Classical Greco-Roman Literature
Let’s read really old dead white men: Greco-Roman Literature!
When studying Renaissance Literature in college, I had no trouble with the biblical allusions. However, most references to the Greco-Roman gods went over my head. Beyond the names of the planets and their Greek equivalents, I knew little of the many Greek gods who traipsed through Renaissance poetry.
To remedy this educational deficiency, I bought copies of Robert Graves' Greek myths but found these tomes dull. I did read the Odyssey on my own one summer.
While homeschooling, my kids fell in love with D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths and acquired a knowledge of the Greek gods that surpassed mine. Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson books gained popularity when my kids were young, and my son enjoyed reading them.
Over the years, I’ve collected used Greek and Roman works to give myself the education I never had. In February, I finally started Hillsdale College’s “Great Books 101: Ancient to Medieval” online course (free) to motivate me to read some of the great ancient works. I started reading The Iliad!
Have you felt the need to read the classics or encourage your child to? Here's what my family library has to offer in this genre. I have included some juvenile biographies and historical fiction as well. Reading simpler forms of the great stories will prepare you to tackle the original classics.
Greco-Roman Myths
Children’s
The Golden Fleece: And the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles by Padraic Colum
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths
Adult Level
Mythology: The Voyage of the Hero
This volume contains myths from all over the world.
Bulfinch's Greek and Roman Mythology: The Age of Fable and a second copy, Age of Fable
Classical Literature
The Norton Book of Classical Literature
A college text.
Greece Literature
Juvenile Books
The Trojan War by Olivia Coolidge
The Children's Homer: The Adventures of Odysseus and the Tale of Troy by Padraic Colum
The Iliad and the Odyssey: The Heroic Story of the Trojan War and the Fabulous Adventures of Odysseus
This picture book contains a large amount of text.
Historical Fiction
Theras and His Town
An Athenian boy, accustomed to that city’s freedoms, is taken by his uncle to live a harsh life in Sparta.
Biographies
Famous Men of Greece
A Greenleaf curriculum based on biographies
Archimedes and the Door of Science
The Librarian Who Measured the Earth
A picture book.
Adult Level
Complete Greek Tragedies: Aeschylus I
On Poetry and Style by Aristotle
On Rhetoric: A Theory of Civic Discourse by Aristotle
The Iliad by Homer
The Odyssey by Homer
The Rise and Fall of Athens Nine Greek Lives by Plutarch
Roman Lives: A Selection of Eight Roman Lives by Plutarch
Oedipus Rex and The Oedipus Cycle: Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone by Sophocles
The Expedition of Cyrus by Xenophon
Roman Literature
Juvenile Books
Caesar's Gallic War by Olivia Coolidge
Biographies
Famous Men of Rome
A Greenleaf curriculum based on biographies.
Galen and the Gateway to Medicine
Augustine, the Farmers Boy of Tagaste
Historical Fiction
Detectives in Togas
Mystery of the Roman Ransom
We immensely enjoyed these two juvenile mystery novels set in ancient Rome.
White Isle
A Christian Roman family travels from Rome through Gaul to their place of exile in Britain.
Hostage Lands
An excellent Christian historical novel for teens about life along Hadrian’s Wall by Douglas Bond, a Washington state novelist.
Quintus
This historical novel depicts the Christian persecution in Rome under Nero.
Adult Level
The Early History of Rome by Livy
The Aeneid by Virgil
Not simply dusty books from ancient times, these works address the universal human condition and are part of the foundation of Western Civilization, which is based on Athens (the Greco-Roman world) and Jerusalem (the Bible). People without a heritage are rootless and have no wings. For Western cultures to flourish, we must pass on our heritage to each generation. This includes knowing our literary heritage.