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IN ASSOCIATION
WITH
7th
Grade: Ancient & Classical World
The books suggested for the Ancient and Classical history study in the
dialectic stage are listed below in the order in which they should be studied. Any
deviations are mentioned in the description. Extra Reading suggestions listed throughout
are additional, and not a required part of the history curriculum, but which are included
because they present a fuller picture of the events, people, and times under study. If a
child becomes fascinated with a particular aspect of history, these extra readings will
help him satisfy his own interest. In the entries for Plutarch’s Lives and
Livy’s History of Rome, which contain more than one book, only the first book listed
is a necessary part of this year’s curriculum, although children that have been
educated classically from the beginning (as my youngest has) that are already good
readers, may enjoy reading the additional books suggested.
The Ancient World
Begin a study of Western Civilization with the foundation for all of history, the book of
Genesis. A proper understanding of our beginning is also vital to build a Biblical
worldview in our children. And then proceed to study the other pivotal events of the
Ancient World.
The Greek World
Classical history begins with the rise of Greece where history first hears of her, at the
Trojan War, and from then on, the Greeks dominate the scene until they succomb to Rome in
176 B.C.
The Roman World
Classical history continues through the end of the Roman Empire of the West in 476 A.D,
and also sees the advent of Jesus Christ and the cradle of Christianity, which in turns
becomes the rudder for Western Civilization even up to the present day.
Ancient & Classical
World Teacher’s Resources
Essential materials to help the homeschool parent understand, not only the events, but
also the philosophies and worldviews, that shaped the ancient and classical worlds.
The Ancient
World
Genesis and Job
Genesis contains the only unadulterated, eyewitness account of the origins of the earth,
the universe, man, sin, death, and the beginnings of civilization. Job is one of the
oldest books of the Bible, and probably takes place in the years following Babel, but
before Abraham, while ice age conditions precipitated by Noah’s Flood were prevalent
in the north.
A Short History of Ancient Egypt
T. G. H. James
A Short History of Ancient
Egypt examines the principle events in the formation of one of the most predominant
societies of the ancient world. Starting from predynastic times, T. G. H. James traces the
history of Egypt through three millenia, to the death of Cleopatra, when Egypt became a
province of Imperial Rome. This beautifully presented book contains lavish full-color
illustrations, detailed maps which locate each place in its geographical and historical
context, and clear explanations of the developments in art and culture over the centuries.
The chronology presented in this book follows an evolutionary rather than a Biblical
time-table, and will have to be adjusted. Pharoahs and Kings: A Biblical Quest is a good
resource for that.
Josephus: The Essential Writings
Flavius Josephus and Paul L. Maier, editor
Josephus has long been an
essential historian of Jewish and Roman history, shedding light on both the Old and New
Testaments. But up until now, William Whitson’s difficult-to-read translation has
been the only edition available in English. Dr. Paul Maier, an authority on Josephus and
first century Christianity, has made a completely fresh and new translation of Josephus
from Latin, which preserves the essentials of Josephus, both of Jewish Antiquities and The
Jewish War (with Rome, in which the Temple was burned to the ground in 70 A.D.) “The
text is eminently readable, set in large easy to read type, and preserves the most
important content from Josephus. All significant passages are included, many word for
word. Only non-essential or repeated sections are omitted, and are noted with brackets in
the text.” Dr. Maier’s translation is also enhanced by photographs, maps and
illustrations, genealogical and dynastic charts, dates for significant events, a thorough
index, a selected Bibliography, and the Loeb numbering system (the standard for Josephus
citation). My children read Jewish Antiquities, which summarizes the history of the Old
Testament and bridges the gap between the return of the Babylonian exiles and the New
Testament, including the Maccabean war, after A Short History of
Ancient Egypt. They then went on to the Greek and Roman histories below before
picking up Josephus again and reading The Jewish War after finishing Tacitus’ Annals of Imperial Rome.
The Greek
World
Extra
Reading:
The War at Troy:
What Homer Didn’t Tell by Quintus of Smyrna, translated by Frederick M.
