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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Accidental Voyage
Mr. Pipes Series #4
by Doug Bond
from P&R Publishing
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in History of Hymns (Location: XCH-HYMN)
$15.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Americans Before Columbus
by Elizabeth Baity, illustrated by C.B. Falls
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1952 Newbery Honor Book
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Amethyst Ring
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Ancient City
by Hazel Dodge, Peter Connolly
First Thus from Oxford University
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Ancient Egypt
by Karen Sullivan
First Edition from Brockhampton Press
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Ancient Egypt: Life, Myth, and Art
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Ancient Greece
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Ancient Greek Art
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Ancient Greek War and Weapons
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Ancient History Portfolio & Timeline
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Ancient Near East - Coloring Book
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Ancient Romans
People of the Ancient World
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Ancient Rome
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History Curriculum for 5th-12th grade
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Ancient Rome
Gifted Learning Series
by John H. Artman
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Ancient Rome
Discoveries Series
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Ancient World: The Chinese
The Ancient World
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Archimedes and the Door of Science
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Biography for 5th-8th grade
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Augustus Caesar's World
by Genevieve Foster
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Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
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Authoress of the Odyssey
by Samuel Butler, introduction by David Grene
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Aztec and Maya Myths
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Battles of the Ancient World: 1285 BC ~ AD 451
by Kelly Devries, et. al
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Before Columbus
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Before Columbus
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Beggar's King
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Black Ships Before Troy
by Rosemary Sutcliff
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Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
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Book of the Ancient Greeks - Student Guide
by Matthew Anderson
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Book of the Ancient Greeks - Teacher Guide
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Book of the Ancient Romans - Teacher Guide
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Book of the Ancient World
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Book of the Ancient World
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Book of the Ancient World - Teacher Guide
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Boys' and Girls' Herodotus
by John S. White
Facsimile Edition from Kessinger Publishing
Ancient History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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Bronze Bow
by Elizabeth George Speare
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Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
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Captive
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Children's Homer
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Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
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Children's Homer
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Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
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Children's Homer
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Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
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Cities Then and Now
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City
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Classical Companion
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Classical Kids
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Classical Rome
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Coloring Book of the Olympics
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Colosseum
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Coming of Civilization
by Trevor Cairns
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Constantine the Great
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Cry From Egypt
by Hope Auer
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$8.50 (2 in stock)
Cultural Atlas for Young People: Ancient America
by Marion Wood
1st edition from Facts On File
Ancient History Reference/Atlas for 4th-8th grade
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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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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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Cultural Atlas for Young People: Ancient Mesopotamia
by Erica C. D. Hunter
3rd edition from Facts On File
World History Reference/Atlas for 4th-8th grade
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$15.00 (1 in stock)
Cultural Atlas for Young People: The Bible
by John Rogerson
from Facts On File
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Cultural Atlas of Ancient Egypt
by Geraldine Harris
Revised Edition from Facts On File
Ancient History for 4th-8th grade
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Cultural Atlas of Ancient Greece
by Anton Powell
Revised Edition from Facts On File
Atlas/Greek History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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$15.00 (1 in stock)
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths - Audio CD
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Yearling
Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
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Dateline: Troy
by Paul Fleischman
from Candlewick Press
