The series was founded in 1896. It is dedicated to important Greek and Latin texts together with translations and commentaries, as well as detailed introductions, thus rendering them more accessible to a broader readership. Since 2000 the series has concentrated on "Homer's Iliad. A full commentary", presenting the text of the Iliad (by M. L. West), a translation (by J. Latacz) and a commentary in German.

The "Steinepigramme aus dem griechischen Osten" (Stone epigrams from the Greek East) contains material from Asia Minor and the Orient, and provide texts carved in stone in an edition which includes translations, critical apparatus, commentary and bibliography. In volumes 1-4, 2122 Greek and Latin texts from Asia Minor and the Orient, of the period up to the 7th century A.D., have been reproduced, translated, annotated, and illustrated (approximately 700 illustrations). The index volume contains indexes of places, poems, poem beginnings, subjects, a concordance and above all, a list of personal names (pages 202 - 309) - Inscriptions are the best source of names (approximately 8000 occurring in our epigrams). Volume 5 also contains Addenda et Corrigenda (pages 17-49) with 29 new epigrams and an index of all additions and corrections (pages 1-16) with short additions.