The best books on the Greeks and Romans you never read in school

I get it. People read Homer’s Odyssey because of the adventures and gods and monsters, but for me, his best was his first epic poem, The Iliad. The opening word of the story is “rage,” and the action never stops until the last line. From clashing swords to souls sent down to the house of death, this could have been a heavy metal opera if only Homer had played an electric guitar instead of a lyre. I chose the Lombardo translation because it captures best the action and heroism and pulse-pounding excitement that keeps me reading this one over and over.

Decades ago I wouldn’t have recommended Vergil’s Aeneid. It’s a scandal for a Latin teacher to say that, but there you have it. And then one day the light came on, and I saw the incredible depth of the characters, to say nothing of the artistry of the poetry itself. As I have taught the poem to juniors and seniors each year and worked on my own translation along the way, I never cease to be amazed by Vergil as a writer. He crafts each scene, each character, as if he were a sculptor or a jeweler working the most exquisite cameo. Don’t miss out on a world classic that is too often overlooked in the modern age. For this, I chose a prose translation that really showcases Vergil’s storytelling. 

The internet has made possible what used to be only a dream for readers. Now we can contact our favorite authors, which is what I did while in the middle of this book. I emailed Steven Pressfield just to tell him how much I loved his battle descriptions, and he wrote back thanking me and saying that people usually emailed to ask something of him rather than to compliment his writing. As a former Marine, he knows how to bring ancient battles alive in the modern world. The Alexander he gives us is one you can easily imagine soldiers following to the ends of the earth.

I had had this book on my shelf for a number of years when, working late at school one night, I took a break and pulled it out to look at it. After reading a few pages, I could hardly wait to get home to read the whole thing, and I don’t think I have ever read a book more quickly. I went on to devour all the novels in Whyte’s series The Camulod Chronicles because his writing is superb. This is historical fiction that grounds the King Arthur legend in the dangerous years of post-Roman Britain. The details are accurate and give realism to a well-known legend while creating characters and scenes you just want to spend time with.

When people think of the great rock bands, they think of the hits, the songs that raced to #1. True fans know that there are some great, even better songs, on the flip sides of the albums, the so-called deep cuts. The same is true with writers like Plato. Few are familiar with his Theaetetus, but it is my favorite. It explores how we know what we know and proves the error of a slogan that is as popular today as it was in his time, “Man is the measure of all things.” Plato shows how logically silly that is, and in a fairly humorous way…if you like philosophical wit, that is.