Ancient Greece

Herodotus and the Road to History

Author(s): 
Jeanne Bendick
This is a brief, engaging and heavily illustrated biography of the world's first historian. Herodotus lived in the Greek city of Halicarnassus in the Persian empire during the 5th century BC. His situation and personality put him an ideal place to tell the fascinating stories of the Persian Wars (think Marathon, Thermopylae and Salamis) and to travel extensively and collect stories from all over. His original writings are a fascinating read for upper high school or college. This is unique in that it shares the basic history of his own life, told in first person narrative.

Stories from Herodotus

Book cover: Stories from Herodotus
Author(s): 
Glanville Downey
Herodotus
Illustrator(s): 
Enrico Arno

This young people's version of some of the most famous stories from Herodotus focuses primarily on the Persian Wars – most notably the battles of Marathon, Thermopylae and Salamis. This is a very accessible volume for young people (and makes a great read-aloud) collecting many of the most interesting stories from Herodotus and presenting them in a suitable format for children (some of the content in the unabridged Herodotus have mature themes).

Greenleaf Guide to Famous Men of Greece

Book cover: Greenleaf Guide to Famous Men of Greece
Author(s): 
Cynthia Shearer
The Guide to Famous Men of Greece 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 life 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".

Famous Men of Greece

Book cover: Famous Men of Greece
Author(s): 
John H. Haaren
A.B. Poland
Memoria Press (editor)

Like Famous Men of Rome, Famous Men of Greece introduces ancient history in the manner of Plutarch, by means of thirty-one short (4-5 page) biographies of the great men of Ancient Greece. It begins back at the point where history merges with legend, and ends with the fall of Greece to Rome in 146 B.C.

The Genealogy of Greek Mythology

Book cover: 'The Genealogy of Greek Mythology'
Author(s): 
Vanessa James
"An Illustrated Family Tree of Greek Myth from the First Gods to the Founders of Rome" This unique fold-out book helps readers make connections between various classical stories from sources such as: Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles by organizing them into a "family tree". One side of the chart depicts the "gods" and the other side shows their mortal offspring. The interconnecting red lines between sides help you easily trace the connections and the book can easily be flipped from side to side when a small portion is unfolded.

The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus

Book cover: 'The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus'
Author(s): 
Aliki

This 48-page picture book is designed to introduce early-elementary-aged children to the myths of Ancient Greece through text and pictures. We have several books in our family library by Aliki, and I was prepared to enjoy this one just as much. However, I was disappointed in both the artwork and the presentation of the myths.

The Librarian Who Measured the Earth

Book cover: 'The Librarian Who Measured the Earth'
Author(s): 
Kathryn Lasky

This is a fascinating story, told for children and fully illustrated (beautiful full color pictures with interesting and at times humorous details) of the Greek Scientists, Mathematician and Astronomer – Eratosthenes. (Don't worry – the author does help you to pronounce the name). Eratosthenes was born in the 3rd century B.C. in the country we now call Libya to Greek parents. There he was educated in the classical Greel tradition and developed a keen interest in the world around him. As a young man he was sent to Athens to study where he became known as a scholar and historian.

History Links: Unit Six – Ancient Greece

Author(s): 
Jennifer Alles
Barbara Little
Kim Staggenborg
Unit Studies, or integrated curriculum, present a wonderful opportunity to study one topic in depth while taking side-trips to study related topics. The History Links units have been prepared to help Catholic families study a broad range of subjects, over all grade levels, organized by historical time period, from a Catholic point of view. That doesn't sound too easy to do, but the authors have made it so.

Archimedes and the Door of Science

Book cover: Archimedes and the Door of Science
Author(s): 
Jeanne Bendick

Archimedes, the reknowned ancient Greek Scientist and Mathematician, had an enormous impact on all science and math since his time. This is his story, simply and even humorously told. The reader is introduced to many important concepts discovered and used by Archimedes including the lever, the pulley and his famous discoveries involving water displacement. (Numerous black and white drawings aid immensely in understanding these concepts).

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