Ancient Rome

Adventures of Saint Paul

Author(s): 
Oldrich Selucky
Translator(s): 
Marianne Lorraine Trouve, FSP
Illustrator(s): 
Zdenka Krejcova
In this house, all I have to do is leave out a book with a bright, colorful, intriguing cover like Adventures of Saint Paul and someone will ask, "Hey, Mom, can I read this book?" For the emerging reader, who has a few words under his or her belt, Adventures of Saint Paul relates the fascinating story of St. Paul on a simple level without the dumbed down language of the early reader. Meeting children where they are, the story opens with St. Paul as a young boy, who would rather ask the Rabbi questions than make tents with his father.

The Laviniad

Book cover: 'The Laviniad'
Author(s): 
Claudio Salvucci
The Laviniad is a truly unique work; the story is unique and the book itself is unique.

First the story: The author successfully writes in the style of the ancient epic in modern English, picking up the thread of the story of the Aeneid. The Laviniad takes up the tale of the Trojan settlement of Latium following the death of Aeneas. His son, Ascanius, assumes the leadership and almost immediatley must deal with the threat of Italians still hostile to the Trojan presence.

Famous Men of Rome

Book cover: 'Famous Men of Rome'
Author(s): 
John Haaren
A.B. Poland
Our first year of homeschooling we used a dry textbook for American history. Well, we didn't really use it - we put it off as much as possible and the year passed with only the first few chapters read.

Our second year of homeschooling, we discovered Greenleaf's Famous Men series (through enrolling in the Kolbe Academy Home Study program). What a difference! It was our first exposure to literature-based history study, and the idea of studying time periods through "real books" was a formative one in our homeschool.

Greenleaf Guide to Famous Men of Rome

Book cover: 'Greenleaf Guide to Famous Men of Rome'
Author(s): 
Cynthia Shearer
The Greenleaf Guide to Famous Men of Rome is an optional supplement for the book. It includes, for each lesson, a vocabulary list and several discussion questions designed to bring out the key points of each biography through a Christian (biblical) perspective. The discussion questions are excellent narration starters and really do help bring out the theme that "individual people and their actions have a significant effect on history".

Galen and the Gateway to Medicine

Book cover: 'Galen and the Gateway to Medicine'
Author(s): 
Jeanne Bendick
Jeanne Bendick's second title in Bethlehem Books' "Living History" series (after Archimedes and the Door of Science) brings to life the 2nd century (A.D.) Roman doctor whose work in learning to understand the human body became the standard authority on human physiology for over a thousand years. Although many of his theories were corrected through advancements in science since the middle ages, his story is interesting both for its own sake and for the light is sheds on Roman history and culture and the Hippocratic tradition of medicine.

Beyond the Desert Gate

Book cover: 'Beyond the Desert Gate'
Author(s): 
Mary Ray
Set in Palestine in the days leading up to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., this is a beautiful and powerful story of a Greek family living in the city of Philadelphia. On one of his business journeys, their father, who is a merchant/businessman, rescues a man whom Roman soldiers had left in the desert to die. The merchant's three sons have diverse reactions to this stranger who becomes part of the household, but when the Father is killed by bandits on a later journey, it seems that this stranger without a memory may have a providential role in their future.

City: A Story of Roman Planning and Construction

Author(s): 
David Macaulay
Artist, author and scientist David Macaulay presents a fascinating account of the founding, building and development of a fictional Ancient Roman city. Don't be thrown off by the "fictional" part. We don't know this many details of any particular Roman city, so the author has gathered facts and details from various cities and formed them into one complete story. They are carefully researched and accurately portrayed in detailed black and white drawings.

Augustus Caesar's World

Author(s): 
Genevieve Foster
We've found "Augustus Caesar's World" by Genevieve Foster to be a wonderful resource. The book covers the period from 44 BC to 14 AD with events and ideas for that time, all over the world. I feel the stories really give my son a great sense of life during this period. The illustrations are outstanding line drawing of characters, maps and especially the time lines. Just wanted to share a great resource.

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