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Dateline: Troy
by Paul Fleischman
New Updated Edition from Candlewick Press
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Ancient Egypt
DK Eyewitness Series
by George Hart
from DK Publishing
Egyptian History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Don't Know Much About Mummies
by Kenneth C. Davis, illustrated by S. D. Schindler
1st edition from HarperCollins
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Everyday Life in Ancient Egypt
by Neil Morris
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Fall of the Roman Empire
Opposing Viewpoints Digests
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Famous Men of Greece
by John Haaren & A. B. Poland
1998 printing from Greenleaf Press
Greek History for 4th-9th grade
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$7.50 (4 in stock)
Famous Men of Greece Timeline
by Robert Shearer & Trina Dofflemeyer
from Greenleaf Press
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Famous Men of Rome
by John Haaren & A. B. Poland
1st edition from Greenleaf Press
Roman History Reference for 4th-8th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$7.50 (6 in stock)
Famous Men of Rome - Curriculum Bundle (old)
2nd edition from Memoria Press
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Famous Men of Rome - Greenleaf Guide
by Cynthia Shearer
from Greenleaf Press
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Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$5.00 (4 in stock)
Famous Men of Rome Timeline
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from Greenleaf Press
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
First Houses: Native American Homes and Sacred Structures
by Jean Guard Monroe, Ray A. Williamson, illustrated by Susan Johnston Carlson
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Forgotten Daughter
by Caroline Dale Snedeker
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1934 Newbery Honor Book
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From Distant Days
by Benjamin R. Foster
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$7.00 (1 in stock)
Fun with Hieroglyphs
by Catharine Roehrig
from Metropolitan Museum of Art
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$19.00 (2 in stock)
God King
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
by Joanne Williamson
from Bethlehem Books
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
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Golden Fleece
by Padraic Colum & Willy Pogany
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
1922 Newbery Honor Book
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Greek News
The History News
by Anton Powell & Philip Steele
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$4.50 (3 in stock)
Greek Way
by Edith Hamilton
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Greek History for 7th-10th grade
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Greek World
by Peter Levi
1st edition from Dutton Adult
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Greenleaf Guide to Famous Men of Greece (old)
by Cynthia Shearer
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Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
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History of US Book 1
History of US Book 1
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
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$15.95 $11.00 (1 in stock)
Hostage Lands
by Doug Bond
from P&R Publishing
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
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Ides of April
Bethlehem Books Young Adult Bookshelf
by Mary Ray
from Bethlehem Books
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In the Days of the Pharaohs
by Milton Meltzer
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Inspirational Women
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Invaders
by Martin Windrow
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Life in the Time of Pericles and the Ancient Greeks
by Michael Poulton
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Lost Continent of Atlantis
by James Wyckoff, Illustrated by Robert Sargent
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
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$50.00 (1 in stock)
Make This Roman Fort
by Ian Ashman
Revised from E.D.C. Publishing
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
MFW Rome to Reformation - Synergy Group Guide
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$12.50 (1 in stock)
Motel of the Mysteries
by David Macaulay
from Houghton Mifflin
Humor for 4th-8th grade
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Mummy
by Ernest A. Wallis Budge
New edition from Senate
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Mysteries of Ancient Egypt
by Nancy E. Krulik
from Scholastic Inc.
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$2.00 (1 in stock)
Mystery of History Volume I (old)
by Linda Lacour Hobar
2nd edition from Bright Ideas Press
History Curriculum for 4th-8th grade
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$25.00 (1 in stock)
Mystic Egyptian Tomb: Dig & Play
from 4M Industrial Development Limited
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$25.00 (1 in stock)
North American Indian Burial Customs
by Dr. H. C. Yarrow
First Edition from Eagle's View Publishing
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Old Testament History - Greenleaf Guide
by Robert & Cynthia Shearer
from Greenleaf Press
Ancient History Reference for 2nd-8th grade
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$11.95 $8.00 (3 in stock)
On the Shores of the Great Sea
Story of the World Series #1
by M. B. Synge
from Yesterday's Classics
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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$13.95 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Pages of History Volume 1
by Bruce Etter, Alexia Detweiler
from Veritas Press
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$14.00 (1 in stock)
Pearl Maiden
by H. Rider Haggard
from Christian Liberty Press
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
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$16.75 $9.00 (2 in stock)
Professor and the Prophets DVD
from Moody Press
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Punic Wars 264-146 B.C.
by Nigel Bagnall
from Osprey Publishing
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$12.00 (2 in stock)
Puzzle of Ancient Man: Advanced Technology in Past Civilizations?
by Donald E. Chittick
2nd edition
for 7th-10th grade
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$2.00 (1 in stock)
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