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.
Did you find this review helpful?
160 Items found Print
Active Filters: 3rd grade (Ages 8-9), Used Books & Materials
AIO Imagination Station Book #16
by Marianne Hering, Paul McCusker
from Focus on the Family
for 1st-3rd grade
in Imagination Station (Location: SER-AIO)
$5.09 $2.80 (1 in stock)
Ancient Civilizations: China
Ancient Civilizations
by Valerie Bodden
Reprint from Creative Paperbooks
for 3rd-6th grade
in China (Location: HISMC-CHI)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Ancient Civilizations: Greeks!
by Carmella Van Vleet, illustrated by Tom Casteel
from Nomad Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Ancient Egyptians
History Opens Windows
by Jane Shuter
Revised and Updated from Heinemann-Raintree
for 1st-3rd grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Ancient Egyptians and their Neighbors
by Marian Broida
from Chicago Review Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient Greece
for 2nd-4th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Ancient Greece
by Robert Nicholson
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Ancient Greece
by Robert Nicholson
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Ancient Greek Temple
by John Malam, Mark Bergin
for 3rd-7th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient History Portfolio & Timeline
by Barbara Shukin
from Homeschool Journey
for 3rd-8th grade
in Timeline Resources (Location: HISRF-TIM)
$24.00 (2 in stock)
Ancient History-Based Writing Lessons - Teacher Book
by Lori Verstegen
6th edition from Institute for Excellence in Writing
for 3rd-6th grade
in IEW Theme-Based Writing Lessons (Location: WRI-IEWTBW)
$14.50 (1 in stock)
Ancient Rome
Then and There Series
by N. Sherwin-White
1975 Printing from Longman
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Archaeologists Dig For Clues
Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science Stage 2
by Kate Duke
from HarperCollins
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Archaeology (Location: HISRF-ARCH)
$5.99 $4.00 (3 in stock)
Assyrians
by Elaine Landau
from Millbrook Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Mesopotamia & Persia (Location: HISW-ANME)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Athenians In the Classical Period
Life Long Ago
by Leonard Weisgard (pictures and text)
from Coward McCann
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$48.00 (1 in stock)
Byzantine Empire
by Jennifer Fretland VanVoorst
from Compass Point Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
CD-ROM Fact Finders: Ancient Times
by Richard Tames, edited by Paul Harrison
from Zigzag
for 2nd-4th grade
in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Children's Homer
by Padraic Colum & Willy Pogany
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$9.34 $4.80 (3 in stock)
Classical Acts and Facts History Cards: Ancient World
from Classical Conversations
for Kindergarten-8th grade
in Classical Acts & Facts Cards (Location: HISCUR-CC)
$28.20 $17.50 (4 in stock)
Cleopatra
by Diane Stanley & Peter Vennema
from William Morrow & Company
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.79 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Coloring Book of Incas, Aztecs & Mayas
from Bellerophon Books
for 1st-5th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Coloring Book of the Olympics
by E. Knill
Csm from Bellerophon Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$2.00 (2 in stock)
D'Aulaires' Greek Myths - MP Student Guide
by Leigh & Cheryl Lowe
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Memoria Press Classical Studies (Location: HISCUR-MP)
$20.50 $13.00 (2 in stock)
DK Eye Wonder: Pyramid
by Caroline Bingham
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness Workbook: Ancient Rome
by Sue Nicholson
2nd edition from DK Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness Workbooks: Ancient Egypt
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness Workbooks: Ancient Greece
by Kate Scarborough
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Egypt in Spectacular Cross-Section
by Stewart Ross
for 2nd-5th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Emperors and Gladiators
All in a Day's Work
by Anita Ganeri
from Peter Bedrick Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Explore Greek Myths!
