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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221 Items found Print
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5,000-Year-Old Puzzle
by Claudia Logan, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
1st edition from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$21.99 $9.50 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Hercules - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
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Adventures of Ulysses - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
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Aesop's Fables
Puffin Classics
by Aesop
Reprint from Puffin Books
Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Kindergarten-4th grade
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AIO Imagination Station Book #02
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AIO Imagination Station Book #07
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AIO Imagination Station Book #16
by Marianne Hering, Paul McCusker
from Focus on the Family
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$5.99
Alexander the Great
by Andrew Langley
Reissue from Oxford University
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$6.99
Alexander the Great
by Demi
from Marshall Cavendish Education
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$19.99
Ancient China: To the Great Wall...and Beyond
by Judy Wilcox
from Zeezok Publishing
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$13.95
Ancient Civilizations: China
Ancient Civilizations
by Valerie Bodden
Reprint from Creative Paperbooks
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$6.50 (1 in stock)
Ancient Egypt- Greenleaf Guide
by Cynthia Shearer
from Greenleaf Press
Ancient Egypt History Curriculum for 2nd-7th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$7.50 $4.50 (2 in stock)
Ancient Egyptian Fashions - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Tom Tierney
from Dover Publications
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$4.99
Ancient Egyptians
History Opens Windows
by Jane Shuter
Revised and Updated from Heinemann-Raintree
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$4.00 (2 in stock)
Ancient Egyptians and their Neighbors
by Marian Broida
from Chicago Review Press
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient Greece
for 2nd-4th grade
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$4.50 (1 in stock)
Ancient Greece
by Robert Nicholson
from Scholastic Inc.
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$3.50 (1 in stock)
Ancient Greece
by Peter Connolly, text by Andrew Solway
from Oxford University
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in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient Greek Temple
by John Malam, Mark Bergin
for 3rd-7th grade
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient History Portfolio & Timeline
by Barbara Shukin
from Homeschool Journey
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in Timeline Resources (Location: HISRF-TIM)
$24.00 (2 in stock)
Ancient History-Based Writing Lessons - Set
by Lori Verstegen
6th edition from Institute for Excellence in Writing
for 3rd-6th grade
in IEW Theme-Based Writing Lessons (Location: WRI-IEWTBW)
$55.00
Ancient History-Based Writing Lessons - Student 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)
$35.00
Ancient History-Based Writing Lessons - Teacher Book
by Lori Verstegen
6th edition from Institute for Excellence in Writing
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$17.50 (1 in stock)
Ancient Rome Activity Book
by Mary J. Keller
from Edupress
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$2.00 (1 in stock)
Archaeologists Dig For Clues
Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science Stage 2
by Kate Duke
from HarperCollins
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$5.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Assyrians
by Elaine Landau
from Millbrook Press
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Athenians In the Classical Period
Life Long Ago
by Leonard Weisgard (pictures and text)
from Coward McCann
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$48.00 (1 in stock)
Aztecs & Incas
Sightseers Essential Travel Guides to the Past
by Camilla Reid
Har/Map from Kingfisher
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Black Ships Before Troy
by Rosemary Sutcliff & Alan Lee
from Frances Lincoln
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$22.99
Black Ships Before Troy - Comprehension Guide
by Adam Kuliszewski
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$19.00
Boy of the Pyramids
by Ruth Fosdick Jones
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$9.99
Buried Cities
by Jennie Hall
from Outlook
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
Children of the Fox
by Jill Paton Walsh, illustrated by Robin Eaton
First American Edition from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Children's Homer
by Padraic Colum & Willy Pogany
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
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Children's Homer
by Padraic Colum
from Simon and Schuster
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Children's Homer
by Padraic Colum
from Simon and Brown
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Cigars of the Pharaoh
Adventures of Tintin
by Herge
from Little, Brown & Company
Comic Book for 2nd-6th grade
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$13.99
Classical Acts and Facts History Cards: Ancient World
from Classical Conversations
for Kindergarten-8th grade
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$24.99
Cleopatra
by Diane Stanley & Peter Vennema
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Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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Cleopatra
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Coloring Book of Incas, Aztecs & Mayas
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Coloring Book of the Olympics
by E. Knill
Csm from Bellerophon Books
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$2.00 (2 in stock)
D'aulaire's Book of Greek Myths - Memoria Press Package
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in Memoria Press Classical Studies (Location: HISCUR-MP)
$62.90
D'Aulaires' Greek Myths - Student Guide
by Leigh & Cheryl Lowe
2nd edition from Memoria Press
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D'Aulaires' Greek Myths - Teacher Guide
by Leigh & Cheryl Lowe
2nd edition from Memoria Press
Teacher's Guide for 3rd-6th grade
in Memoria Press Classical Studies (Location: HISCUR-MP)
$19.90 $12.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness Workbooks: Ancient Egypt
from DK Publishing
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Egyptian Cinderella
by Shirley Climo & Ruth Heller
from HarperCollins
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$7.99
Emperors and Gladiators
All in a Day's Work
by Anita Ganeri
from Peter Bedrick Books
