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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109 Items found Print
Active Filters: 9th grade (Ages 14-15), New Books & Materials
Aeneid
by Virgil, translated by Robert Fagles
from Penguin Putnam
for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$19.00
Ancient China: To the Great Wall...and Beyond
by Judy Wilcox
from Zeezok Publishing
for Kindergarten-12th grade
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$13.95
Ancient Greece
by Michelle Miller
from TruthQuest History
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$24.95 $17.50 (1 in stock)
Ancient Rome
by Richard Maybury
2nd edition from Bluestocking Press
for 9th-Adult
in Uncle Eric books (Location: ECON-ERIC)
$11.95
Ancient Rome
by Michelle Miller
from TruthQuest History
History Curriculum for 5th-12th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
in TruthQuest History (Location: HISCUR-TQ)
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Antigone
Dover Thrift Editions
by Sophocles, translated by Sir George Young
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Ancient Tragedy for 9th-Adult
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Antigone
by Sophocles
from Hackett Publishing Company
Ancient Tragedy for 9th-Adult
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$10.50
Augustus Caesar's World
by Genevieve Foster
from Beautiful Feet Books
Non-fiction for 7th-10th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
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Ben-Hur
by Lew Wallace
from Dover Publications
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$7.00
Ben-Hur
Signet Classics
by Lew Wallace
from Signet Classics
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$9.95
Beric the Briton - MP3 CD
by Jim Hodges
from Jim Hodges Productions
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$14.00
Between the Forest and the Hills
Bethlehem Books Adventure Library
by Ann Lawrence
from Bethlehem Books
Humorous Fantasy for 7th-10th grade
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$9.50
Beyond the Desert Gate
Bethlehem Books Young Adult Bookshelf
by Mary Ray
2nd edition from Bethlehem Books
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$13.95
Bluestocking Guide - Ancient Rome
by Jane Williams
from Bluestocking Press
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$9.95
Bronze Bow
by Elizabeth George Speare
from Houghton Mifflin
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1962 Newbery Medal winner
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Bulfinch's Greek and Roman Mythology
by Thomas Bulfinch
from Dover Publications
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Burning of Rome
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
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Cat of Bubastes
by G. A. Henty
from Dover Publications
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$11.95
Chang Cheng
from Z-Man Games
Historical Strategy Game for Ages 10 and Up
$29.00
Codes of Hammurabi and Moses
by W. W. Davies
from Book Jungle
Primary Source Document for 7th-Adult
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$20.00
Darius, Artaxerxes, and Ahasuerus in the Bible
by James B. Jordan
from Athanasius Press
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$8.95
Eagle of the Ninth
by Rosemary Sutcliff
Reprint from Square Fish Publishing
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
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Eagle of the Ninth
by Rosemary Sutcliff, illustrated by C. Walter Hodges
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
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Early Church
by George Hodges
from Yesterday's Classics
for 8th-12th grade
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$13.95
Exploits of Xenophon
World Landmark #18
by Geoffrey Household, illustrated by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Purple House Press
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$14.99
Exploits of Xenophon
by Geoffrey Household
from Purple House Press
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Flames of Rome
by Paul L. Maier
2nd edition from Kregel Publications
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$15.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Flood of Noah
by Bodie Hodge, Laura Welch
from Master Books
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$15.99
For the Temple - MP3 CD
by Jim Hodges
from Jim Hodges Productions
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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$14.00
Forgotten Daughter
by Caroline Dale Snedeker
from Bethlehem Books
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1934 Newbery Honor Book
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$14.95
Gorgias
Penguin Classics
by Plato
from Penguin Classics
Ancient Philosophy for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$10.00
Gorgias
Oxford World's Classics
by Plato
from Oxford University
Ancient Philosophy for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
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Great Dialogues of Plato
Signet Classics
by Plato
from Signet Classics
Ancient Philosophy for 9th-Adult
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$6.95
Greek Way
by Edith Hamilton
