Perseus · Tufts
Perseus Home Page
Collections: Classics · Papyri · Renaissance · London · California · Upper Midwest · Tufts History
Configure display · Help · Tools · Copyright · FAQ · Publications · Collaborations · Support Perseus

Lookup Tool Help: Part One, Introduction

Contents:

[Note: In all search examples, italicization designates what has been typed in the lookup tool entry box. This is for the sake of clarity only: italicization is not necessary to enter a search term.]

What is the lookup tool?
The Perseus digital library contains many types of information covering a range of disciplines. This extensive scope requires several types of searching tools. The lookup tool is just one searching tool in Perseus, but in many respects, it is the gateway into other tools and other searches. This document is designed to illustrate the types of searches users may successfully perform with the lookup tool and offer suggestions on other means of searching Perseus. The lookup tool should be considered the front-line searching tool for Perseus. Nevertheless, it will not find all types of information. This guide will help you determine how and when to use the lookup tool.

Where do I find the lookup tool?
The lookup tool is located on every page in Perseus. On the home page, it is on the right hand side of the top bar;


it is located in the same general area on every other page.

It may also be found on its own page. (This is referred to as the lookup tool page throughout this document, although users will note that this is not a static page of html; rather, it is a cgi-scripted tool.)

How do I use the lookup tool?
The lookup tool is a text entry box. Simply type your query, and hit the "return" key on your keyboard. Your query may be one word, pericles,several words, pericles athens, or a question, Who was Pericles? Capitalization and accentuation are ignored. (pericles works just as well as Pericles; Nimes should be entered instead of Nîmes.) See below for information on the default search settings.

What do the results mean?
Lookup results are a list of Perseus links, divided into categories. If a particular category has only one link result, this one link will be shown, as noted by the blue triangle pointer facing down. If there is more than one result in a particular category, the blue triangle pointer will be facing to the right. Click on the blue triangle next to any category to expand the list under that category. (You cannot click on a triangle pointing down, as that list has already been expanded.)

There are over fifteen categories of Perseus results you will see in lookup tool search results. It is unlikely that you will see all of the Perseus categories when performing your search. Some searches result in only one category listing; others result in many. For a closer look at the categories, see the sample searches in part two of this document.
Additionally, a default lookup search will return information on any alternate names used in Perseus which apply to your search query. This is given in bold print above the link results. By default, results are given for alternate names as well as any given query.

What are the default search settings, and how do I change them?
When accessing the lookup tool from the home page or the side bar, there are several default settings.

  • A search will be performed on your search query as well as whatever alternate names Perseus has listed for your search query.
    For instance, if you enter a lookup search on Zeus, by default, the lookup tool will also return results for Jupiter, amongst other names for this deity.
  • Any lookup tool search performed from the home page or the side bar will be an exact word search only. Therefore, searching for lion does not return results for lions or vice versa.
  • The default search is for all keywords in a given query. If you enter zeus hera in the lookup tool located on the home page or any side bar, you will see results which contain both of these keywords (plus their alternate names). You will not see results which contain one or the other of these words.
  • By default, searches are performed on any Perseus collection.
Default settings are in effect when you use the lookup tool from the home page or the side/top bar. If you wish to change these settings, you may do so in one of two ways. 1. You may go to the lookup tool page and change the settings prior to searching. 2. You may first perform a search, and then change the settings on the search result page. All of the applicable lookup settings are located in a yellow box which appears on the lookup tool page when the tool is accessed directly OR a search has been performed. Look for this yellow box to change the default settings.
Change the settings as follows. First, use the pop-up list to the right of the words Look up to search for All Keywords, Any Keywords, or an Exact Phrase. (The default is, as noted, All Keywords.) Select the designated Perseus collection you wish to perform your search on from the pop-up list reading Any. Use the two check boxes below the pop-up list to search for partial words and/or alternate names. (By default, the partial word check box is inactive/unchecked and the alternate names check box is active/checked.) Checking a box activates a given searching parameter. You may begin your search by either hitting the return key on your keyboard or by clicking the Submit Query button. These two functions are identical. For sample searches and results, see part two of this document.

Why didn't I get any results? (or the results I expected?)
There are several limitations to the lookup tool users must keep in mind.

  1. The lookup tool searches only the Perseus digital library. Currently, it does not search special Perseus exhibit sites (Hercules, the Ancient Olympics, etc.). Nor does it search other WWW sites.

  2. The lookup tool does not search the content of materials in Perseus. In the case of textual works, the lookup tool will tell you if the search you have performed appears as the author of a work, in the descriptive title of a work, or in the title of a section of a work. In the case of art and archaeological materials, your search word will return results if it is a keyword in a catalog entry or it is a site name in the Perseus atlas.
    A good example of this distinction between content and keywording is a search for Pericles. Many works in Perseus discuss Pericles, his policies, his life, etc. If you perform a lookup search on Pericles, however, you will see only those texts in which his name appears in the title. You will not see a result for Thucydides, to give one example, even though Pericles is a central figure in the work of Thucydides. This is because the lookup tool is not searching the body of the text. Likewise, a vase catalog entry may remark on the distinctive shape of a given vase, but a lookup on the word shape will not return entries in which this word is used. Again, the lookup tool searches keywords which are associated with the content (texts, catalog entries, secondary sources) in Perseus; it does not directly search Perseus content. For that, you need other searching tools, which leads to the question....

  3. If I want to do a content search, what tool do I use? The answer depends on the type of content. English content may be searched with the English Index. Other language content may be searched with language specific tools such as the Greek Word Search, the Latin word search, or the dictionary entry search (for various languages:select from the menu within the tool). You may also use the Art & Archaeology browser to search for and compare types of buildings, coins, sites, sculpture, and vases.

  4. Some things are not in Perseus. Although this seems rather simple, many users expect results on topics which Perseus does not (yet) cover. Sometimes when a search does not return results, it is because there are no results to be had.
Go on to view some sample searches..

created 15 August, 2000
revised 28 February, 2003