Ancient Literature List- must have works

[FreckledFace]

Okay, I searched this forum, but didn't find what I'm looking for. Maybe I didn't look hard enough. 

This year, dd's 9th grade year, we will be studying ancient literature. 

 

I am not really familiar with all the ancient lit works on the great books list, so I don't know what I must include. Anyone have a list of ancient literature you previously studied with your dc? Or a list of what I must include no matter what?

 

Thanks! 

[regentrude]

You can use the list in TWTM.

I would say absolute must-have-studieds would be the Iliad and the Odyssey; for the rest, you'll find different preferences.

 

Here's DD's literature list from 9th grade:

 

Major works of Literature studied:

The Iliad Homer (translated by Fitzgerald)

The Odyssey Homer (translated by Fitzgerald)

Histories Herodotus

Antigone Sophocles

Oedipus Rex Sophocles

Oedipus on Colonos Sophocles

Electra Euripides

Poetry Sappho

The Aeneid Vergil

Metamorphoses Ovid

Trial and death of Socrates Plato

[mumto2]

On Coursera there is going to be a course titled Ancient Greeks from Wesleyan University this fall. It can be found in the Humanities section of Coursera. Sorry I can't link. If you look at the assignments there it is very similar to Regentrude's list with links to the literature. These might help you with your planning. :) This course is free.

 

I have been looking at literature lists for high school intensely for about 2 weeks now while planning for the AP lit exam for dd. I think the must reads are Iliad and Odyssey, if those go well Antigone, Aeneid, and Oedipus need to be added. This happens to be the reading list for a Greek Lit course I took in high school. Greenleaf and EIL (world lit) both publish course guides which cover a majority of these works and might be helpful.

[Candid]

You can also go over to Bookshelf Central and see what Tapestry of Grace uses, they use about the most I've seen:

http://bookshelfcentral.com/index.php?main_page=resources&year=1&units=all&LR=on&subjects=some&S3=on&type=BSC

 

The Norton is being phased out so you can ignore that. 

[Harriet Vane]

One great option is the get the Norton Anthology of Western Literature: The Ancient World. It is volume one of the Western Literature anthologies. It contains an excellent selection.

 

http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nawest/content/overview/ancient.htm

[Mrs Mungo]

You can find more info about TWTM's great books list (and a list of suggested works) here:

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/great-books/

[Cosmos]

I would say absolute must-have-studieds would be the Iliad and the Odyssey; for the rest, you'll find different preferences.

 

 

I think the must reads are Iliad and Odyssey, if those go well Antigone, Aeneid, and Oedipus need to be added.

 

I've been looking at book lists a lot lately, and I think every list I've examined has included the Iliad and Odyssey. So there does seem to be a consensus around those texts, at least.

 

I think I would add parts of the Bible as well if I were making "must read" list. Of course many homeschoolers may have read the Bible already in religious study, but any student who hasn't yet definitely should in an ancient literature course. In the link Mrs. Mungo posted, SWB includes in her list several books from the Old and New Testaments.

[FreckledFace]

Thank you everyone! The lists and links you all provided help very much  :)

[Chava_Raizel]

I'm doing Ancients with my 9th grader this school year. I bought History Odyssey, but then tweaked the heck out of it - here's the book list we're using:

 

History of the Ancient World and Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Civilizations (Spines)

How to Read a Book (w/study guide) & Rulebook for Arguments

Genesis (OT Bible)

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Iliad - Homer

Book of Daniel (OT Bible)

The Odyssey - Homer

The Boys and Girls Herodotus - White

Pygmalion - Shaw

Til We Have Faces - C.S. Lewis

The Last Days of Socrates - Plato

The Life of Alexander the Great - Plutarch

The Aeneid - Virgil

Julius Caesar - Plutarch & Shakespeare

Acts of the Apostles (NT Bible)

The Flames of Rome - Maier 

 

I have it all planned out, but honestly - some of these books are really difficult. I don't know how dd will do with them. Right now, the hardest book that she's read is To Kill a Mockingbird. But she's also my mythologist and she loves all things ancient Greece so I'm hoping she'll be able to handle this workload. 

[Beth in Mint Hill]

Okay, I searched this forum, but didn't find what I'm looking for. Maybe I didn't look hard enough. 

This year, dd's 9th grade year, we will be studying ancient literature. 

 

I am not really familiar with all the ancient lit works on the great books list, so I don't know what I must include. Anyone have a list of ancient literature you previously studied with your dc? Or a list of what I must include no matter what?

 

Thanks! 

 

I've been teaching this era to 9th graders for a few years now and, of course, the works of Homer and Vergil are the most essential. I prefer delving into The Oresteia trilogy by Aeschylus rather than Sophocles. I just like the kinds of themes that are there, and the way the story and characters link in with the Iliad.

