Back in the Middle East (SOTW chs. 16 and 17)

This week (two weeks) in history...a lot of review. We left Mesopotamia behind awhile ago to spend time in Egypt and around the Mediterranean, so when we finally returned to the Middle East we had to spend a little time reviewing names like Gilgamesh, Sargon, and Shamshi-Adad. We also picked up a few books on the Library at Nineveh and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. It wasn't a thrilling couple of weeks, but since we were still absorbing info on the Phoenicians (Hanno and Hannibal in particular, even if they were later), that was okay. Plus we were on vacation. Sometimes it's good to have a week of mundane history.

Seven Wonders of the Ancient Middle East, by Michael Woods (not to be confused with Michael Wood, my very favorite historian ever), is a reference-style look at exactly what it says. Beautiful pictures and rich textual evidence brings the sites alive for the reader. The entry we were after was on The Library of Nineveh.

Famous Figures of Ancient Times is simply a fun bit of distraction. Cut out and create pose-able paper doll figures of twenty different famous figures from ancient times. I just came across this at a specialty used book store and fell in love with it. I'm a geek that way. So, apparently, is my son.

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, by Michael Woods. Like its brother book on the wonders of the ancient Middle East. We used this volume for its entry on The Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

The Babylonians, by Martha Rustad, is a fascinating look at the life and times of the Neo-Babylonians, including religion, science, and day-to-day activities.

Ancient Babylon, by Karen Gibson, is packed with information interspersed with photographs and imaginative renderings of the ancient cities of Babylon. A little dry, and somewhat fantastical, relying on unsubstantiated sources, but the illustrations are greatly enjoyable.

The Phoenicians (SOTW ch. 15)

My favorite chapter so far. Traders, explorers, master builders of ports? Absolutely! Bring it on. We read the bit in SOTW, and then, as usual, we looked for supplemental videos and more detailed sources. Unfortunately we found very little in the way of either, but the following we found pretty useful.

Explorers of the Ancient World, by Anthony Brierley. A fun two page spreads of maps and other illustrations depicting the worlds and adventures of a variety of explorers from a variety of eras, including the Phoenicians and Hanno the Navigator. The written history is short, but well presented. We enjoyed this book very much.

Engineering An Empire is a History Channel series that takes a scientific look at the engineering feats of several different ancient empires. We had already seen Egypt: Engineering an Empire (volume 6), several times in fact, and loved it, so when we found out that there was entire series with an episode dedicated to Carthage, we were pretty excited. The episode on Carthage is shorter, and doesn't quite have the wow factor of the Egypt volume, but it was still very enjoyable. We'd recommend it.

Carthage and the Phoenicians is just a short, shallow look at this ancient civilization, but for those who won't sit still as long it's a great option.

Comparing myths (and SOTW ch. 14, The Israelites)

Last week we were having so much fun with Egypt that we spent an extra week there. Part of that time was spent getting a better feel for the pharaohs who ruled throughout the dynastic period, and linking the dates and eras to things going on in other parts of the world at the time, like the Hyksos, the Nubians, the tribes of people to the northeast, and the mysterious Sea Peoples.

We also spent some time looking at chapter 14 of The Story of the World, which, titled The Israelites, deals with the purported slavery of those people in, and their exodus led by Moses out of the Kingdom of Egypt. We read a few versions of this story and found it hauntingly familiar. The story of Moses as a baby, after all, is the exact same story told in Uruk, 1,000 years earlier, about Sargon. This started us on a journey of myth comparison. The parallels between the stories of Abraham (once Abram) and Akhenaten (once Amenhotep IV) are also eerily similar. And of course we compared the creation myths of a variety of cultures as well.

We did not really read the chapter in SOTW on the exodus from Egypt. Instead we read myths from a variety of cultures, including a children's Bible, the Enuma Elish, excerpts from The Epic of Gilgamesh, excerpts from the Iliad, and a variety of other myth stories.

These are some of the resources we used:

The Big Myth is a paid subscription website that offers animated renderings of creation myths from around the world. The art and sound are rich, contrasty, and pretty Art Deco, which would not be my first choice, but it allows for all traditions to be given the same treatment and credence. We've watched them all together, and Calvin will also sit by himself and click through the links, watching the videos over and over. He finds them fascinating. We paid for the subscription, and I'm pleased, but a few of their works are available for free.

The Enuma Elish (the Babylonian creation myth), available for reading online.

Egyptian Myths, by Jacqueline Morley, combines beautiful illustrations with short tellings of the major Egyptian myths of creation. A lovely book, easy to enjoy.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the oldest and most intriguing epics of all time, but much of the original is questionable reading material for young children. In Gilgamesh the Hero, McCaughrean retains enough of the original's clipped style to make it sound like what it is, but adds enough vibrant tone to make it friendly reading for an older child, and the illustrations enliven without detracting. We both loved this book.

In Puffin's version of the epic story, The Mahabharata is broken down into managably sized tales with readable text and interesting illustrations.

Egypt's New Kingdom (SOTW Ch. 13)

Moving on to the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, we used many of the same resources. The new ones we added that I liked are listed below, plus two videos that we absolutely love.

Tut’s Mummy—Lost...and Found (Judy Donnelly, 1988). Easy reading level, fun information. Calvin, our fellow Tut lover, read and re-read this one.

Look What Came from Egypt (Miles Harvey, 1999). A decent look at what things the Egyptians had and what they did with them, but it's pretty limited in scope (mainly forgetful of the many other thriving civilizations of the time) and offers no sources for factual statements.

Tutankhamun (Gill Harvey, 2006). A good biography. Calvin also read and re-read this one, but the reading level was more appropriate for his capability.

Engineering an Empire (The History Channel, 2006, via Netflix). A really great look at a few of the engineering marvels that came out of Ancient Egypt, from each of the three kingdoms. Information is giving about the reigning Pharaohs along with information on the architecture of the time.

Egypt's Golden Empire (PBS, 2005, via Netflix). From the end of Middle Kingdom or beginning of the New Kingdom onward, a look at the rising and falling of the Egyptian Empire and the remarkable Pharaohs that ruled during that time. Focuses mainly on the 18th and some of the 19th dynasties. Though violent for brief moments, reenactments give add an interesting appeal and bring the history to life.

Egypt's Middle Kingdom (SOTW ch. 12)

Returning to ancient Egypt, we've now added the invasion of Nubia to our timeline, and the invasion by the Hyksos. Otherwise the Middle Kingdom is kind of a wash, and so were the recommended extra books. All of them dealt with Egypt in general, no specific information from the Middle Kingdom. Of course we loved the coloring book, and Calvin also greatly enjoyed Green's Tales of Ancient Egypt.

Life in Ancient Egypt: A Coloring Book (Dover, 1989). We are very fond of the Dover coloring books, which pair detailed line drawings with short but informative paragraphs about the subject.

Rimonah of the Flashing Sword: A North African Tale (Eric Kimmel, 1995). A retelling of the Snow White fairy tale with middle eastern characters and a hint of middle eastern legends sprinkled in. I love what Kimmel has done with the heroin, making her a stronger character, but I don't find it to have a strong link to ancient Egypt at all.

Temple Cat (Andrew Clements, 2001). A cat is worshipped locally in a village and treated as a pharaoh, but that's no life for a cat. Always doted upon and never allowed to do "cat" things, he eventually runs away to find happiness with a family somewhere else. The beautiful illustrations really make this book, otherwise the story is kind of bland.

Egyptian Gods and Goddesses (Henry Barker, 1999). A very simple listing and description of the gods and goddesses of Ancient Egypt. Great for early readers.

Tales of Ancient Egpt (Roger Lancelyn Green, 2011). This is an enjoyable collection of myths and legends based on the gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt. Not all of the stories included are traditionally Egyptian, though.