by Anita Yasuda, illustrated by Mike Crosier
from Nomad Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Famous Figures of Ancient Times
by Cathy Diez-Luckie
First Edition from Figures in Motion
for 1st-4th grade
in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC)
$21.95 $14.00 (2 in stock)
Famous Men of Rome - Teacher Guide
by Leigh & Cheryl Lowe
3rd edition from Memoria Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Memoria Press Classical Studies (Location: HISCUR-MP)
$20.50 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Famous Men of Rome - Teacher Guide (old)
by Leigh & Cheryl Lowe
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Old Edition History & Geography (Location: OHIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Fast Forward Egyptian Mummies
by Henrietta McCall, illustrated by Dave Antram
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
First Olympic Games
from Silver Burdett Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Galen: My Life in Imperial Rome
by Marissa Moss
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Genesis through Deuteronomy & Ancient Egypt (old)
by Sonya Shafer
3rd edition from Simply Charlotte Mason
for 1st-12th grade
in Old Edition History & Geography (Location: OHIS)
$12.50 (1 in stock)
Gilgamesh the King
by Ludmila Zeman
from Tundra Books (NY)
for 1st-4th grade
$8.49 $5.20 (1 in stock)
Golden Fleece
by Padraic Colum & Willy Pogany
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
1922 Newbery Honor Book
$9.34 $4.80 (2 in stock)
Great Wall of China
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-5th grade
in China (Location: HISMC-CHI)
$7.99 $5.00 (3 in stock)
Great Wonder
by Annabelle Howard
from Soundprints
Picture Books for 2nd-5th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Greek and Roman Eras
Journey Through History
by Carme Peris, Glòria & Oriol Vergés
from Barron's
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Greek Life
by John Guy
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-7th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Growing Up in Ancient Egypt
by Rosalie David
from Troll Publishing
for 1st-3rd grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
Growing Up in Ancient Rome
by Mike Corbishley
from Troll Publishing
for 1st-3rd grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
Guide to Egypt
by Michael March
from Highlights for Children
for 1st-6th grade
in Near & Middle East (Location: HISMC-NME)
$1.50 (2 in stock)
Hands-On History Romans
by Fiona Macdonald
from QEB Publishing
for 2nd-5th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Hands-On History: Romans
by Fiona Macdonald
from Crabtree Publishing
for 1st-4th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Hannibal: A Wicked History
by Philip Brooks
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
Hero Schliemann: The Dreamer Who Dug for Troy
by Laura Amy Schlitz, illustrated by Robert Byrd
from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Hieroglyphs
by Joyce Milton, illustrated by Charles Micucci
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
History Beneath Your Feet: Ancient Rome
by Sean Sheehan
from Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
History Pockets: Ancient Civilizations
by Jill Norris
from Evan-Moor Educational Publishers
for 1st-3rd grade
in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
How People Lived in Ancient Egypt
How People Lived
by Jane Bingham
from PowerKids Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
How the Bible Came to Us
by Meryl Doney
from Lion Publishing
Biblical Reference for 3rd-6th grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
How to Be an Aztec Warrior
by Fiona MacDonald
from National Geographic
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
I Wonder Why Greeks Built Temples
by Fiona Macdonald
from Kingfisher
for 1st-4th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
I, Tut
by Miriam Schlein, illustrated by Erik Hilgerdt
from Four Winds Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
In Search of Troy
by Giovanni Caselli
from Peter Bedrick Books
for 3rd-5th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Incans, Aztecs, Mayans
by John Holzmann
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$4.50 (6 in stock)
Incans, Aztecs, Mayans
by John Holzmann
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Incredible Journey to the Mummy's Tomb
by Nicholas Harris, illustrated by Nicki Palin
from McGraw-Hill
for 3rd-6th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Indiana Jones Explores Ancient Egypt
by John Malam
from Arcade Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Invaders
by Martin Windrow
from ARCO
for 3rd-8th grade
in Military & Weapon History (Location: HISV-MILIT)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Joshua in the Promised Land
by Miriam Chaikin
from Clarion Books
for Preschool-4th grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Journey to the Past: Ancient Egypt
by Romano Solbiati
from Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Kings of Rome - Cycle 1
Copper Lodge Library
by Stephanie B. Meter (editor)
from Classic Conversations Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Classical Conversations (Location: CUR-CC)
