Early Church History

Fall has finally arrived and school is in session. Arete Classical Studies Program begins it's fall reading schedule on October 1, 2007. Please join us as we read and study the following GREAT BOOKS:

Antiquities of the Jews by Titus Flavius Josephus

Josephus (37 – sometime after 100 CE), who became known, in his capacity as a Roman citizen, as Titus Flavius Josephus, was a 1st-century Jewish historian and apologist of priestly and royal ancestry who survived and recorded the Destruction of Jerusalem in 70. His works give an important insight into first-century Judaism.

Parallel Lives by Plutarch

Mestrius Plutarchus (c. 46 AD - 127 AD), better known in English as Plutarch, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist. Plutarch was born to a prominent family in Chaeronea, Boeotia [Greece], a town about twenty miles east of Delphi. His oeuvre (work of art) consists of the Parallel Lives and the Moralia.

Writings of Tertullian

Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicised as Tertullian, (ca. 155–230) was a church leader and prolific author of Early Christianity. He also was a notable early Christian apologist. Tertullian, a Romanized African, was born, lived and died in Carthage, in what is today Tunisia.

Schedule of Readings

• October 1-31, 2007: Josephus
• November 1-30, 2007: Selected lives of Plutarch
• December 1-20, 2007: Writings of Tertullian along with some philosophical discussion on early Church history. Possibly will require time in January to complete.
  

Biographical Information

• Josephus Biography from Wikipedia
• Background on Antiquities of the Jews from Wikipedia
• Plutarch's Parallel Lives from Wikipedia
  
• Background on Tertullian from Wikipedia

Online Texts

• Antiquities of the Jews (Wesley Center Online)
  
• Plutarch at Internet Classic's Archive
• Plutarch at Project Gutenberg
  
• Writings (Christian Classics Ethereal Library)

Suggested Pacing

All of these writings with the exception of the Lives are short and easy to read. Josephus's work is 20 chapters long with each chapter approximately 3 pages in MS Word. Plutarch's Lives are each around 20-30 pages long. We will be reading select Lives and will read them in Parallel the way Plutarch originally wrote them. Tertullian's writing is approximately 50 chapters with each chapter approximately 2 pages in MS Word.

• Josephus should take us five weeks to complete. Each week plan on reading 4-5 chapters or about 12 to 15 pages.
• Plutarch will take us five weeks to complete. We will look at 4-5 of the most well-known Lives.
• Tertullian will take us five weeks to complete. Plan on reading 10 chapters or about 20 pages each week. We will spend some time looking at the other philosophers of the period, most namely Origen.

Class Discussion

Class discussion is encouraged by not required for participation. Study notes will be provided whenever possible, however, we encourage you to read and think deeply on each work and then give a thoughtful opinion or your impression of each piece. There are no right or wrong anwers so enjoy this study and learn something new from it.

~Enjoy!

Ovid's Metamorphoses

Publius Ovidius Naso (Sulmona, March 20, 43 BC – Tomis, now Constanţa AD 17), a Roman poet known to the English-speaking world as Ovid, wrote on topics of love, abandoned women and mythological transformations. Ranked alongside Virgil and Horace as one of the three canonical poets of Latin literature, Ovid was generally considered the greatest master of the elegiac couplet. His poetry, much imitated during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, had a decisive influence on European art and literature for centuries.

The Metamorphoses

The Metamorphoses by the Roman poet Ovid is a poem in fifteen books that describes the creation and history of the world in terms according to Greek and Roman points of view. Probably written in 8 BCE, it has remained one of the most popular works of mythology, being the Classical work best known to medieval writers and thus having a great deal of influence on medieval poetry.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metamorphoses_%28poem%29

• Metamorphoses, Book I contains 15 Chapters || read in HTML || Download as PDF

The Poetry of Horace

June 2007 begins our term study of Latin Poetry. We have several wonderful selections scheduled including: The Works of Horace (Odes, Epodes, Satires and Ars Poetica) and Ovid's Metamorphoses.

Quintus Horatius Flaccus, (December 8, 65 BC - November 27, 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.

Background and Links to Texts

While in Greece, Horace joined the army of Brutus and fought at Philippi as military tribune. As a result of being on the losing side against Octavian and Mark Antony, Horace's family's property was confiscated.

In 39 B.C., after Augustus granted amnesty, Horace became a secretary in the Roman treasury. In 38, Horace met and became the client of the artists' patron Maecenas, who provided Horace with a villa in the Sabine Hills. Augustus favored Horace, commissioning him to write the Carmen Saeculare for the Secular Games of 17 B.C.

