writing.

How Does Stephanus Numbering Work?

Stephanus pagination is based on the divisions in the 1578 three-volume edition of Plato’s works mentioned above. You can see how they look in the right margin of the page below.

The number here refers to a page from the Stephanus edition, which was numbered continuously, so later works have higher numbers. Each page was divided into five sections, labeled “a” to “e” (the “a” section above starts with the number, so it is unlabeled).

You can therefore cite Plato by giving the name of the work, a number, and a letter:

The notion of circularity appears again in relation to the dead (Phaedo 72a).

Here, we’re citing the Phaedo. The “72” refers to the page the passage appears on in the Stephanus edition, and “a” shows us it is the first section on this page. Anyone with an edition of the Phaedo with Stephanus numbers would then be able to find this exact passage.

Some writers will include a line number as well (e.g., by counting down from the first line in the section). And some prefer to give a volume number rather than a title of the cited work. But the principle – citing the text based on the Stephanus pagination – remains the same.

Proofreading Plato Citations

From a proofreading perspective, the most important thing to know is that Stephanus numbers are often used alongside another citation system. For instance, an academic writer might use APA referencing for most sources, but Stephanus numbers to cite Plato.

As long as you know what Stephanus pagination is, you won’t mistake it for an accidental inconsistency. Nevertheless, you may want to leave a comment for your client if:

• You find any clear omissions or errors (e.g., missing citations or glaring inconsistencies).
• Your client is using a style guide that recommends a different method for citing works by Plato, or that suggests a specific style for citing Stephanus numbers.

Finally, keep in mind that Stephanus numbers don’t affect how Plato’s works should be listed in a bibliography. You may therefore need to check your client’s style guide on this issue.

Works Without Stephanus Pagination

You may sometimes find Plato cited without Stephanus numbers. This may be because your client’s version text lacks this pagination. Or it could just be a decision they have made.

In these cases, you could leave a note saying that Stephanus numbers are the standard method for citing Plato. However, your main role as a proofreader is – as always – to check that citations are clear and consistent according to the client’s chosen system.

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