What are the 10 most important things to read for ancients?

[AuntieM]

I would love to see your lists! I am planning now, trying to prepare for doing the high school years a la the WTM/WEM approach. Wish I could say I had the time to preread all the options myself, but with three schooling plus a 3-year-old-on the loose.... I will appreciate your help!

(Thanks, Nan! We'll see what happens!)

[Maverick]

Well, after reading the article, "Joe Knows Latin" in the Memoria Press catalog today, I'd have to say The Aenid. I haven't read it yet but it is on my list. Homer--Iliad and/or Odyssey. And some Plutarch. A drama such as Oedipus Rex. Histories by Herodotus or Thucydides. Some Plato and/or Aristotle. I'm interested to read others' opinions. We can't do all or even most of the recommendations from TWTM while in high school, so I am narrowing down our choices to only a half-dozen or so per year.

[Chris in VA]

I've posted our lists before, so I'm being redundant, but maybe this will help.
I'd add in The Aeneid (I read the article, too!). I'd also cut Suetonius and add in a little more Plato and Aristotle.
I'll just go ahead and give you the list for Medieval and 20th Cent, too.

Grade 9: 2005-2006

Genesis
Exodus
Gilgamesh
Hittite Warrior, Joanne Williamson
Cat of Bubastes, G.A. Henty
Greek Myths, D’Aulaire
The Odyssey, Homer
The Iliad, Homer
The Orestia, Aeschylus
Theban Trilogy, Sophocles
The Histories, Herodotus
12 Caesars, Suetonious
Greek and Roman Lives, Plutarch
Ben Hur, Lew Wallace
Quo Vadis, Henryk Sienkiewicz
Know What You Believe, Paul Little
Know Who You Believe, Paul Little
It Couldn’t Just Happen, L. Richards

Grade 10: 2006-2007

Martyr of the Catacombs
Church History, Eusebius
Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Bede+
Confessions, Augustine
Song of Roland
Beowulf
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Once and Future King, T.H. White
Canterbury Tales (Selections), Chaucer
In Freedom’s Cause, G.A. Henty
The NineTailors, Dorothy Sayers
Inferno, Dante
Parcel of Patterns, Jill Paten Walsh
World Religions 101, Bruce Bikel

Grade 11: 2007-2008 (we used Sonlight for a list, but added in Scarlet) These are roughly in chronological order to coincide with our history.

The Scarlet Letter
Heart of Darkness
Metamorphosis
The Jungle
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Great Gatsby
Cheaper By the Dozen
Grapes of Wrath
China’s Long March: 6000 Miles of Danger
Parallel Journeys
The Hiding Place
Alas, Babylon
The Old Man and the Sea
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Cry, the Beloved Country, Paton
Children of the River
Fallen Angels
Red Scarf Girl

[Nan in Mass]

bump : )

[Janice in NJ]

I'll probably change my mind as soon as I hit "Post," but here's the list that I'm thinking of right NOW!

The Bible (No fair counting it as one - I know - but it is relevant to the rest of Western Lit. :001_smile:)
Mythology - Edith Hamilton
Epic of Gilgamesh
The Iliad
The Odyssey
Oedipus the King
Agamemnon
The Republic
The Aeneid
Plutarch

There are ten. I want to add more. Of course. But there are ten solid works! A student with a strong understanding of mythology - not just the what, but the why - could easily substitute Herodotus or Thucydides... which would be great to include... but you did say 10! :D

How's that?
Janice in NJ

Enjoy your little people
Enjoy your journey

[Linda in NM]

Wasn't that awesome? I went to grad school at Penn State, and Joe was always The Coach! What a great perspective...

[dalynnrmc]

Cool thread! I've been wondering about more extensive lists for this same time period.... Thread marked!

I'm reading along with my 4th grader, and furthering my own education in the process. ;)

[Eliana]

1) Gilgamesh (at least excerpts - it is fun to read sections aloud! I've enjoyed the Ferry (http://www.amazon.com/Gilgamesh-New-Rendering-English-Verse/dp/0374162271/ref=pd_bbs_sr_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208935350&sr=8-5) translation, the Mitchell (http://www.amazon.com/Gilgamesh-English-Version-Stephen-Mitchell/dp/0743261690/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208935350&sr=8-2) is also nice (but perhaps a little more explicit in some sections, someone suggested Westwood's adaptation (http://www.amazon.com/Gilgamesh-Babylonian-Heroic-retellings-history/dp/0370011090/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208935444&sr=8-1) to avoid problematic sections - I'm waiting for an ILL copy so I can read it myself! The Gilgamesh Reader (http://www.amazon.com/Gilgamesh-Reader-John-Maier/dp/0865163391/ref=si3_rdr_bb_product) has some interesting articles about Gilgamesh, but (as you can see from the TOC) not all are suitable for our family. If your library has it, it might give you some discussion/background info ideas, though.)