When Horace died at age 59, he left his estate to Augustus and was buried near the tomb of Maecenas.

Source: http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/horace/g/Horace.htm

• Biography of Horace at Wikipedia.org
• Life of Horace by Suetonius (from Lives of the Poets)

Notes on Reading Horace

Many scholars prefer John Dryden's translation of Horace and usually we try and read the very best translation to date. However, Dryden's version is not available online. If you have access to it and would like to read it, please feel free to do so. For our online readers, we will be using Christopher Smart's translation (1767) which is available through a variety of free sources.

• Brief background on English Poet, C.M. Smart, from wikipedia.org

Complete Works from Project Gutenberg (Text)

• The Works of Horace by Christopher Smart, A.M. of Pembroke College, Cambridge; includes Odes, Epodes, Satires and the Book of Poetry

Complete Works from Perseus (HTML/Web)

• Works of Horace

Note: While I find the Perseus system awkward to read, the advantage to using their website is that all the footnotes and scholary helps are conveniently located at the bottom of each page.

Complete Works Other Formats

• The Works of Horace by C.M. Smart (PDF)
• The Works of Horace by C.M. Smart (HTML/Web)

Selected Works from Project Gutenberg (Text)

• The Art of Poetry, translated and with notes by George Colman
• The Odes and Carmen Seculare, translated by John Conington
• The Satires, Epistles, and Art of Poetry, translated by John Conington

Study Questions

• Questions on Ars Poetica by Arnie Sanders, Goucher College
• Questions on Odes (scroll to bottom) by Dr. Chuck Platter, The University of Georgia

Roman History

January 2007 begins our term study of Roman History. We have several wonderful books scheduled including: Julius Caesar's Military Commentaries, Livy's History of Rome and Seutonius' biographical account of the Twelve Caesars. We also will read through some Latin poetry and begin a short study on the early Church fathers.

Caesar's Military Histories

Our first book will be Julius Caesar's commentaries, considered to be among the finest source of military history from Antiquity. We will read two books, The Gallic Wars and The Civil Wars.

• Project Gutenberg's text, De Bello Gallica
• Sonshi.com html version'

I have created PDF versions are here in case you want to print them off and bind as a book:

• Gallic Wars
• Civil Wars
• Thomas de Quincey Introduction from De Bello Gallica, 1915

History of Rome by Titus Livius

Our second book will be Livy's History of Rome. Livy wrote several volumes which have been translated into 36 books. These are available for free download through Project Gutenberg. For our reading assignment, we will read Roman History, Books 1-3, by Livy (translated by John Henry Freese, Alfred John Church, and William Jackson Brodribb, 1904). I have also included Books 1-10, considered to be best introduction to Roman History, for those who wish to read a more direct version.

• Roman History, Books 1-3 by Livy (trans. John Henry Freese, Alfred John Church, and William Jackson Brodribb, 1904)
• History of Rome, Book I by Titus Livius at Project Gutenberg
• Paperback edition of Early History of Rome: Books I - V of the History of Rome from Its Foundation, translated by Aubrey De Selincourt (Penguin USA, 1991).
• Paperback edition of The War with Hannibal (book numbers unknown but probably 21-30), translated by Aubrey de Selincourt (Viking Press, 1965).
• Paperback edition of Rome and Italy: Books VI - X of the History of Rome from Its Foundation, translated by Betty Radice (Penguin USA, 1982, 376 pg).
• Paperback edition of Rome and the Mediterranean: Books XXXI - XLV of the History of Rome from Its Foundation, translated by Henry Bettenson (Viking Press, 1976, 699 pg).

A PDF version of this book is available here:

• Roman History trans. by John Henry Freese, Alfred John Church, and William Jackson Brodribb, 1904
• Livy, Book 1, Everyman's Library, trans. by Rev. Cannon Roberts, 1905
• Livy, Book 2, Everyman's Library, trans. by Rev. Cannon Roberts, 1905
• Livy, Book 3, Everyman's Library, trans. by Rev. Cannon Roberts, 1905
• Livy, Book 4, Everyman's Library, trans. by Rev. Cannon Roberts, 1905
• Livy, Book 5, Everyman's Library, trans. by Rev. Cannon Roberts, 1905
• Livy, Book 6, Everyman's Library, trans. by Rev. Cannon Roberts, 1905
• Livy, Book 7, Everyman's Library, trans. by Rev. Cannon Roberts, 1905
• Livy, Book 8, Everyman's Library, trans. by Rev. Cannon Roberts, 1905
• Livy, Book 9, Everyman's Library, trans. by Rev. Cannon Roberts, 1905
• Livy, Book 10, Everyman's Library, trans. by Rev. Cannon Roberts, 1905

A HTML version of this book is available here:

• Livy's Histories, Books 1-10

The Lives of the Twelve Caesars by C. Suetonius Tranquillus

Our third book on Roman History will be Seutonius's biography of the Twelve Casears. This book is available free through Project Gutenberg.