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Greek History for 7th-10th grade
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$13.95 $9.00 (2 in stock)
Hannibal
Makers of History Series
by Jacob Abbott
from Yesterday's Classics
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He Went with Hannibal
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
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$15.99
Heroes of the City of Man
by Peter Leithart
from Canon Press
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$25.00
History of the Ancient World - Study & Teaching Guide
by Julia Kaziewicz
1st edition from Well-Trained Mind Press
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$27.95 $14.00 (1 in stock)
History of the Medieval World - Study & Teaching Guide
by Julia Kaziewicz
1st edition from Well-Trained Mind Press
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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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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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Iliad
Everyman's Library
by Homer (translation by Robert Fitzgerald)
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 9th-Adult
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$23.00
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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$6.95
Iliad of Homer
by Homer (translation by Richmond Lattimore)
from University of Chicago
Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$15.00
Imitation in Writing: Greek Heroes
Imitation in Writing Series
by Matt Whitling
2nd edition from Logos School
Writing Curriculum for 4th-9th grade
in Imitation in Writing (Location: WRI-LSIW)
$15.00
Imitation in Writing: Greek Heroes
Imitation in Writing Series
by Matt Whitling
3rd edition from Logos School
Writing Curriculum for 4th-9th grade
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$20.00
Imitation in Writing: Greek Heroes (spiral cover)
Imitation in Writing Series
by Matt Whitling
from Logos School
Writing Curriculum for 4th-9th grade
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$10.00
Imitation in Writing: Greek Myths
Imitation in Writing Series
by Matt Whitling
2nd edition from Logos School
Writing Curriculum for 4th-9th grade
in Imitation in Writing (Location: WRI-LSIW)
$15.00
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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$20.00
Lantern Bearers
by Rosemary Sutcliff
Reprint from Square Fish Publishing
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
1959 Carnegie Medal
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.99
Last Days of Socrates
Penguin Classics
by Plato
from Penguin Classics
Ancient Philosophy for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$14.00
Lives of Famous Romans
by Olivia Coolidge
from American Home-School Publishing
Roman History for 7th-12th grade
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$17.99
Lost Queen of Egypt
by Lucile Morrison, illustrated by Franz Geritz
from Purple House Press
Historical Fiction for 3rd-10th grade
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$28.00
Mark of the Horse Lord
by Rosemary Sutcliff
Reprint from Chicago Review Press
for 7th-9th grade
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$12.95
Medea and Other Plays
by Euripides
from Penguin Putnam
Drama for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$11.00
Meditations
by Marcus Aurelius
from Modern Library
Classic Literature for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$11.00
Mythology
by Edith Hamilton
from Little, Brown & Company
Mythology for 7th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$17.99
Mythology
by Edith Hamilton
from Black Dog & Leventhal
Mythology for 7th-Adult
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$29.99
Navigating History: Egypt - Timeline
from Western Conservatory of the Arts & Sciences
for 6th-12th grade
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$8.00
Navigating the Worldviews of Egypt
1st edition from Western Conservatory of the Arts & Sciences
for 6th-12th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$25.00
Odyssey
by Homer (translation by Robert Fitzgerald)
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 9th-Adult
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$16.00
Odyssey
Signet Classics
by Homer, prose translation by W.H.D. Rouse
from Signet Classics
Ancient Literature for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$5.95
Odyssey of Homer
by Homer (translation by Richmond Lattimore)
from HarperCollins
Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$18.99
Oedipus at Colonus
Dover Thrift Editions
by Sophocles, translated by Sir George Young
from Dover Publications
Ancient Tragedy for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$3.00 $2.00 (3 in stock)
Oedipus Cycle
by Sophocles (translation by Dudley Fitts & Robert Fitzgerald)
from Harcourt
Ancient Tragedy for 9th-12th grade
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$15.99 $9.50 (1 in stock)
Oedipus Rex
Dover Thrift Editions
by Sophocles, translated by Sir George Young
from Dover Publications
Ancient Tragedy for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$4.00
Old Western Culture Year 2 Volume 1
by Wesley Callihan