2) The Iliad (http://www.amazon.com/Iliad-Homer/dp/0226469409/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208935636&sr=1-1) or the Odyssey (http://www.amazon.com/Odyssey-Homer-Perennial-Classics/dp/B0007WYFH0/ref=pd_sim_b_title_4) (preferably both - I prefer the Iliad, but some students get more excited about the Odyssey. My absolute favorite translations are by Lattimore - after translating sections myself, it has been the only translation I can enjoy! Homer's Iliad (http://www.amazon.com/Homers-Iliad-Commentary-translation-Lattimore/dp/0859896838/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208935636&sr=1-6) and A Companion to the Iliad (http://www.amazon.com/companion-Iliad-translation-Richmond-Lattimore/dp/0226898547/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208935636&sr=1-5) and The Mortal Hero (http://www.amazon.com/Mortal-Hero-Introduction-Homers-Iliad/dp/0520056264/ref=si3_rdr_bb_product) and Nature and Culture in the Iliad (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0822314223/ref=reg_hu-wl_mrai-recs) are all possible resources for studying the Iliad. The Cambridge Companion to Homer (http://www.amazon.com/Cambridge-Companion-Homer-Companions-Literature/dp/0521012465/ref=pd_sim_b_title_3) and Homeric Moments (http://www.amazon.com/Homeric-Moments-Delight-Reading-Odyssey/dp/0967967570/ref=pd_sim_b_title_2) (by an incredible tutor from St John's College) are equally valuable for the Iliad or the Odyssey. And The World of Odysseus (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1590170172/ref=reg_hu-wl_mrai-recs) is a great resource for the Odyssey.)

3) A play by Sophocles (Oedipus Rex is the standard recommendation, but I prefer Antigone - both are in this classic volume (http://www.amazon.com/Tragedies-Agamemnon-Prometheus-Antigone-Hippolytus/dp/0226307743/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208936135&sr=8-11) which has been reissued here (http://www.amazon.com/Sophocles-Oedipus-Antigone-Complete-Tragedies/dp/0226307921/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208936081&sr=8-1) )

4) Herodotus (again, at least excerpts - the Landmark Herodotus (http://www.amazon.com/Landmark-Herodotus-Histories/dp/0375421092/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208936448&sr=1-1) is a great resource for this. Thucydides is well worth doing also, but Herodotus is, imho, both more essential and more accessible - my favorite translations are this (http://www.amazon.com/History-Herodotus/dp/0226327701/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208936472&sr=1-20) (Herodotus) and this (http://www.amazon.com/Peloponnesian-War-Thucydides/dp/0226801063/ref=ed_oe_p)(Thucydides)) ... I'm sorry, I'll stop deluging you with translations and supplemental readings! If you have specific things you want suggestions for, let me know!

5) At least one of Plato's Dialogues - preferably 3-5 (The Republic is enormously significant, but more challenging than some of the others - the Apology, Crito, Meno, Protagoras, and the Republic are my top 5.. in that order, if a student is doing all 5)

6) Aristotle's Ethics (more if possible - Poetics and Politics are good follow-up choices... I find it works best to have a student read Ethics in small sections and talk over it - trying to find specific examples for each case.)

7) The Aeniad (Fitzgerald's translation)

8) Selections from Plutarch's Lives

9) Ancient Greek & Roman poetry (Sappho, Simonides, Pindar, Catullus, Ovid and Horace) - just one more book suggestions: Greek Lyrics (http://www.amazon.com/Greek-Lyrics-Phoenix-Books-Various/dp/0226469441/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208936135&sr=8-1)

10) The book of Mencius (ideally accompanied by excerpts from The Analects (Confucius)

11) The Bhagavad Gita (If there is time, possible the whole Mahabharata - ideally the Ramayana as well...)

[AuntieM]

...and WOW again! Thanks for all the tremendous selections. There are not words to describe your generosity in sharing all this information.

Eliana, thank you for the many details and especially for the links, what a time saver! I appreciate the time you spent in providing them.

Today I am a tired out, overwhelmed momma, and your replies are like a hug at the end of a long day! DH is out of town, the kiddies are all squared away, asleep or reading, and it is raining steadily outside. I am almost never "done" with my day by 9 p.m., but tonight, I am going to curl up with a few of these great books. I really appreciate you all pointing me in the right direction!