• The Twelve Caesar's (446 pgs)

A PDF version of this book is available here:

• The Lives of the Twelve Caesars and His Lives of the Grammarians and Poets

Or read just separate lives in PDF (each Life is short):

• Augustus
• Julius
• Tiberius
• Caligula
• Claudius

HTML Portions are here:

• Augustus
• Julius
• Tiberius
• Caligula
• Claudius

Stay tuned for more...

Virgil's The Aeneid

Our first book in our Medieval History rotation will be Virgil's epic poem, "The Aeneid". There are many, many translations available online, in libraries, and reprinted and distributed through popular booksellers (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Bookstar).

The links below include online translations as well as suggested translators (most popular). Please feel free to use whatever source you may have on hand or locally available.

General Background on Virgil

• Wikipedia article on Virgil
• http://www.virgil.org/ - great resource!

Collected Works

• Works by P.+Vergilius+Maro at PP
• Sacred Texts: Classics: The Works of Virgil
• P. Vergilivs Maro at The Latin Library
• Works by Virgil at Project Gutenberg

Biography

• Suetonius: The Life of Virgil, an English translation.
• Vita Vergiliana, Aelius Donatus' Life of Virgil in the original Latin.
• Virgil.org: Aelius Donatus' Life of Virgil translated into English by David Wilson-Okamura
• Project Gutenberg edition of Vergil—A Biography, by Tenney Frank.

Commentary

• Virgil in Late Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance: an Online Bibliography
• Virgilmurder (Jean-Yves Maleuvre's website setting forth his theory that Virgil was murdered by Augustus)
• The Secret History of Virgil, containing a selection on the magical legends and tall tales that circulated about Virgil in the Middle Ages.

Online and Paperback Texts

• HTML (12 pages, indexed) at the Litrix Reading Room (Translated by John Dryden)
• HTML (12 pages, 69-99 KB) at MIT Classics Archive (Translated by John Dryden)
• Text file (606 KB) at MIT Classics Archive (Translated by John Dryden)
  
  Available at Amazon.Com:
  
• Paperback edition, translated by Allen Mandelbaum (Bantam Classics, 1981).
• Paperback edition, translated by Robert Fitzgerald (Vintage, 1990).
• Thrift Paperback edition, translated by Charles J. Billson (Dover, 1995).
• Audio Cassette edition, unabridged, read by Frederick Davidson (Blackstone Audio Books, 1997).

Study Guide from SparkNotes.com

• http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/aeneid/ - very helpful. Read along with this translation http://pd.sparknotes.com/lit/aeneid/

Study and Discovery Questions

• D.H. Mills has a study/discovery question page online (Syracuse University)
• Longwood University Aeneid page

Plato and Philosophy

The next course in our Ancient History rotation will be reading what is considered to be among the greatest philosophical works ever created; namely, the works of Plato. There are many, many translations available online, in libraries, and reprinted and distributed through popular booksellers (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Bookstar). The links below include online translations as well as suggested translators (most popular). Please feel free to use whatever source you may have on hand or locally available.

Our study of ancient philosophy will bring this study in Ancient history and culture to a close. We will read The Republic first and then depending on time and interest, the Apology, Crito and Phaedo. We will also read some Aristotle, either Nicomachean Ethics or selections On Happiness, On The Highest Good or Poetics

Plato

The Republic (c. 360 BC)

