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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5,000-Year-Old Puzzle
by Claudia Logan, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
1st edition from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
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Adventures of Hercules - Coloring Book
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Aesop's Fables
Puffin Classics
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Alexander the Great
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Ancient China: To the Great Wall...and Beyond
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$13.95
Ancient Egypt- Greenleaf Guide
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Ancient Egypt History Curriculum for 2nd-7th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
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Ancient Egyptian Fashions - Coloring Book
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Ancient Greek Art
Art in History
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Ancient History-Based Writing Lessons - Set
by Lori Verstegen
6th edition from Institute for Excellence in Writing
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$55.00
Ancient History-Based Writing Lessons - Student Book
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$35.00
Ancient Israelites and Their Neighbors
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$18.95
Ancient Sicily
Monuments Past & Present
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Beautiful Stories of Life
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Before Columbus
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Black Ships Before Troy
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Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
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Black Ships Before Troy
by Rosemary Sutcliff
from Laurel-Leaf Books
Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
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Black Ships Before Troy - Comprehension Guide
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from Veritas Press
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Boy of the Pyramids
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Brave Cloelia
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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
by F. J. Gould
from Yesterday's Classics
Greek History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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$11.95
Cigars of the Pharaoh
Adventures of Tintin
by Herge
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City
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Classical Acts and Facts History Cards: Ancient World
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Cleopatra
by Diane Stanley & Peter Vennema
from William Morrow & Company
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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Coloring Book of Queen Nefertiti
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from Bellerophon Books
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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 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
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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 Rome
by Mike Corbishley
3rd edition from Facts On File
Atlas/Roman History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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$35.00
Curious Historian 2A - Student Edition
by Aaron Larsen
1st edition from Classical Academic Press
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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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D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths
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Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
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D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths - Audio CD
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
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Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
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D'Aulaires' Greek Myths - Student Guide
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Detectives in Togas
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Humorous Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
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Discovery of New Worlds
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DK Eyewitness: Ancient China
DK Eyewitness Series
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DK Eyewitness: Ancient Egypt
DK Eyewitness Series
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Egyptian History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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DK Eyewitness: Ancient Greece
DK Eyewitness Series
by Anne Pearson
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Greek History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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DK Eyewitness: Ancient Rome
DK Eyewitness Series
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from DK Publishing
Roman History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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Excavating the Past: Ancient Greece
by Christine Hatt
from Heinemann Educational Books
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Exodus
by Brian Wildsmith
from Eerdmans
Bible Stories for Kindergarten-4th grade
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$21.00
Explore the Classical World
A Child's Geography Volume III
by Terri Johnson
Revised from Master Books
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$39.19
Famous Figures of Ancient Times
by Cathy Diez-Luckie
First Edition from Figures in Motion
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Famous Men of Greece
by John Haaren, A. B. Poland & Leigh Lowe
2nd edition from Memoria Press
Greek History for 4th-8th grade
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$19.45
Famous Men of Greece - Student Guide
by Leigh Lowe & Tanya Charlton
2nd edition from Memoria Press
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$19.90
Famous Men of Greece - Teacher Guide
by Leigh Lowe & Tanya Charlton
2nd edition from Memoria Press
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$19.90
Famous Men of Rome
by John Haaren, A. B. Poland & Leigh Lowe
2nd edition from Memoria Press
Roman History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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$19.45
Famous Men of Rome - Student Guide
by Leigh & Cheryl Lowe
3rd edition from Memoria Press
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Famous Men of Rome - Teacher Guide
by Leigh & Cheryl Lowe
3rd edition from Memoria Press
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$19.90
Fashions from India - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
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Gilgamesh the King
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Gladiator
by Richard Watkins
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Gods of Ancient Egypt - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
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Golden Bull
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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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Golden Goblet
by Eloise J. McGraw
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1962 Newbery Honor Book
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$8.99
Great Empires - CD-ROM
from Home School in the Woods
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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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Greek and Roman Fashions - Coloring Book
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Greek Gods and Goddesses - Coloring Book
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Greek Myths
by Olivia Coolidge, illustrated by Edouard Sandoz
from Houghton Mifflin
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Greek News
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Greenleaf Guide to Famous Men of Greece (old)
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from Greenleaf Press
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Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
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Hannibal
by Robert Green
from Grolier Publishing
Biography for 4th-6th grade
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$6.95
Heroes
by Charles Kingsley
from Yesterday's Classics
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Heroes
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History of the Sword - Coloring Book
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Imitation in Writing: Greek Heroes
Imitation in Writing Series
by Matt Whitling
2nd edition from Logos School
Writing Curriculum for 4th-9th grade
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$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
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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
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$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
Indian Life in Pre-Columbian North America - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
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Irenaeus of Lyons
Heroes of the Faith
by Dr. Sinclair Ferguson
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Julius Caesar
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King Tut - Coloring Book
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Last Quest of Gilgamesh
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Librarian Who Measured the Earth
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Life in a Greek Trading Port
Picture the Past
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Life in Ancient China
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Life in Ancient Egypt - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
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Life in Ancient Greece - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
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Life in Ancient Mesopotamia
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Life in Ancient Mexico - Coloring Book
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Dover Coloring Books
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Life in Celtic Times - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
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Literature Pockets: Greek & Roman Myths 4-6+
History Pockets
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Lost City
by Ted Lewin
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$8.99
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
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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Mara, Daughter of the Nile
by Eloise J. McGraw
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Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
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Miranda the Great
by Eleanor Estes
1-Simul from Sandpiper Books
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