Combellack, is from the third century A.D., written to fill in the events of the Trojan
War not covered in Homer’s epic Iliad. The Iliad ends before the death of Achilles,
before the gift of the Trojan horse and the sack of Troy, and The Odyssey picks up after
all these events have taken place and Odysseus is already on his way back home.
Undoubtedly, the events of the Trojan War were so well known in classical antiquity that
these omissions never bothered Homer’s audience, but by the third century A.D.,
enough time had passed that a book filling in the gaps between the Iliad and the Odyssey
became necessary. This edition is translated into an easy to read modern English prose,
and is short enough so that it is a fairly quick read. While Amazon.com records this book
as out of print, Barnes and Noble has recently published a new
edition of it.
Out of print: search AddAll.com via an author search using
‘quintus,’ and a title search using ‘war at troy.’
The History of
Herodotus, translated by David Grene, is from the 4th century B.C. Herodotus was a
near contemporary of Thucydides, and is known as the father of history. His history, of
course, was not the first ever written, as Moses compiled the five books of the law long
before Herodotus’ time, but most modern scholars reject a complete Mosaic authorship
for those books, and so Herodotus has been bestowed with that honor. His book not only
deals with the stirring events of the Greco-Persian wars, but also attempts to trace the
beginning of the conflict of the Greeks with the people of the East, and in so doing, goes
back into the past even before the Trojan War. He traveled all over the ancient world, a
tremendously difficult undertaking before the advent of the Roman road, and collected the
accounts, histories, and legends of the various peoples of the Mediterranean, weaving them
into this magnificent narrative history.
The Rise and Fall of Athens
Plutarch and Ian Scott-Kilvert, translator
Failing to find my treasured
one-volume edition of Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans in print, Penguin has put out a
series of four editions of Plutarch’s Lives, each arranged chronologically to follow
the history of pivotal times in classical antiquity. The first, The Rise and
Fall of Athens sums up the Greek classical age and its greatest citizens.
“The nine Lives translated here and arranged in chronological order follow the
history of Athens from the legendary times of Theseus, the city’s founder, to its
defeat at the hands of Lysander, its Spartan conqueror. Included in this selection are the
biographies of Themistocles, a brilliant but heavy-handed naval commander, Aristides
‘the Just,’ and Pericles, who was responsible for the buildings on the
Acropolis. Plutarch’s real interest in these men is not in the greatness of their
victories or achievements but in their moral strengths, and for him responsibility for the
eventual fall of Athens lay with the weakness and ambition of its great men.” Second
in the series is The Age of
Alexander. The Lives in this volume range from Agesilaus, the heroic Spartan
general who bested the Persians time and again in the Greco-Persian War, through Pyrrhus,
the King of Epirus, who defeated the Macedonians after Alexander the Great’s death,
and fought with the Romans who were slowly rising out of obscurity in the far west. In
this book we also meet Demosthenes, Athens’ great orator, and of course Alexander the
Great, and many other renowned Greek citizens. At the end of this volume we meet with the
rising power of Rome for the first time. In the third volume, Makers of Rome,
we turn our attention to that great city and learn of many of Rome’s finest: from
Coriolanus of early and legendary Roman history, to Mark Antony, who fought for control of
the vast Roman state with Octavius, who became Caesar Augustus. “Two themes dominate
the cycle of Plutarch’s Roman Lives -- the valor and tenacity of the Roman people in
war and their genius for political compromise. Plutarch also explores the problems of
statecraft and the struggle for power between patrician and plebian, the Senate and
popular leaders. It is here that he pays tribute to the political instinct which
eventually raised this tribal confederation of Italian farmers to the mastery of the
ancient world.” The final book in the series is Fall of the
Roman Republic. “Plutarch has been called the last of the Greek classical
historians and first of modern biographers ... Looking back from the turn of the first
century A.D. he records, simply and dramatically, in the lives of Marius and Sulla,
Crassus and Cicero, Pompey and Caesar, that long and bloody period of foreign and civil
war which marked the collapse of the Roman Republic and ushered in the Empire.” To
read the Roman Lives in chronological order, you will have to go back and forth between
Makers of Rome and Fall of the Roman Republic. Here are the 15 Roman Lives in both books
arranged in order: Coriolanus, Fabius Maximus, Marcellus, Cato the Elder, Tiberius
Gracchus, Gaius Gracchus (all from Makers of Rome), Marius, Sulla (from Fall of the Roman
Republic), Sertorius (Makers of Rome), Crassus, Pompey, Caesar, Cicero (Fall of the Roman
Republic), Brutus, and Mark Antony (Makers of Rome).