• HTML (10 pages, indexed) at the Litrix Reading Room (Translated by Benjamin Jowett)
• HTML (Multi-page, indexed) at The Constitution Society (Translated by Benjamin Jowett)
• HTML (11 pages, 52-110 KB) at MIT Classics Archive (Translated by Benjamin Jowett)
• HTML at Perseus/Tufts (Translated by Paul Shorey)
• Text file (680KB) at MIT Classics Archive (Translated by Benjamin Jowett)
• Text file (655KB) at Wiretap (ftp) (Translated by Benjamin Jowett)
• Text file (681KB) at The Constitution Society (Translated by Benjamin Jowett)
• Hardcover edition of Plato : Complete Works (Hackett Pub Co, 1997, 1808 pg).
• Paperback edition, translated by G.M. Grube (Hackett Pub Co, 1992, 320 pg).
• Paperback edition, translated by Benjamin Jowett (Vintage Books, 1991, 397 pg).
• Paperback edition, translated by Francis M. Cornford (Oxford Univ Pr, 1988, 366 pg).
• Paperback edition, translated by Allan Bloom (Basic Books, 1991, 487 pg).
• Audio CD edition, unabridged (Agora Pubns, 2001).

Apology (c. 360 BC)

• HTML (single page, 81 KB) at MIT Classics Archive (Translated by Benjamin Jowett)
• HTML (single page, 66KB) at the Constitution Society (Translated by Benjamin Jowett)
• HTML at Perseus/Tufts (Translated by Harold North Fowler
• Text file (59KB) at The Constitution Society (Translated by Benjamin Jowett)
• Hardcover edition of Plato : Complete Works (Hackett Pub Co, 1997, 1808 pg).
• Paperback edition of Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito, translated by F.J. Church (Prentice Hall, 1956, 88 pg).
• Paperback edition of Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, and Phaedo, translated by Benjamin Jowett (Prometheus Books, 1988, 138 pg).
• Audio Cassette edition, unabridged, of Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito (Agora Pubns, 1995).
• Audio CD edition, unabridged, of Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito (Agora Pubns, 1998).

Crito (c. 360 BC)

• HTML (single page, 43 KB) at MIT Classics Archive (Translated by Benjamin Jowett)
• HTML (33 KB) at the Constitution Society (Translated by Benjamin Jowett)
• HTML at Perseus/Tufts (Translated by Harold North Fowler)
• Text file (28KB) at The Constitution Society (Translated by Benjamin Jowett)
• Hardcover edition of Plato : Complete Works (Hackett Pub Co, 1997, 1808 pg).
• Paperback edition of Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito, translated by F.J. Church (Prentice Hall, 1956, 88 pg).
• Paperback edition of Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, and Phaedo, translated by Benjamin Jowett (Prometheus Books, 1988, 138 pg).
• Audio Cassette edition, unabridged, of Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito (Agora Pubns, 1995).
• Audio CD edition, unabridged, of Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito (Agora Pubns, 1998).

Phaedo (c. 360 BC)

• HTML (single page, 200KB) at MIT Classics Archive (Translated by Benjamin Jowett)
• HTML (166KB) at the Constitution Society (Translated by Benjamin Jowett)
• HTML at Perseus/Tufts (Translated by Harold North Fowler)
• Text file (145KB) at The Constitution Society (Translated by Benjamin Jowett)
• Hardcover edition of Plato : Complete Works (Hackett Pub Co, 1997, 1808 pg).
• Paperback edition of Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, and Phaedo, translated by Benjamin Jowett (Prometheus Books, 1988, 138 pg).

Aristotle

Nicomachean Ethics (c. 350 BC)

• HTML (10 sections, 47-76 KB) at MIT Classics Archive (Translated by W.D. Ross)
• HTML (Multi-page, indexed) at the Constitution Society (Translated by W.D. Ross)
• HTML at Perseus/Tufts (Translated by H. Rackham)
• Paperback edition, translated by J.E.C. Welldon (Prometheus Books, 1987, 358 pg).
• Thrift Paperback edition, translated by D.P. Chase (Dover Pubns, 1998).

Greek Tragedy

The next course in our Ancient History rotation will be reading the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. There are many, many translations available online, in libraries, and reprinted and distributed through popular booksellers (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Bookstar). The links below include online translations as well as suggested translators (most popular). Please feel free to use whatever source you may have on hand or locally available.

This entire course should take us 9 weeks to complete.

Aeschylus

We will be reading from Aeschylus' Oresteia (Trilogy). The Oresteia consists of three plays: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers (The Choephori) and Eumenides. The plays are available online through MIT Classics Archive as well as in paperback from favorite translators.

• Agamemnon
• The Libation Bearers (The Choephori)
• Eumenides
• Paperback edition of Aeschylus I : Oresteia, translated by Richmond Lattimore (Univ of Chicago Pr, 1983, 172 pg).
• Paperback edition of The Oresteia, translated by Ted Hughes (Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2000, 208 pg).
• Paperback edition of The Oresteia, translated by Robert Fagles (Penguin, 1984, 335 pg).

