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
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Aeneid for Boys and Girls
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Americans Before Columbus
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Amethyst Ring
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Ancient China: To the Great Wall...and Beyond
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Ancient City
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Ancient Egypt
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Ancient Egypt: Life, Myth, and Art
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Ancient Greece
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Ancient Greek War and Weapons
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Ancient History - Intermediate Teacher Guide
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Ancient History - Timeline (Intermediate)
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Ancient History Portfolio & Timeline
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Ancient Israelites and Their Neighbors
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People of the Ancient World
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Ancient Rome
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History Curriculum for 5th-12th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
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Ancient Rome
Discoveries Series
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Monuments Past & Present
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The Ancient World
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Archaeology Book
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Archaeology Book - Study Guide & Workbook
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Archimedes and the Door of Science
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Augustus Caesar's World
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Authoress of the Odyssey
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Aztec and Maya Myths
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Battles of the Ancient World: 1285 BC ~ AD 451
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Before Columbus
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Before Columbus
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Beggar's King
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Signet Classics
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Beric the Briton - MP3 CD
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Between the Forest and the Hills
Bethlehem Books Adventure Library
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Black Ships Before Troy
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Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
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Bluestocking Guide - Ancient Rome
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Book of the Ancient Greeks
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Book of the Ancient World
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Book of the Ancient World
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Boy of the Pyramids
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Boys' and Girls' Herodotus
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Ancient History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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Bronze Bow
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1962 Newbery Medal winner
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Bulfinch's Greek and Roman Mythology
by Thomas Bulfinch
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Burning of Rome
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Captive
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Hans Christian Anderson Award
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Cat of Bubastes
by G. A. Henty
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Chang Cheng
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Historical Strategy Game for Ages 10 and Up
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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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Children's Plutarch: Tales of the Greeks
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Children's Plutarch: Tales of the Romans
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Cities Then and Now
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City
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Classical Acts and Facts History Cards: Ancient World
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Classical Companion
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Classical Kids
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Classical Rome
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Codes of Hammurabi and Moses
by W. W. Davies
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Primary Source Document for 7th-Adult
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$20.00
Coloring Book of the Olympics
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Csm from Bellerophon Books
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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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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 America
by Marion Wood
1st edition from Facts On File
Ancient History Reference/Atlas for 4th-8th grade
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
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 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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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: Ancient Rome
by Mike Corbishley
3rd edition from Facts On File
Atlas/Roman History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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$35.00
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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$15.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Curious Historian 2A - Student Edition
by Aaron Larsen
1st edition from Classical Academic Press
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$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
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Yearling
Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
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$19.99
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths - Audio CD
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Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
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Dateline: Troy
by Paul Fleischman
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$7.50 (1 in stock)
Dateline: Troy
by Paul Fleischman
New Updated Edition from Candlewick Press
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Discovery of New Worlds
Story of the World Series #2
by M. B. Synge
from Yesterday's Classics
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$13.95
DK Eyewitness: Ancient China
DK Eyewitness Series
by Arthur Cotterell
from DK Publishing
Chinese History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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$16.99
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)
DK Eyewitness: Ancient Egypt
DK Eyewitness Series
by George Hart
from DK Publishing
Egyptian History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$9.99
DK Eyewitness: Ancient Greece
DK Eyewitness Series
by Anne Pearson
from DK Publishing
Greek History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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$9.99
DK Eyewitness: Ancient Rome
DK Eyewitness Series
by Simon James
from DK Publishing
Roman History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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$9.99
Don't Know Much About Mummies
by Kenneth C. Davis, illustrated by S. D. Schindler
1st edition from HarperCollins
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in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
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