The Landmark Thucydides
Thucydides, and Richard Crawley, translator and Robert B. Strassler,
editor
“Thucydides called his account of
two decades of war between Athens and Sparta ‘a possesion for all time,’ and
indeed it is the first and still most famous work in the Western historical tradition.
Considered essential reading for generals, statesmen, and liberally educated citizens for
more than 2,000 years, The Peloponnesian War is a mine of military, moral, political, and
philosophical wisdom. However, this classic book has long presented obstacles to the
uninitiated reader. Robert Strassler’s new edition (based on the Richard Crawley
translation) removes these obstacles by providing a new coherence to the narrative
overall, and by effectively reconstructing the lost cultural context that Thucydides
shared with his original audience.” The edition is further enhanced with maps,
appendices by classical scholars on subjects of special relevance to the text, explanatory
marginal notes, an encyclopedic index, and many other useful features.
Extra
Reading:
The Persian
Expedition by Xenophon, translated by Rex Warner. After the end of the
Peloponnesian War, many Greek soldiers found themselves unemployed. As a result, 10,000 of
them hired out as mercenaries in a Persian Civil War. “In 401 B.C., Xenophon, a
former student of Socrates, joined an army of Greek mercenaries who were aiding Cyrus the
Younger in his military campaign against his brother, King Artaxerxes II. When Cyrus was
killed in the Battle of Cunaxa in 401 B.C., the 10,000 Greeks find themselves alone in
enemy territory, more than 1000 miles from the nearest Greek colony. In addition, the
leaders of the force had been treacherously murdered by the Persian satrap Tissaphernes.
In a march that lasted five months, traveled over 1500 miles, and overcoming many
obstacles (both external and internal), the Greeks finally reach the colony of Trapezus on
the Black Sea. This book ... is Xenophon’s eyewitness account of that retreat and is
one of the most famous books in military history.” My son loved this book. It should
be read after Plutarch’s Rise and Fall of Athens,
but before the other Plutarchs, if you are including them in your study.
The Campaigns of
Alexander by Arrian, translated by Betty Radice. “Although written over four
hundred years after Alexander’s death, Arrian’s Campaigns of Alexander is
our best source of knowledge of the man and his deeds. Arrian had himself been a military
commander, and his record of the exploits of the world’s greatest conqueror reveals
sympathy for his subject, without the adulation or contempt which so often mar other
histories of the time. Arrian’s unaffected style of writing, with its matter-of-fact
tone, offsets the remarkable career and paradoxical nature of Alexander, giving us a fair,
clear report about a man who was worshipped as a god in his own lifetime.” Campaigns
should be read either after Plutarch’s Rise and Fall of
Athens, or The Age of Alexander if you are
including that in your study, but before Plutarch’s
Roman Lives if you are including that in your study.