 

Here is a book that will really help you with this era:

From Achilles to Christ by Louis Markos (who is the professor in the Teaching Co's CS Lewis lectures). His commentaries on the ancient classics will really bring them to life for you and your student.  I really love his intro to the whole book, too.

[basketcase]

I love that Chava included Pygmalion and Julius Caesar in her list! Since all ancient texts will be read through translation (and this limits possibilities for certain kinds of text analysis), it's fabulous to study some modern texts on the subject as well. Many other Shakespeare plays are set in the ancient world, of course. And it might be a fun time to study some opera as well - Aida or Troilus and Cressida come to mind (you could read the Chaucer poem that inspired it, too?) Hmm, the opera might be a bit of a stretch, but you never know.  

[Foucachon]

This is the book list of The Greeks (Old Western Culture video course series) that you might find helpful.

See this link for more info including links to Amazon for each title: http://www.romanroadsmedia.com/store/the-greeks.php

 

THE EPICS BOOK LIST:

- The Iliad

- The Odyssey

 

DRAMA ANDL LYRIC BOOK LIST:

- Aeschylus (The Oresteia)

- Sophocles (Oedipus the King and Oedipus at Colonus)

- Aristophanes (The Frogs and The Clouds)

- Eurpipides (The Medea and The Trojan Women)

- Sappho (various poems)

- Pindar (collection of Odes)

- Theocritus (Idyls I, VI, VII, and XI)

- Hesiod (Works and Days)

- Quintus of Smyrna (The Fall of Troy)

- Apollonius of Rhodes (The Argonautica)

 

THE HISTORIES BOOK LIST:

- The Landmark Herodotus: The Histories

- The Landmark Thucydides

- Xenophon: The Persian Expedition

 

THE PHILOSOPHERS BOOK LIST:

- Plato: Six Greek Dialogues

- The Basic Works of

[swimmermom3]

Your choices would also depend on if you would like to ignore the other half of the world that also has an incredibly rich history. ;)

[Candid]

This is the book list of The Greeks (Old Western Culture video course series) that you might find helpful.

See this link for more info including links to Amazon for each title: http://www.romanroadsmedia.com/store/the-greeks.php

 

 

 

You're the author or some how associated with this, correct? 

[Foucachon]

You're the author or some how associated with this, correct? 

 

I'm not the author/teacher, but I'm a producer on the video course associated with the list. These are the books assembled by Wes Callihan of Schola Classical Tutorials, and the one's he assigns as part of "Old Western Culture: A Christian Approach to the Great Books."  

 

Wes Callihan's list is very traditional (close to Adlers) for the Ancients, but is more inclusive of Medieval works than Adler later on. His take on the Great Books is distinctively Christian, and he feels that the reason many works were left out in the "Dark Ages," or as he would say, "The Age of Faith" or "Christendom" ought not to have been left out. 

 

I feel that both Christians and non-Christians would benefit from a closer look at what books we consider "great" and this is a great place to start! 

[Candid]

I'm not the author/teacher, but I'm a producer on the video course associated with the list. These are the books assembled by Wes Callihan of Schola Classical Tutorials, and the one's he assigns as part of "Old Western Culture: A Christian Approach to the Great Books."  

 

Wes Callihan's list is very traditional (close to Adlers) for the Ancients, but is more inclusive of Medieval works than Adler later on. His take on the Great Books is distinctively Christian, and he feels that the reason many works were left out in the "Dark Ages," or as he would say, "The Age of Faith" or "Christendom" ought not to have been left out. 

 

I feel that both Christians and non-Christians would benefit from a closer look at what books we consider "great" and this is a great place to start! 

 

I know you are excited to share this product, but your post violates a forum rule. 

 

Since my question to you another poster on this forum posted a thread about this. Here is the relevant post: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/482657-did-the-board-rules-change-re-advertising/?p=5110820

 

There are folks who sell programs on this board and they are well respected but they do live within these guidelines. 

[Foucachon]

Candid,

very sorry about that! I knew publishers were not supposed to advertise, but felt this was more along the lines of answering a relvant question with something I knew about. Since I'm involved in producing these materials, obivously my knowledge will be tied to what I'm producing. I just reread the guidelines and I do see that what I was doing is not allowed, and I will certainly refrain from this in the future.

 

Since I am very interested in curriculum, was homeschooled myself (and had a mom who loved curriculum!), and plan to homeschool our kids, I am genually interested by many of these topics! I've promoted several other curriculums on this forum so far that I am not connected to, and I assume that's fine to do? I do have many years of first hand experience with old (and some of the newest) curriculums out there. I'll admit it may be hard to see someone post "I'm looking for (exact description of what you've developed)" and not say "over here!", but I do understand that this forum wants to keep this a neutral, third-party, homeschooler-to-homeschooler environment. I'm the third of these, but obviously not the first two when it comes to our products. :)

 

Thanks for your patience with a newbie - I will only mention our products while answering direct questions about them!

 

Blessings,

Daniel

[Candid]

Daniel good to hear.