The Story of Greece, Told to Boys and Girls
Mary Macgregor tells the story of Greece in short chapters for children, beginning with its myths and legends. This copy has colour plates by Walter Crane.
Scanned from a New York Public Library copy.
Homeschool · History
History
The story books of Greek and Roman history that children read around 1900, from Famous Men of Greece and Rome to Homer and Plutarch, free to read here or download, with step-by-step teaching guides for the Famous Men books.
Start here
Begin with Famous Men of Greece, then go on to Famous Men of Rome. Each guide covers one chapter or so in a single sitting. It says where and when the story happens, has you read it aloud together, and gives prompts for your child to tell it back, a few questions to talk about, and something to remember.
- Pick a lesson (start with Lesson 1).
- Press Teach this lesson.
- Follow the steps one screen at a time, with the book page beside you.
How to use these books
These are books to read aloud together, a chapter at a time. After each reading, your child tells the story back in their own words (narration). That one habit does most of the work. Add a map to find the places, and a timeline on the wall to pin the names and dates to. The guided books, Famous Men of Greece and Famous Men of Rome, make a good spine. The others in each group can go alongside for a fuller picture, or come later for older readers.
Books of this age tell the old stories well, but they sometimes tell legends as history, such as Romulus and Remus or the laws of Lycurgus. They also reflect the attitudes of the time they were written in. Reading them with an adult nearby is part of the point. Where a story is a legend, the guides say so gently (“this is the story the Romans told”). When a book says something that would not be said today, that is worth talking about too.
Greece
In rough order of reading age. Ages are rough guides; a younger child can listen to most of these read aloud.
Famous Men of Greece
Short life stories of the heroes and leaders of Greece, one or two to a chapter, from the old stories of the gods and heroes to the fall of Greece in 146 B.C. A favourite first history book for families who teach history through biography.
Scanned by Google from a Harvard University copy.
The Heroes, or Greek Fairy Tales for My Children
Charles Kingsley retells the stories of Perseus, the Argonauts and Theseus, written for his own children. Good to read before or alongside the history, so the names are familiar.
Scanned from a University of California Libraries copy.
The Story of the Greeks
H. A. Guerber tells Greek history as a series of short stories, from the myths and early legends to the great days of Athens and Sparta and beyond.
Scanned from a University of California Libraries copy.
The Children's Homer
Padraic Colum retells the adventures of Odysseus and the tale of Troy in flowing prose, with pictures by Willy Pogány. A good first meeting with Homer.
Scanned from a New York Public Library copy.
Stories from Homer
Alfred J. Church retells the Iliad and the Odyssey in plain prose, illustrated with John Flaxman's drawings. Closer to Homer's own telling than the Children's Homer, for older readers.
Scanned from a University of California Libraries copy.
The Story of the Greek People
Eva March Tappan's “elementary history of Greece”, a connected school history rather than separate stories. A good next step after Famous Men of Greece.
Scanned from a University of California Libraries copy.
Rome
In rough order of reading age.
The Story of Rome, Told to Boys and Girls
Mary Macgregor tells the story of Rome “from the earliest times to the death of Augustus” in short chapters for children.
Scanned from a New York Public Library copy.
Famous Men of Rome
Short life stories of the famous Romans in order, beginning with Romulus and Numa. The companion to Famous Men of Greece.
Scanned from a University of California Libraries copy.
The Story of the Romans
H. A. Guerber's companion to The Story of the Greeks, telling Roman history as a series of short stories.
Scanned from a University of California Libraries copy.
Stories from Livy
Alfred J. Church retells the early stories of Rome from the Roman historian Livy, from Romulus and Numa to Lars Porsenna and Coriolanus, with pictures after Pinelli.
Scanned from a University of California Libraries copy.
The Story of the Roman People
Eva March Tappan's “elementary history of Rome”, the companion to her Story of the Greek People.
Scanned from a Cornell University copy.
Plutarch and the wider world
For going on from Greece and Rome, and for older readers.
A Child's History of the World
V. M. Hillyer, headmaster of the Calvert School, tells the whole story of the world from the earliest times to the end of the First World War, talking straight to the child. This is the 1924 original, not the later revised edition. Some passages reflect the attitudes of the 1920s, so read ahead.
Scanned by the Internet Archive.
Famous Men of the Middle Ages
The next book after Famous Men of Rome, with the same short life stories, now of the leaders of the Middle Ages.
Scanned by the Internet Archive.
Our Island Story
H. E. Marshall's history of England for boys and girls, told as stories from the earliest legends to Queen Victoria, with coloured pictures by A. S. Forrest. Many families read it alongside the Famous Men books.
Scanned from a University of Toronto copy.
Plutarch's Lives, Volume 1
Plutarch's own lives of famous Greeks and Romans, in the Dryden translation revised by A. H. Clough. This first volume of five has Theseus, Romulus, Lycurgus, Numa, Solon, Poplicola, Themistocles, Camillus, Pericles and Fabius. Families often read one life slowly over a term.
Scanned from a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill copy.
About these copies
For the Greek language itself, see New Testament Greek; for Latin, Latin.
Every book here was published before 1931, so it is in the public domain in the United States: free to read, print and share. The scans are kept by the Internet Archive, which shows them on this page and supplies the PDF downloads. The teaching guides are written for this site. Modern reprints are also sold, if you prefer a clean printed copy.