The Roman
World
Early History of Rome
Livy and Aubrey de Selincourt, translator
“Titus Livy was born in 59 B.C. at
Patavium (Padua) but later moved to Rome. He lived in an eventful age but little is known
about his life, which seems to have been occupied exclusively in literary work. When he
was aged about thirty he began to write his History of Rome consisting of 142 books of
which only 35 survive (collected in the Penguin editions listed here). He continued
working on it for over forty years until his death in 17 A.D.” He writes in the
preface to the whole work, “The Roman people used to have great courage and few
faults, putting their duty first and praising the glory of war. But now that we have much
peace, many men are avaricious, and as a result we are able to tolerate neither our vices
nor their remedies.” It is said he began his history to show the growing decadent
Roman society just how far they have fallen. The Early
History of Rome contains the first five books covering the events from the
foundation of Rome and the legends of Romulus and Remus, through the history of the seven
kings, the establishment of the Republic and its internal struggles, up to Rome’s
recovery after the fierce Gallic invasion under Brennus in the fourth century B.C. This
book should properly be read after Plutarch’s The Rise and Fall of Athens (or The Age
of Alexander if you are including that in your study), and before Plutarch’s Makers
of Rome (if you are including that in your study). If your child enjoys Livy and wants to
learn more of the events that formed the Roman Empire, he can go on to the other Penguin
editions of Livy’s works: Rome and Italy,
which continues the story of Rome after its recovery from Gallic invaders and its gradual
expansion into surrounding territory, until all of Italy is vassal to Rome. Next is The War With
Hannibal, in which Livy recreates in vivid detail the terrible events of the
Second Punic War, where Rome struggled for mastery of the Mediterranean with her equally
powerful rival, the rich Phoenecian colony of Carthage, and her greatest hero and most
brilliant general, Hannibal. Last is Rome and the
Mediterranean: “After the decisive defeat of Hannibal in the Second Punic War
(218-201), Rome faced a series of challenges from the East - to emerge as master of the
Mediterranean in 167 B.C. It is Livy who, by the sheer power of his historical
imagination, creates from the bald ... sources an enthralling narrative, full of drama and
color, compelling personalities and magnificent oratory. With her triumphs over the heirs
of Alexander the Great in the Macedonian Wars, world leadership passed forever from Greece
to Rome; and Livy shows us the men, heroic but human, who took part in an epoch-making
event.”
Extra
Reading:
The Civil War
by Julius Caesar, translated by Jane Gardner, is “Caesar’s masterly account of
the celebrated war between himself and his great rival Pompey, from the crossing of the
Rubicon in January 49 B.C. to Pompey's death and the start of the Alexandrian War in the
autumn of the following year. This generously annotated edition places the war in context
and enables the reader to grasp it both in detail and as a whole.” As a narrative
history, children may find Caesar’s
The Conquest of Gaul more interesting and exciting. The Conquest of Gaul takes
place just prior to The Civil War. Caesar’s narratives should be read when you come
to Caesar and Pompey’s Lives in Plutarch, if
you are including them in your study, otherwise they can be read after any of Livy’s
works.
Luke, John, and Acts
Luke is the historian of the four gospel writers. He states in Luke 1:3, “It seemed
good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to
write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus,” orderly meaning,
all events on which he is reporting set in order of their occurance. John’s gospel
brings out completely different events in the life of Jesus that the other gospel writers
omit, and Acts is Luke’s continuation of the history of the early church. Or, a child
can read the harmonized gospels and then Acts.
Annals of Imperial Rome
Cornelius Tacitus and Michael Grant, translator
Tacitus is Rome’s greatest
historian, surpassing Livy and coming close to Thucydides in scope and literary style. Invitation
to the Classics states of Tacitus: “But the virtues of a new nation can be easily
corrupted by money and power. To the second-century historian Tacitus neither Roman moral
nor institutional excellence had withstood the increasing wealth or size of the Empire. He
exposes this corruption in The Annals, his record of the events from the death of
Augustus -- the first emperor of Rome -- to the year 69 A.D.: ‘Augustus won over the
soldiers with gifts, the populace with cheap corn, and all men with the sweets of repose,
and so grew greater by degrees, while he concentrated in himself the functions of the
Senate, the magistrates, and the laws.’” In the beginning of the Annals, Tacitus
also summarizes the early history of Rome up to the time of Augustus, so anyone that has
not read Livy (other than Early History of Rome) will still get a bare overview from a
master historian in Annals. The preferred translation of Tacitus is by Alfred John Church
in The
Complete Works of Tacitus, and is the translation I use in our homeschool and is
the one recommended in Invitation to the Classics. However, this translation is
temporarily on back order, but keep checking this link for its availability, and use the
Michael Grant translation if all else fails.
