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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Adam and His Kin
by Ruth Beechick
from Mott Media
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
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Aeneid
by Virgil, translated by Robert Fagles
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Ancient China: To the Great Wall...and Beyond
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Ancient City
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Ancient Greece
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Ancient Near East - Coloring Book
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Ancient Rome
Discoveries Series
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Ancient Times
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Antigone
Dover Thrift Editions
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Antigone
by Sophocles
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Ancient Tragedy for 9th-Adult
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Augustus Caesar's World
by Genevieve Foster
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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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Beggar's King
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Behold Your Queen
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Between the Forest and the Hills
Bethlehem Books Adventure Library
by Ann Lawrence
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Humorous Fantasy for 7th-10th grade
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Beyond the Desert Gate
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Bluestocking Guide - Ancient Rome
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British Museum Visitor's Guide
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Bronze Bow
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1962 Newbery Medal winner
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Bulfinch's Greek and Roman Mythology
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by Thomas Bulfinch
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Burning of Rome
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Caesar's Gallic War
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Cat of Bubastes
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Classical Rome
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Cleopatra
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Codes of Hammurabi and Moses
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Colosseum
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Coming of Civilization
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Cry From Egypt
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Cyrus the Persian
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D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
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Greek Mythology for 4th-9th grade
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Darius, Artaxerxes, and Ahasuerus in the Bible
by James B. Jordan
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Dateline: Troy
by Paul Fleischman
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Dateline: Troy
by Paul Fleischman
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Days of Elijah
by John Noble
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Eagle of the Ninth
by Rosemary Sutcliff, illustrated by C. Walter Hodges
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Early Church
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Echoes of Egypt: Conjuring the Land of the Pharaohs
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Exploits of Xenophon
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Famous Men of Greece
by John Haaren & A. B. Poland
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Greek History for 4th-9th grade
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Famous Men of Greece - Memoria Press Package
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Famous Men of Rome - Greenleaf Guide
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Five Dialogues of Plato
by Plato, translated by G.M.A. Grube, revised by John M. Cooper
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Ancient Philosophy for 9th-Adult
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Flames of Rome
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Flood of Noah
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Forgotten Daughter
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1934 Newbery Honor Book
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Forgotten Daughter
by Caroline Dale Snedeker
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1934 Newbery Honor Book
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Genesis through Deuteronomy & Ancient Egypt (old)
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Gifts of the Jews
by Thomas Cahill
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Gorgias
Penguin Classics
by Plato
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Gorgias
Oxford World's Classics
by Plato
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Great Dialogues of Plato
Signet Classics
by Plato
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Greek Tragedies I
by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, edited by David Grene and Richmond Lattimore
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Greek Treasure
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Book Club from Doubleday & Company
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Greek Way
by Edith Hamilton
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Greek World
by Peter Levi
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Hannibal
Makers of History Series
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Hannibal
by Jacob Abbott
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He Went with Hannibal
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
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Heroes of the City of Man
by Peter Leithart
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History of the Ancient World - Study & Teaching Guide
by Julia Kaziewicz
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History of the Medieval World - Study & Teaching Guide
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History of US Book 1
History of US Book 1
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Hostage Lands
by Doug Bond
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Humanitas: Ancient Rome - Book 1 & 2
by Paul Stephenson and Valerie Long, volume editors
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Ides of April
Bethlehem Books Young Adult Bookshelf
by Mary Ray
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Iliad
Signet Classics
by Homer (translation by W.H.D. Rouse), Afterword by Adam Nicolson
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Ancient Literature for 9th-Adult
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$6.76
Iliad of Homer
by Homer (translation by Richmond Lattimore)
from University of Chicago
Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 9th-Adult
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Imitation in Writing: Greek Heroes
Imitation in Writing Series
by Matt Whitling
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Imitation in Writing: Greek Heroes
Imitation in Writing Series
by Matt Whitling
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$20.00
Imitation in Writing: Greek Myths
Imitation in Writing Series
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Imitation in Writing: Greek Myths
Imitation in Writing Series
by Matt Whitling
3rd edition from Logos School
Writing Curriculum for 4th-9th grade
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Inspirational Women
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Lantern Bearers
by Rosemary Sutcliff
Reprint from Square Fish Publishing
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
1959 Carnegie Medal
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$11.89
Last Days of Socrates
Penguin Classics
by Plato
from Penguin Classics
Ancient Philosophy for 9th-Adult
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$11.90
Lives of Famous Romans
by Olivia Coolidge
from American Home-School Publishing
Roman History for 7th-12th grade
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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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Lost Queen of Egypt
by Lucile Morrison, illustrated by Franz Geritz
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Lysis Goes to the Play
by Caroline Dale Snedeker
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Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
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Mark of the Horse Lord
by Rosemary Sutcliff
Reprint from Chicago Review Press
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Martyr of the Catacombs
by Anonymous Christian
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Medea and Other Plays
by Euripides
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Drama for 9th-Adult
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Meditations
by Marcus Aurelius
from Modern Library
Classic Literature for 9th-Adult
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Mummy
by Ernest A. Wallis Budge
New edition from Senate
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Mythology
by Edith Hamilton
from Little, Brown & Company
Mythology for 7th-Adult
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$19.54
Mythology
by Edith Hamilton
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Mythology for 7th-Adult
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Navigating History: Egypt - Timeline
from Western Conservatory of the Arts & Sciences
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Navigating the Worldviews of Egypt
1st edition from Western Conservatory of the Arts & Sciences
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North American Indian Burial Customs
by Dr. H. C. Yarrow
First Edition from Eagle's View Publishing
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Odyssey
by Homer (translation by Robert Fitzgerald)
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Odyssey
Signet Classics
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Ancient Literature for 9th-Adult
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Odyssey of Homer
by Homer (translation by Richmond Lattimore)
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Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 9th-Adult
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$16.14
Oedipus at Colonus
Dover Thrift Editions
by Sophocles, translated by Sir George Young
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Ancient Tragedy for 9th-Adult
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