For more detailed information on a specific period, it can be useful to consult volumes in larger series.

• The Cambridge Companion to Archaic Greece, H. A. Shapiro, ed. (2007)
• The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Pericles, Loren J. Samons II, ed. (2007)
• The Cambridge Companion to the Hellenistic World, Glenn Richard Bugh, ed. (2006)
• The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic, H.I. Flower (2014), 2nd ed.
• The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Augustus, Karl Galinsky, ed. (2005)
• The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Nero, S. Bartsch ed. (2017)
• The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine, Noel Lenski, ed. (2005)
• The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Justinian, Michael Maas, ed. (2005)
• The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Greek Political Thought, Salkever, Stephen (2009)
• The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Greek Law, Michael Gagarin, David Cohen, eds (2005)
• The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Economy, W. Scheidel (2012)

The ultimate history, more to dip into than to read from cover to cover – also accessible online via SmartCat.

Some choice titles include:

• Volume 3, Part 3, The Expansion of the Greek World, Eighth to Sixth Centuries BC, 2nd edition (1982), John Boardman, N. G. L. Hammond, eds.
• Volume 4, Persia, Greece and the Western Mediterranean, c.525 to 479 BC, 2nd edition (1988), John Boardman; N. G. L. Hammond; D. M. Lewis; M. Ostwald, eds.
• Volume 5, The Fifth Century BC, 2nd edition (1992), David M. Lewis, John Boardman, J. K. Davies, M. Ostwald, eds. 
• Volume 6. The Fourth Century BC, 2nd edition (1994), David M. Lewis, University of Oxford; John Boardman, University of Oxford; Simon Hornblower, University of Oxford; M. Ostwald, University of Pennsylvania, eds.
• Volume 7, Part 1, The Hellenistic World, 2nd edition (1984), F. W. Walbank, University of Liverpool; A. E. Astin, Queen's University Belfast; M. W. Frederiksen; R. M. Ogilvie, eds.
• Volume 7, Part 2, The Rise of Rome to 220 BC, 2nd edition (1990), F. W. Walbank, University of Liverpool; A. E. Astin; M. W. Frederiksen; R. M. Ogilvie; A. Drummond, eds.
• Volume 8, Rome and the Mediterranean to 133 BC, 2nd edition (1989), A. E. Astin; F. W. Walbank; M. W. Frederiksen; R. M. Ogilvie, eds.
• Volume 9, The Last Age of the Roman Republic, 146–43 BC, 2nd edition (1994), J. A. Crook; Andrew Lintott; Elizabeth Rawson, eds.
• Volume 10, The Augustan Empire, 43 BC–AD 69, 2nd edition (1996), Alan K. Bowman, University of Oxford; Edward Champlin, Princeton University, New Jersey; Andrew Lintott, University of Oxford, eds.
• Volume 11, The High Empire, AD 70–192, 2nd edition (2000), Alan K. Bowman, University of Oxford; Peter Garnsey, University of Cambridge; Dominic Rathbone, King's College London, eds. 
• Volume 12, The Crisis of Empire, AD 193-337, 2nd edition (2005), Alan Bowman, Brasenose College, Oxford; Averil Cameron, Keble College, Oxford; Peter Garnsey, University of Cambridge, eds.
• Volume 13, The Late Empire, AD 337–425 (1997), Averil Cameron, University of Oxford; Peter Garnsey, University of Cambridge, eds.
• Volume 14, Late Antiquity: Empire and Successors, AD 425–600 (2001), Averil Cameron, University of Oxford; Bryan Ward-Perkins, University of Oxford; Michael Whitby, University of Warwick, eds.

A relatively recent trend has been the publication of ‘companions’ to topics that are bound to be taught widely in universities.

Volumes with useful articles are normally quite up-to-date. The ones to look out for are published by Blackwell or Cambridge University Press (online) but other publishers are jumping on the bandwagon.

• A history of the classical Greek world, 478-323 BC, P.J. Rhodes (Chichester etc, 2010, 2nd ed.)
• A history of the archaic Greek world, ca. 1200-479 BC, J.M. Hall (Hoboken, 2013, 2nd ed.)
• A history of the ancient Near East ca. 3000-323 BC, M. van de Mieroop (Chichester, 2016. 3rd ed.)
• A History of the Later Roman Empire, AD 284-641, S. Mitchell (Hoboken, 2014, 2nd ed.)
• A history of Greece : 1300 to 30 BC, V. Parker (Chichester, 2014)
• A history of the Hellenistic world : 323-30 BC, R.M. Errington (Malden MA, 2008)

Up to date and often with proper attention for the contribution of archaeology.

• R. Osborne, Greece in the making, 1200-479 BC (London and New York 2009, 2th ed.).
• S. Hornblower, The Greek world 479-323 BC (London and New York 1991, 4th ed.) .
• G. Shipley, The Greek world after Alexander (London and New York 2000).
• T. Cornell, The beginnings of Rome. Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC) (London and New York 1995).
• M. Goodman, The Roman world 44 BC- AD 180 (London and New York 1997).
• D. S. Potter, The Roman empire at Bay AD 180-395 (London and New York 2014, 2nd ed.)
• A. Cameron, The Mediterranean world in late antiquity AD 395-700 (London and New York 2012, 2nd ed.).

Brief accessible, and good use of sources:

• O. Murray, Early Greece (London 1986).
• J. K. Davies, Democracy and Classical Greece (London 1978).
• F. Walbank, The Hellenistic World (London 1984).
• R. M. Ogilvie, Early Rome and the Etruscans (London 1976).
• M. Crawford, The Roman Republic (London 1992,2nd ed.).
• C. Wells, The Roman Empire (London 1984, 2nd ed.).
• A. Cameron, The Later Roman Empire (London 1993).

• Erskine, Andrew. 2009. A companion to Ancient History. Blackwell companions to the ancient world. Oxford; Malden, MA: Blackwell.
• Erskine, Andrew. 2003. A companion to the Hellenistic world. Blackwell companions to the ancient world. Oxford; Malden, MA: Blackwell.
• Rousseau, Philip. 2009. A companion to Late Antiquity. Blackwell companions to the ancient world. Oxford; Malden, MA: Blackwell.
• Rosenstein, Nathan and Robert Morstein-Marx 2006. A Companion to the Roman Republic. Oxford; Malden, MA: Blackwell.