$17.80 $11.00 (1 in stock)
Learn About Pyramids
by Peter Mellett
from Hermes House
for 1st-3rd grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Learn About Pyramids
by Peter Mellett
from My Father's World
for 2nd-5th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$8.00 (4 in stock)
Librarian Who Measured the Earth
by Kathryn Lasky
from Little, Brown & Company
Biography for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.99 $9.60 (2 in stock)
Life During the Great Civilizations: The Inca
by Charles & Linda George
from Blackbirch Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Life in a Greek Trading Port
Picture the Past
by Jane Shuter
from Heinemann Educational Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$7.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Life in Ancient China
by Paul Challen
from Crabtree Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in China (Location: HISMC-CHI)
$9.95 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Life in Ancient Egypt - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by John Green
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in History of the World Coloring Books (Location: COL-HISW)
$5.09 $2.40 (1 in stock)
Life in Ancient Japan
Peoples of the Ancient World
by Hazel Richardson
from Crabtree Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Japan (Location: HISMC-JAP)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Life in Ancient Mesopotamia
by Shilpa Mehta-Jones
from Crabtree Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Mesopotamia & Persia (Location: HISW-ANME)
$9.95 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Life in Ancient Rome
by William Crouch
from Crescent Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Life in Ancient Rome
by Joseph Farrell
from Running Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Little Miriam of Galilee
by Edith Martin
from Christian Light Education
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Living Tomb
by Jacqueline Morley, Nick Hewetson
for 3rd-7th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$9.50 (1 in stock)
Look Around a Roman Amphitheater
from Arcturus
for 3rd-5th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Magic Tree House #03 - Research Guide
by Mary Pope Osborne, Sal Murdocca
from Random House
for 3rd-5th grade
in Magic Tree House (Location: SER-MTH)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Magic Tree House #16 - Research Guide / Fact Tracker
by Mary Pope Osborne
from Random House
for 2nd-5th grade
in Magic Tree House (Location: SER-MTH)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Magic Tree House #44 (Merlin Mission #16) - Fact Tracker
Magic Tree House
by Mary Pope Osborne & Natalie Pope Boyce
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Magic Tree House (Location: SER-MTH)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Make it Work! Ancient Egypt
Make It Work!
by Andrew Haslam & Alexandra Parsons
from Two-Can Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$8.95 $4.00 (4 in stock)
Make it Work! Roman Empire
by Andrew Haslam
from Two-Can Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$8.95 $5.50 (3 in stock)
Make This Model Greek Temple
by Iain Ashman
for 3rd-6th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Maya
by Jerome Martin
from Usborne
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Mesopotamia
by Jane Shuter
from Heinemann-Raintree
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Mesopotamia & Persia (Location: HISW-ANME)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Modern Rhymes About Ancient Times: Ancient Egypt
by Susan Altman & Susan Lechner
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Modern Rhymes: Ancient Greece
by Susan Altman & Susan Lechner
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Modern Rhymes: Ancient Greece
Modern Rhymes About Ancient Times
by Susan Altman, Susan Lechner
from Children's Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Modern Rhymes: Ancient Rome
by Susan Altman & Susan Lechner
from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Ms. Frizzle's Adventures: Ancient Egypt
by Joanna Cole, Bruce Degen (Illustrator)
from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Ms. Frizzle's Adventures: Ancient Egypt
by Joanna Cole, Bruce Degen (Illustrator)
from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Ms. Frizzle's Adventures: Imperial China
by Joanna Cole, illustrated by Bruce Degen
from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in China (Location: HISMC-CHI)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Mummies & Pyramids
Usborne Internet-Linked
by Sam Taplin
from Usborne
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Mummies & Pyramids
by Sam Taplin
from Scholastic Reference
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Mummies Made in Egypt
by Aliki
from HarperCollins
Non-fiction for 2nd-6th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$9.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Mummies, Pyramids, and Pharaohs
by Gail Gibbons
from Little, Brown & Company
for 2nd-6th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
12