Sophocles

We will read the Theban Tragedies by Sophocles: Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone

• Antigone
• Oedipus the King
• Oedipus at Colonus
• Paperback edition of The Oedipus Plays of Sophocles, translated by Paul Roche (Plume, 1996).
• Paperback edition of Antigone, Oedipus the King, Electra, translated by H.D.F. Kitto (Oxford Univ Pr, 1998).
• Paperback edition of Antigone (Plays for Performance), translated by Nicholas Rudall (Ivan R. Dee Inc, 1998, 64 pg).
• Paperback edition, translated by Richard Emil Braun (Oxford Univ Pr, 1990, 101 pg).
• Paperback edition, translated by Declan Donnellan (Consortium Book Sales & Dist, 2000, 62 pg).
• Paperback edition, translated by Neil Curry (Theatre Communications Group, 2001, 80 pg).
• Mass Market Paperback edition of Sophocles : The Complete Plays, translated by Paul Roche (Signet, 2001, 176 pg).
• Paperback edition of Antigone, Oedipus the King, Electra, translated by H.D.F. Kitto (Oxford Univ Pr, 1998).
• Paperback edition of Electra (Plays for Performance), translated by Nicholas Rudall (Ivan R. Dee Inc, 1993).
• Paperback edition of Electra and Other Plays, translated by E.F. Watling; also includes Ajax, Philoctetes, and Women of Trachis (Viking Press, 1953).
• Mass Market Paperback edition of Sophocles : The Complete Plays, translated by Paul Roche (Signet, 2001, 176 pg).
• Thrift Paperback edition, unabridged, translated by George Young (Dover Pubns, 1995, 56 pg).
• Audio Cassette edition (Audio Forum, 1996).
• Paperback edition of The Oedipus Plays of Sophocles, translated by Paul Roche (Plume, 1996).
• Paperback edition of Antigone, Oedipus the King, Electra, translated by H.D.F. Kitto (Oxford Univ Pr, 1998).
• Paperback edition of Oedipus the King (Plays for Performance), translated by Nicholas Rudall (Ivan R. Dee Inc, 2000, 64 pg).
• Mass Market Paperback edition of Sophocles : The Complete Plays, translated by Paul Roche (Signet, 2001, 176 pg).
• Thrift Paperback edition (Dover Pubns, 1993, 54 pg).
• Audio Cassette edition, unabridged, with Michael Sheen and full cast (Naxos Audio Books, 1999).
• Audio CD edition, unabridged, with Michael Sheen and full cast (Naxos Audio Books, 1999).

Euripides

Our last look at Greek Tragedy will be to read several plays by Euripides (The Father of Modern Drama).

• The Trojan Women
• The Medea
• Electra
• Paperback edition of Euripides, 1 : Medea, Hecuba, Andromache, The Bacchae; translations by Eleanor Wilner, Marilyn Nelson, Donald Junkins, and Daniel Mark Epstein (Univ of Pennsylvania Pr, 1997, 296 pg).
• Paperback edition of Euripides III : Four Tragedies : Hecuba, Andromache, The Trojan Women and Ion, translated by Richard Lattimore (Univ of Chicago Pr, 1958, 256 pg).
• Paperback edition, translated by E.P. Coleridge (Players Press, 1999).
• Paperback edition of Euripides, 2 : Hippolytus, Suppliant Women, Helen, Electra, Cyclops; translations by Richard Moore, John Frederick Nims, Rachel Hadas, Elizabeth Seydel Morgan, and Palmer Bovie (Univ of Pennsylvania Pr, 1997).
• Paperback edition of Euripides V : Electra, The Phoenician Women, The Bacchae, translated by Richard Lattimore (Univ of Chicago Pr, 1969, 228 pg).
• Paperback edition of Euripides, 3 : Alcestis, Daughters of Troy, The Phoenician Women, Iphigenia at Aulis, Rhesus; translations by Fred Chappell, Mark Rudman, Richard Elman, Elaine Terranova, and George Economou (Univ of Pennsylvania Pr, 1998, 392 pg).
• Paperback edition of Euripides III : Four Tragedies : Hecuba, Andromache, The Trojan Women and Ion, translated by Richard Lattimore (Univ of Chicago Pr, 1958, 256 pg).