from Roman Roads Media
for 9th-Adult
in Old Western Culture (Location: LITCUR-OWC)
$56.00
Old Western Culture Year 2 Volume 2
by Wesley Callihan
from Roman Roads Media
for 9th-Adult
in Old Western Culture (Location: LITCUR-OWC)
$56.00
Old Western Culture Year 2 Volume 3
by Wesley Callihan
from Roman Roads Media
for 9th-Adult
in Old Western Culture (Location: LITCUR-OWC)
$56.00
Oresteia Trilogy
Dover Thrift Editions
by Aeschylus
from Dover Publications
Ancient Greek Tragedy for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$5.00
Pages of History Volume 1
by Bruce Etter, Alexia Detweiler
2nd edition from Veritas Press
for 6th-10th grade
in Veritas Press History (Location: HISCUR-VP)
$25.00
Pearl Maiden
by H. Rider Haggard
from Christian Liberty Press
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.75 $9.00 (2 in stock)
Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece
by Robert Morkot
from Penguin Putnam
Atlas/Greek History Reference for 9th-12th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$18.00 $11.00 (2 in stock)
Plutarch's Lives Volume I
by Plutarch, translated by John Dryden
from Modern Library
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$19.00
Plutarch's Lives Volume I
by Plutarch, translated by John Dryden
from Modern Library
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$20.00 $15.00 (1 in stock)
Prometheus Bound
Dover Thrift Editions
by Aeschylus
from Dover Publications
Ancient Greek Tragedy for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$2.50
Quintus
by R. Weerstand
2nd edition from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.95 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Quo Vadis
by Henryk Sienkiewicz, translated by W. S. Kuniczak
from Hippocrene Books
Historical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$24.95
Quo Vadis
by Henryk Sienkiewicz, translated by Jeremiah Curtin
from Dover Publications
Historical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$14.95
Republic
Dover Thrift Editions
by Plato
from Dover Publications
Ancient Philosophy/Utopian Literature for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$5.00
Republic
by Plato
from Oxford University
Classic Literature for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$9.95
Republic
by Plato (translation by Desmond Lee)
from Penguin Classics
Classic Literature for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$13.00
Roman Colosseum
Wonders of the World
by Elizabeth Mann
Reprint from Mikaya Press
for 4th-9th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$12.95
Roman Lives
by Plutarch, translated by Robin Waterfield
Reissue from Oxford University
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$14.95 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Romulus
Makers of History series
by Jacob Abbott
from Yesterday's Classics
History for 8th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.95 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Silver Branch
by Rosemary Sutcliff
from Square Fish Publishing
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.99
Sophocles I
The Complete Greek Tragedies
by Sophocles (translation/editing by David Grene & Richmond Lattimore)
3rd edition from University of Chicago
Ancient Tragedy for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$14.00 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Sophocles I (old)
The Complete Greek Tragedies
by Sophocles (translation/editing by David Grene & Richmond Lattimore)
2nd edition from University of Chicago
Ancient Tragedy for 9th-Adult
in Clearance: Literature (Location: ZCLE-LIT)
$9.00 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Stories From Livy
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
History for 6th-9th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$11.95
Stories From the Greek Tragedians
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
for 6th-9th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$11.95
Story of the Greeks
by H. A. Guerber
from Yesterday's Classics
for 7th-9th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$15.95
Story of the Greeks
by H. A. Guerber
from Living Book Press
for 7th-9th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$10.99
Story of the Last Days of Jerusalem
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
History for 7th-10th grade
in Ancient Israel (Location: HISW-ANIS)
$10.95 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Story of the Persian War
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
for 7th-10th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$12.95
Story of the Romans
by H. A. Guerber
from Yesterday's Classics
for 7th-9th grade
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$15.95
Story of the Romans
by H. A. Guerber
from Living Book Press
for 7th-9th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$10.99
Tale of Troy
Puffin Classics
by Roger Green
from Puffin Books
Greek Mythology for 6th-9th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Tales of Ancient Egypt
Puffin Classics
by Roger Green
from Puffin Books
Egyptian Mythology for 6th-9th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99
Tales of the Greek Heroes
Puffin Classics
by Roger Green
from Puffin Books
Greek Mythology for 6th-9th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
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