Extra
Reading:
The History of
the Church by Eusebius, translated by Paul Maier. We have enjoyed Dr. Maier’s
accessible translation of Josephus so much, that we decided to purchase his new
translation of Eusebius, which is normally daunting reading. “This volume is an
excellent synthesis of the works of all significant early Christian and secular historians
and eyewitness accounts of the events forming the early Church. Eusebius’ narrative
is linear, tracking the growth of the Church from Pentecost, A.D. 32 through stages of
vicious persecution until the Emperor Constantine’s edict allowing Christianity to be
practiced in the Roman Empire. Eusebius tells us how the Church and the Canon of Scripture
came to be. Every major Church figure, controversy, and event of significance is recorded
in accurate detail. Every heresy that threatened the Church’s existence is reported
thoroughly, yet concisely.” Dr. Maier’s edition includes his helpful commentary,
with full-color illustrations, charts, and maps.
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
Edward Gibbon and Dero A. Saunders, editor
Really, to finish off the
Ancient and Classical eyewitness histories written by the classical authors, Augustine’s
City of God should be the final book for this year. However, that vast work, the
magnum opus of its author, is beyond the reach of 7th graders. It properly should be read
in the rhetoric stage. Although no book can take the place of City of God, Gibbon’s
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire has taken its place among the Western Canon, not only
for its historical scholarship, but also for its literary narrative style. The Decline and
Fall is a continuous narrative of the events from the reign of the Antonines in the 2nd
century A.D. to the fall of the the Roman Empire of the East - Byzantium - in 1453 A.D.
Only the first half of the book covers the Western Roman Empire and the Rise of
Christianity. We only read from “The Golden Age of the Antonines” through the
chapters detailing “The End of the Empire in the West.”
Ancient &
Classical World Teacher’s Resources
On the Use of
Real Books in the Secondary Curriculum
I highly recommend those teacher’s resources listed in the study
of the ancient world in 1st grade and the the classical world in 2nd grade, to help overcome the
misinformation most of us were taught in our own youth concerning the origin of man,
language, religion, technology, and civilization. From there, Thomas Cahill, believe it or
not, is the historian that has most clearly helped me see the world which he describes,
and the way it was altered forever by the particular “hinge of history” he
explores in each of his books. I am constantly reading histories, both ancient and modern,
from the pen of Christians and secularists alike, to increase my own understanding of
history and of the philosophies and worldviews that have shaped the West, and to date,
Cahill’s have been the most successful in giving this busy homeschooling parent a
clearer picture of the ancient and classical world, their worldviews, and the radical
departure both the Hebrews and the Christians made from those norms. I realize they are
controversial; therefore, proceed at your own risk, and keep my cautions in mind, but also
keep the benefits in mind as well.
The Gifts of the Jews
Thomas Cahill
Subtitled: How a tribe of desert nomads
changed the way everyone thinks and feels. In the Gifts of the Jews, Cahill brings to life
the world of the ancient Sumerians and their philosophy, and clearly shows how the Hebrew
worldview, the Biblical worldview, made a drastic break from what was then the norm and
set Western civilization on a course from which it has yet to turn. Now for the cautions:
Jews, Christians, and secularists all have quibbles with this book, but it seems to me,
all their quibbles center around questions of theology. Even the secularists are
uncomfortable with their theology of a completely naturalistic philosophy of life brought
into question. Understand before you read this book that you will not be reading a book of
theology, but of history, and you will learn from the book, discarding, of course,
whatever the author concludes that disagrees with your theology. By all means, if you
cannot read a book, taking from it what is true and discarding that which you know to be
false, then DO NOT read this book. Caution number two: Mr. Cahill’s audience is
secular society rather than Biblical Christianity, and he does write in such a way as to
not put off the secularist. That his conclusions offend secularists goes to show how
honoring Cahill is of the Hebrew worldview. Caution number three: serious historians have
called Cahill’s book “fluff.” If you have time to read the weighty doctoral
dissertations, dry as dust, and thereby come to the same conclusions Cahill brings us, the
busy modern reader, to, then by all means bypass this book and read them. The bibliography
is available in the back for anyone that wants to explore Cahill’s historical source
material. Caution number four: Mr. Cahill is sometimes painfully graphic in describing the
sinfulness of pagan societies--painfully. Be warned. But if you can live through that, you
will find your understanding of ancient society and the pagan worldview made acceptable by
Nimrod at Babel greatly enlarged. This book is NOT for children.