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Exodus
by Brian Wildsmith
from Eerdmans
Bible Stories for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$21.00
Eye Wonder: Pyramid
by Caroline Bingham
from DK Publishing
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in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Famous Figures of Ancient Times
by Cathy Diez-Luckie
First Edition from Figures in Motion
for 1st-4th grade
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$19.95 $14.00 (1 in stock)
Famous Men of Greece - Student Guide
by Leigh Lowe & Tanya Charlton
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 3rd-8th grade
in Memoria Press Classical Studies (Location: HISCUR-MP)
$19.90
Famous Men of Greece - Teacher Guide
by Leigh Lowe & Tanya Charlton
2nd edition from Memoria Press
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in Memoria Press Classical Studies (Location: HISCUR-MP)
$19.90
Famous Men of Greece Timeline
by Robert Shearer & Trina Dofflemeyer
from Greenleaf Press
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Famous Men of Rome - Student Guide
by Leigh & Cheryl Lowe
3rd edition from Memoria Press
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$19.90
Famous Men of Rome - Teacher Guide
by Leigh & Cheryl Lowe
3rd edition from Memoria Press
for 3rd-6th grade
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$19.90
Famous Men of Rome - Teacher Guide (old)
by Leigh & Cheryl Lowe
2nd edition from Memoria Press
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in Old Edition History & Geography (Location: OHIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Fashions from India - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Tom Tierney
from Dover Publications
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$4.99
Fast Forward Egyptian Mummies
by Henrietta McCall, illustrated by Dave Antram
from Franklin Watts
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in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
First Book of Ancient Rome
by Charles Alexander Robinson, Jr., Revised by Lorna Greenberg
Revised Edition from Franklin Watts
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
First Olympic Games
from Silver Burdett Press
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Galen: My Life in Imperial Rome
by Marissa Moss
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$8.00 (2 in stock)
Gilgamesh the King
by Ludmila Zeman
from Tundra Books (NY)
for 1st-4th grade
$8.95 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Gilgamesh Trilogy
by Ludmila Zeman
for 1st-4th grade
in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC)
Go On A Dig! - Kit
from Barnes & Noble
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in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Gods and Goddesses of Olympus
by Aliki
from HarperCollins
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$7.99
Gods of Ancient Egypt - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Bruce LaFontaine
from Dover Publications
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$3.99
Golden Fleece
by Padraic Colum & Willy Pogany
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
1922 Newbery Honor Book
$10.99 $6.00 (2 in stock)
Great Empires - CD-ROM
from Home School in the Woods
for 3rd-8th grade
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Great Pyramid
Wonders of the World
by Elizabeth Mann
Reprint from Mikaya Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$14.95
Great Wall of China
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Aladdin Paperbacks
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Greece
by Jane Pofahl
from Instructional Fair
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$3.50 (1 in stock)
Greek and Roman Fashions - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Tom Tierney
from Dover Publications
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$4.99
Greek Gods and Goddesses - Coloring Book
by John Green
from Dover Publications
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$5.99
Greek Life
by John Guy
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-7th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Greek Myths
by Marcia Williams
from Walker Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$8.99
Greenleaf Guide to Famous Men of Greece (old)
by Cynthia Shearer
from Greenleaf Press
for 3rd-8th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$9.95 $5.00 (3 in stock)
Guide to Egypt
by Michael March
from Highlights for Children
for 1st-6th grade
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$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)
Hannibal
by Jacob Abbott
from Canon Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.00
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 of the Sword - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Bruce LaFontaine
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in History of the World Coloring Books (Location: COL-HISW)
$4.99
History Pockets: Ancient Civilizations
by Jill Norris
from Evan-Moor Educational Publishers
for 1st-3rd grade
in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC)
$16.99
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 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, 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)
If You Were Me and Lived in... Egypt
A Child's Introduction to Cultures Around the World Volume 17
by Carole P. Roman
for 1st-3rd grade
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$10.99
In Search of Troy
by Giovanni Caselli
from Peter Bedrick Books
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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 (5 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)
Indian Life in Pre-Columbian North America - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by John Green & Stanley Appelbaum
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in History of America Coloring Books (Location: COL-HISA)
$4.99
Indiana Jones Explores Ancient Egypt
by John Malam
from Arcade Publishing
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Invaders
by Martin Windrow
from ARCO
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in Military & Weapon History (Location: HISV-MILIT)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Irenaeus of Lyons
Heroes of the Faith
by Dr. Sinclair Ferguson
from Banner of Truth Trust
for 3rd-6th grade
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$14.00
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)
King Tut - Coloring Book
by Patricia J. Wynne
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-4th grade
in History of the World Coloring Books (Location: COL-HISW)
$3.99
Kingfisher Atlas of the Ancient World
from Kingfisher
for 2nd-6th grade
in Historical & Cultural Atlases (Location: HISRF-ATLAS)
$11.00 (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)
$14.95
Last Quest of Gilgamesh
by Ludmila Zeman
from Tundra Books (NY)
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$8.95 $6.00 (2 in stock)
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