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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24 Exciting Plays for Ancient History Classes
by Dean R. Bowman
from Walch Publishing
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in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC)
Accidental Voyage
Mr. Pipes Series #4
by Doug Bond
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Adventures in Ancient Greece
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Alexander the Great
by Robert Green
from Grolier Publishing
Biography for 4th-6th grade
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Alexander the Great
Sterling Point Books
by John Gunther
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Historical Biography for 5th-9th grade
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Alexander the Great
by Jacob Abbott
from Canon Press
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Alexander the Great: His Armies and Campaigns 334-323 BC
by John Warry, Nick Sekunda
from Osprey Publishing
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Ancient Civilizations: China
Ancient Civilizations
by Valerie Bodden
Reprint from Creative Paperbooks
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Ancient Egypt Activity Book
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient Egypt and Her Neighbors
by Lorene Lambert
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Ancient Egypt: An Interactive History Adventure
You Choose: Historical Eras
by Heather Adamson
from Capstone Press
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Ancient Egyptian Art
by Susie Hodge
First Printing
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Ancient Egyptians
People of the Ancient World
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Ancient Greece Activity File
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient Greece!
by Avery Hart & Paul Mantell
from Williamson Publishing Company
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$8.00 (2 in stock)
Ancient Greek Art
Art in History
by Susie Hodge
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Ancient Greek Art
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Ancient Greek War and Weapons
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Ancient Maya
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Ancient Roman Art
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2nd edition from Heinemann Educational Books
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Ancient Rome Activity Book
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Ancient Science
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Archaeology for Kids
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Archimedes and the Door of Science
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Archimedes and the Door of Science
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Biography for 5th-8th grade
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Aztecs
Journey Into Civilization
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Book of the Ancient Greeks
by Dorothy Mills
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$20.10
Book of the Ancient Greeks - Student Guide
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Book of the Ancient Greeks - Teacher Guide
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Book of the Ancient Romans
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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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Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
1962 Newbery Medal winner
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Bury the Dead
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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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City
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Cleopatra
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Coloring Book of Cleopatra
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Coloring Book of the Olympics
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Coloring Book of the Trojan War: The Iliad Vol. 2
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Cry From Egypt
by Hope Auer
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D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
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Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
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D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths - Audio CD
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by Henry Winterfeld
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Humorous Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
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DK Eyewitness: Ancient Egypt
DK Eyewitness Series
by George Hart
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Egyptian History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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$9.99
Egyptian Adventures
by Olivia Coolidge, illustrated by Joseph Low
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Realistic fiction for 5th-8th grade
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Excavating the Past: Ancient Greece
by Christine Hatt
from Heinemann Educational Books
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Exploits of Xenophon
World Landmark #18
by Geoffrey Household, illustrated by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Purple House Press
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$14.99
Favorite Greek Myths
by Bob Blaisdell
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From Distant Days
by Benjamin R. Foster
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Gladiator
by Richard Watkins
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God King
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
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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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Great Pyramid
Wonders of the World
by Elizabeth Mann
Reprint from Mikaya Press
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Great Wall of China
by Leonard Everett Fisher
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Great Wonder
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Greece
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Greek Life
by John Guy
from Scholastic Inc.
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Greek Myths
by Olivia Coolidge, illustrated by Edouard Sandoz
from Houghton Mifflin
Greek Mythology for 4th-6th grade
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Greek News
The History News
by Anton Powell & Philip Steele
from Candlewick Press
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Greek News
The History News
by Anton Powell, Philip Steele
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Greeks
by Roy Burrell
from Oxford University
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Guide to Egypt
by Michael March
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Hands-On Culture of Ancient Greece and Rome
by Kate OHalloran
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Hannibal
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Herod the Great
by Robert Green
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Biography for 4th-6th grade
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Herodotus and the Road to History
by Jeanne Bendick
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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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History Pockets: Ancient Rome
by Sandi Johnson, Joy Evans, Marilyn Evans
from Evan-Moor Educational Publishers
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Hittite Warrior
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
by Joanne Williamson
from Bethlehem Books
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$14.95
Holy Land
The Ancient World
by Peter Connolly
from Oxford University
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Hostage Lands
by Doug Bond
from P&R Publishing
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How Would You Survive As An Ancient Roman?
by Anita Ganeri, David Salariya
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In Search of Troy
by Gian Paolo Ceserani, Piero Ventura
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Indus Valley
by Naida Kirkpatrick
from Heinemann Educational Books
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Into the Mummy's Tomb
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$4.00 (2 in stock)
Julius Caesar
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Life in a Greek Trading Port
Picture the Past
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Life in Ancient Athens
by Jane Shuter
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Life in Ancient China
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Life in Ancient Mesopotamia
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Lost City
by Ted Lewin
Reprint from Puffin Books
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Lost Wreck of the Isis
A Time Quest Book
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Make it Work! Ancient Egypt
Make It Work!
by Andrew Haslam & Alexandra Parsons
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Make it Work! Ancient Egypt
Make It Work!
by Andrew Haslam & Alexandra Parsons
from Two-Can Publishing
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$7.95
Make it Work! Roman Empire
by Andrew Haslam
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Make This Model Greek Temple
by Iain Ashman
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Make this Roman Fort
by Iain Ashman
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Make This Roman Fort
by Ian Ashman
Revised from E.D.C. Publishing
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Masada
by Gloria D. Miklowitz
from Eerdmans
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Maya
by Sheri Bell-Rehwoldt
2nd edition from Nomad Press
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