Thales to Dewey
Gordon H. Clark
This wonderful history
of philosophy is probably the most important teacher’s resource offered for this
level. “There are very few histories of philosophy written by Christians, and it is
fair to say that the book you hold in your hands is the only such history in English that
has escaped the corroding influence of secular philosophy, especially the philosophy of
empiricism. ... [Clark is both] familiar with the subject [and] rigorous in [his]
understanding of Christianity. ... [The book] is eminently readable, consistently
entertaining, unfailingly accurate, and uncompromisingly Christian.” The first four
chapters are devoted to the Greek philosophers: The Presocratics, from the Milesians to
Zeno; The Sophists, Socrates, and Plato; Aristotle; and The Hellenistic Age, including the
Epicureans, the Stoics, and the Neoplatonists.
The Greek Way
Edith Hamilton
Edith Hamilton is a highly-respected classical
scholar, and this book, along with The Roman Way, is
a modern classic in its own right. In it, she discusses the Greek perceptions of the
differences between East and West, Mind and Spirit, and examines Greek art, writing,
religion, worldview, and how the modern world has been influenced by it. She also includes
separate chapters on Pindar, Plato, Aristophanes, Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon,
Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.
Desire of the Everlasting Hills
Thomas Cahill
Subtitled: The world before and after Jesus. Jesus of Nazareth is the “central figure
of Western Civilization,” and Thomas Cahill knows it. Unlike other historians who
pussy-foot around Jesus, pretending that His contribution isn’t all that great after
all in the secular and scientific world in which we live, Mr. Cahill boldly examines the
life of Jesus and the beliefs of the early church, and shows how drasticly different they
are in comparison to the normal classical worldview. In so doing he clearly describes both
the normal classical worldview before Jesus, and, point for point, how the life of Jesus
digressed from that and in so doing, changed the course of Western Civilization forever.
He does not deny the virgin birth, Christ’s divinity (read to the end of the book),
His many miracles, or even His bodily resurrection from the grave. In fact, he subtley
begins in the secularists’ camp, and taking them by the hand, leads them to see why
belief in these “controversies” surrounding the life of Jesus is not far-fetched
for the thinking man. While of course not agreeing with his every conclusion, especially
in points of doctrine, as a history I was pleasantly surprised by this book and learned
something. The same cautions that apply to the Gifts of the Jews
also apply here (please re-read those cautions), and the same reward of greatly increased
understanding awaits the reader that perserveres.
The Roman Way
Edith Hamilton
Like The Greek Way, in this book Ms. Hamilton
seeks to make clear the Roman Way, or worldview, and its effect on Roman institutions and
writers, and ultimately, on us. She discusses comedy in Plautus and Terence, then moves on
to the writings of Cicero, Caesar, Catullus, Horace, Virgil, Livy, Seneca, Juvenal, and
the Stoics, finishing as is fitting with the end of antiquity at the Fall of Rome.
Ancient Rome: How It Affects You Today
Richard Maybury
This book is different
from your usual history of Rome book. Instead, it looks at the Roman legacy -- political
and legal institutions -- and how that legacy has perservered and been incorporated into
our own society to the present day. Mr. Maybury, author of the Uncle Eric’s How the
World Works series of books that rhetoric stage students study, is an advocate of Juris
Naturalism, “the belief in a natural law which is higher than any government’s
law,” which he describes as the founding fathers’ philosophy. (I agree with
him.) He states: “Why is ancient history important to us today? To build a better
future we need to know how we got where we are today. The political trend that has
dominated the world for 2000 years ... remains almost unrecognized. Author Richard Maybury
calls it the Roman Disease. Does America have the disease? Is there a cure? Or will
America repeat the mistake of Ancient Rome and collapse into poverty, decay, ruin, and
war?” An interesting and informative little book, whose ideas you will not find
repeated elsewhere.
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