Greek History

[Chris in PA]

Hi all,

My dd who is in 10th grade has finally begun to express an interest in her education! Never thought that would happen. Now she has expressed an interest in an in depth study of Greek history. Next school year we are going to do a year long study of Greek mythology with TTC dvd lectures. But I was thinking of doing a semester of Greek history in the spring to get us ready for next fall. Can anyone recommend so resources we could use in the spring?

 

Thanks so much!

[regentrude]

We are doing Greek history and literature together this year.

We use Short History of Western Civilization as a spine and use primary sources such as

Herodotus Histories (DD finished and liked)

Thukydides Pelopennesian War (DD did not like writing style and read only excerpts)

Plutarch Lives

Plato

etc.

There are several Teaching Company lectures for Greek history as well, but since we are already using the ones for Iliad, Odyssey, Tragedy and Mythology, we have not explored those.

 

We like supplementing with documentaries. PBS Empires: The Greeks-Crucible of civilization is good and has a website with teacher resources

http://www.pbs.org/empires/thegreeks/htmlver/

[Kathy in Richmond]

Don't you just love it when something sparks their interest?

 

My daughter also loves all things Greek & mythology. She requested Greek history and literature back when she was in ninth grade. We went with the Kolbe Ancient Greece materials (Catholic publisher with texts, study guides, reading plan, essay questions, tests). It's a year-long class, though, but you could look it over for ideas.

 

We read The Histories (Herodotus), History of the Peloponnesian Wars (Thucydides - the Landmark edition made all the difference here), The Persian Expedition (Xenophon), Plutarch's Lives (selections), and Plato.

 

They also have a companion Greek Literature program.

 

~Kathy

[Laura Corin]

This is designed for middle school, but might be good for someone who is just getting enthusiastic about learning. You could add in original texts to beef it up.

 

Laura

[elegantlion]

Have you looked at Rutherford's Questions for the Thinker series. One book is devoted to Greek Classics. I have not used them, but there have been a few good reviews on this board.

[Alphabetika]

My dd is currently reading The Greek Way, an old classic by Edith Hamilton, who also wrote a book of Greek mythology called, well, Mythology. And she's reading It's All Greek to Me, which is about how the Greek worldview and our current worldview are connected. She recommends both, though she likes The Greek Way better, emphasizing that it's a "thicker" read, intellectually.