Ancient History

History is like a tree—the ancient parts are roots, and as the story progresses the trunk rises and branches expand to encompass every person and event since Adam and Eve. Because history is unified, every element of the story is interconnected, even if that connection is distant. Furthermore, the current parts are all directly the product of the parts that have come before, and to understand the current situation you'll need to understand the past.

Understanding the ancient history roots at the bottom of the tree is essential for a proper perspective of everything that comes after. Some people take this too far and assume that ancient history is all that matters, but those who disregard it or understand it on no more than a cursory level are just as mistaken. Just as a building must have a strong foundation, so a study of history must begin in the right place.

The ancient world was different from ours, and the same. It was different in primarily physical ways: technology was less advanced, there were fewer people, and the general standard of living was far below what we enjoy (at least in the industrialized world). However, human nature never changes, and the same universal conflict that exists today—between God's children and His enemies—raged then.

It's interesting to what extent the dominant theories and philosophies of the modern world reflect those of the ancients. There is truly nothing new under the sun, and the Enlightenment rationalism, faith in human progress, belief in man's innate goodness, evolutionary idealism, and even postmodernism against which Christians fight all have their roots in the ideas of the Babylonians, Greeks, Egyptians, and every other early civilization.

That doesn't mean there isn't a clear trajectory from the ancient world to the present. Ideas all run a distinct course, and some reach prominence at different times; while the seeds of every successive philosophy were sown in the ancient world, it took time to grow them into what we recognize how as humanism, modernism, postmodernism, and the ever-illusory post-postmodernism.

The same is true of events. The history of any period is simply the chronicle of man's attempts to thwart God's will and Yahweh's use of even the most outrageous rebellion to achieve His own ends. In some ways, this is more obvious in ancient history, as the nation of Israel fought the surrounding nations, and too often embraced their paganism.

That story, of God's work among His people and in the world, and of man's continual rebellion, is also our story. The Church fights the same battles our Israelite forefathers did, though on a more ideological rather than physical scale. When we realize how much the story of the ancients is our own story, the significance of studying their world becomes much clearer, and the urgency of such study is made plain.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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5,000-Year-Old Puzzle
by Claudia Logan, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
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Aeneid
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Roman Mythology for 5th-8th grade
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Roman Mythology for 5th-8th grade
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Aeneid Of Virgil
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Aeschylus II: The Oresteia
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Ancient Greek Tragedy for 10th-Adult
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Penguin Classics
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Ancient Greek Tragedy for 10th-Adult
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Ancient Greek Tragedy for 10th-Adult
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Aeschylus' Oresteian Trilogy
Penguin Classics
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Ancient Greek Tragedy for 10th-Adult
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Alexander the Great
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Ancient Greek Art
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Ancient History - Intermediate Teacher Guide
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Ancient History - Timeline (Intermediate)
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Ancient History-Based Writing Lessons - Set
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Ancient History-Based Writing Lessons - Student Book
by Lori Verstegen
6th edition from Institute for Excellence in Writing
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$35.00
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Ancient Rome
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Ancient Sicily
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from Vision S.R.L.
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$27.00
Annals of Imperial Rome
Penguin Classics
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Historical Non-Fiction for 10th-Adult
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Antigone
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Antigone
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Ancient Tragedy for 9th-Adult
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Augustus Caesar's World
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Penguin Classics
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Ancient Tragedy for 11th-Adult
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Penguin Classics
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Ancient Tragedy for 11th-Adult
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Basic Works of Aristotle
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Beautiful Stories of Life
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Before Columbus
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Ben-Hur
by Lew Wallace
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Signet Classics
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Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
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Beric the Briton - MP3 CD
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Between the Forest and the Hills
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by Ann Lawrence
from Bethlehem Books
Humorous Fantasy for 7th-10th grade
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Beyond the Desert Gate
Bethlehem Books Young Adult Bookshelf
by Mary Ray
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Black Ships Before Troy
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Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
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Black Ships Before Troy - Comprehension Guide
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from Veritas Press
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by Jane Williams
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Book of the Ancient Greeks
by Dorothy Mills
2nd edition from Memoria Press
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$20.10
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by Matthew Anderson
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Book of the Ancient Greeks - Teacher Guide
by Matthew Anderson
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Book of the Ancient Romans
by Dorothy Mills
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Book of the Ancient Romans - Student Guide
by Dorothy Mills
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Book of the Ancient World
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Book of the Ancient World - Teacher Guide
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Boy of the Pyramids
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Bronze Bow
by Elizabeth George Speare
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1962 Newbery Medal winner
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Bulfinch's Greek and Roman Mythology
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Burning of Rome
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from Z-Man Games
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$29.00
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from Aladdin Paperbacks
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$11.95
Children's Plutarch: Tales of the Romans
by F. J. Gould, Reteller
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Cigars of the Pharaoh
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by Herge
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Penguin Classics
by Julius Caesar
from Penguin Classics
Primary Source Documents for 10th-Adult
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by William F. Russell
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Classical Acts and Facts History Cards: Ancient World
from Classical Conversations
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$20.00
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Conquest of Gaul
Penguin Classics
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from Penguin Classics
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Consolation of Philosophy
by Ancius Boethius
from Penguin Classics
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$16.00
Cultural Atlas for Young People: Africa
by Jocelyn Murray
3rd edition from Facts On File
African History Reference/Atlas for 4th-8th grade
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$35.00
Cultural Atlas for Young People: Ancient Egypt
by Geraldine Harris
3rd edition from Facts On File
Ancient History for 4th-8th grade
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$35.00 $24.00 (1 in stock)
Cultural Atlas for Young People: Ancient Greece
by Anton Powell
3rd edition from Facts On File
Atlas/Greek History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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$35.00
Cultural Atlas for Young People: Ancient Maya & Aztec Civilizations
by Marion Wood
3rd edition from Facts On File
Ancient History Reference/Atlas for 4th-8th grade
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3rd edition from Facts On File
Atlas/Roman History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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$35.00
Curious Historian 2A - Student Edition
by Aaron Larsen
1st edition from Classical Academic Press
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in CAP Curious Historian (Location: HISCUR-CUR)
$29.95
Curious Historian 2A - Teacher's Edition
by Aaron Larsen
1st edition from Classical Academic Press
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$34.95
Curious Historian 2B - Student Edition
by Aaron Larsen
1st edition from Classical Academic Press
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$29.95
Curious Historian 2B - Teacher's Edition
by Aaron Larsen
1st edition from Classical Academic Press
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$32.95
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from Yearling
Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
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$19.99
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by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
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Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
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Teacher's Guide for 3rd-6th grade
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from Albert Whitman & Company
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$16.99
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