Classics Book Club

Next Meeting: September 26, 2024 @ 7pm

ACA supports parents in continuing their own education by providing a classics book club. ACA employs the guiding principle of multum non multa which means “much, not many.” A modern phrasing would be “quality, not quantity.” As a classical tutorial, ACA wants to draw parents and teachers into some of the foundational texts of the classical tradition. Book Club meets three times during the school year. The series is a six-year sequence and you can begin at any time during the cycle or individual year. Following the suggested Memoria Press Classical Studies sequence, each year Book Club will focus on one classical studies text. For the most part, these are texts that every student will read in their time at ACA and that parents may not have read, or may not have read in full, on their own. Through reading and discussion Book Club desires to foster enjoyment and growth as well as to help parents prepare to engage with their children about these stories for years to come.

The Six-Year Cycle

Pre-reading suggestions are listed beneath the text for those who are new to the stories. Almost all of these texts are part of the standard Memoria Press curriculum and are available with Teacher Guides if you need more help.

Year One 2024-2025: The Myth Made Fact: Reading Greek and Roman Mythology through Christian Eyes, Dr. Louis Markos

  • Year One Dates:
    • September 26, 7pm – Parts I-II
    • January 9th, 7pm – Parts III-IV
    • April 17th, 7pm– Parts V-VI
  • Ideas for pre-reading if you are new to Myths:
    • D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths. This book is very accessible for a basic overview of Greek mythology. It is also a great audiobook.
    • Famous Men of Greece. This book is a very friendly introduction to the major figures of Greek history. 
    • Famous Men of Rome. This book is a very friendly introduction to the major figures of Roman history. 

Year Two 2025-2026: The Iliad, Homer

  • Year Two Dates:
    • September – Iliad Books 1-8
    • January – Iliad Books 9-16
    • April – Iliad Books 17-24
  • A few translations of the Iliad:
    • Samuel Butler (This is the prose version used in the MP sets. It is both scholarly but very accessible. Prepared students read this in 7th/8th grade at .)
      • Memoria Press Teacher Guide (strongly recommended if you are new to this tale!)
    • Richmond Lattimore
    • Robert Fagles (Mr. Moore’s favorite translation)
  • Ideas for pre-reading if you are new to the Iliad:

“Until a few years back, I had never read the Odyssey and never thought to do so, except in the eat-your-broccoli sense that all cultured Westerners must eventually read Homer. When my young son Matthew’s class took up the ancient Greek epic, I read along with him. It turned out to the one of the most thrilling intellectual adventures of my life, one that was even more pleasurable because it was a voyage I made with my son.”

-Rod Dreher, How Dante Can Save Your Life

Year Three 2026-2027: The Odyssey, Homer

  • Year Three dates:
    • September – Odyssey Books 1-8
    • January – Odyssey Books 9-16
    • April – Odyssey Books 17-24
  • Purchase the Odyssey through Memoria Press and the Teacher Guide (strongly recommended!) for extra help.
  • A few translations of the Odyssey:
    • Samuel Butler (This is the version used in the MP sets. It is both scholarly but very accessible. It is written in prose, not metered poetry.)
    • Richmond Lattimore
    • Robert Fagles
  • Ideas for pre-reading if you are new to the Odyssey:

Year Four 2027-2028: Virgil’s Aeneid

  • Year Four Dates:
    • September – Aeneid Books 1-4
    • January –Aeneid Books 5-8
    • April –Aeneid Books 9-12
  • A few translation options of Virgil’s Aeneid:
    • David West (This is the translation used in the Memoria Press set and at ACA)
    • Robert Fagles
  • Purchase the Aeneid Teacher Guide from Memoria Press as well for extra help.
  • Ideas for pre-reading if you are new to the Aeneid.
    • D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths, D’Aulaires. This book is very accessible for a basic overview of Greek (and thus, Roman) mythology. It is also a great audiobook.
    • The Trojan War, Coolidge. This is a summary of the entire Trojan War and goes beyond the content of the Aeneid but provides a great overview of the entire Trojan War cycle.
    • The Aeneid for Boys and Girls by Alfred Church. Excellent middle-school age level retelling of the adventures of Aeneas.
    • Not required, but knowledge of Homer’s Iliad & Odyssey is helpful.
    • Not included in the MP cores, but another excellent introduction to this story with beautiful illustrations: In Search of a Homeland by Penelope Lively (look for used copies).
    • If your child has already read the Iliad, Odyssey, or Aeneid they will be a fantastic resource for you as well.

Year Five 2028-2029: Three Theban Plays, Sophocles

Year Six 2029-2030: The Divine Comedy, Dante

  • Year Six Dates:
    • September – Inferno
    • January – Purgatorio
    • April – Paradiso
  • Text and Memoria Press Teacher Guide (strongly recommended!)
  • Additional translations for consideration:
  • Resources:
    • Dante’s Divine Comedy – Hillsdale College Online Course with English Professor Stephen Smith. The course is comprised of 10 video lectures and includes study guides, readings, and quizzes. (no cost)
    • 100 Days to Dante – A YouTube playlist of the canto videos of the 100 Days of Dante Project. 100 Days of Dante is brought to you by Baylor University in collaboration with the Torrey Honors College at Biola University, University of Dallas, Templeton Honors College at Eastern University, the Gonzaga-in-Florence Program and Gonzaga University, and Whitworth University, with support from the M.J. Murdock Trust. (no cost)