High School Literature 1: The Ancient World

Classical Track

$249.00 for Self-Paced

This self-paced course is an introduction to the beginnings of Western literature in Ancient Greece and Rome. It includes an engaging survey of mythology, the great epics of Homer, and Greek drama. We dabble in the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle, and wrap up with Roman works by Virgil and Plutarch. Two related works from other eras are part of the curriculum also.

  • • Attend a one-hour, weekly, live course session

    • Complete each week’s assigned reading

    • Take a short, online, comprehension quiz each week

    • Answer an online, discussion question each week

    • Submit two literary papers and one creative project.

  • • Students have access to recorded lectures on each reading assignment.

    • Students have access to weekly reading pacing guides and auto-graded quizzes.

    Although we recommend following the syllabus in order, students are free to choose what to read and when.

    • This class does not include live class sessions or teacher support. Learn more about self-paced classes here.

    • All recordings will be available from September 2 through the end of the following August.

  • There are many options for acquiring these books. You can purchase them from a local or online retailer. You can check them out of the library. For most, you can download electronic versions or access them online and read them on your computer screen.

    If a particular edition or translation is listed, it is important to acquire that version. If no specifics are included, any version will work.

    Mythology, by Edith Hamilton

    The Iliad, by Homer (Samuel Butler translation)

    The Odyssey, by Homer (Samuel Butler translation)

    Greek Drama, by Bantam Classics or the 4 plays within it (all are available online and in e-book form):

    • Agamemnon, by Aeschylus

    • Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles

    • Medea, by Euripides

    • Antigone, by Sophocles

    Aesop’s Fables (There are several options here. I’m asking students to read a large number of these fables, which are all very short. There are several inexpensive print compilations you can get, but they are also all available online. Note: if you own a compilation and it doesn’t contain some of the assigned fables, look them up online.)

    Till We Have Faces, by C.S. Lewis

    The Dialogues of Plato (We are reading the following three dialogues, so if you get a collection, be sure it contains these; all are available online.)

    • “Apology”

    • “Crito”

    • “Euthyphro”

    The Republic, by Plato (any English translation)

    Poetics, by Aristotle (any English translation)

    The Aeneid, by Virgil (Mandelbaum translation)

    Plutarch’s Life of Caesar (It’s not necessary to purchase this. The course includes a digital version.)

    Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare