General (p. 2)
Allen, W. (2013) Euripides’ Medea. London: Duckworth.
An excellent companion volume to the text, useful to extend able learners. It is probably best to use this after studying the text initially to enable learners to develop their own views of the text first.
Hall, E. (1989) Inventing the Barbarian. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Provides a useful introduction to the reception of Greek tragedy, and is also very useful for studying the Persians. This is best for extended able learners but directed quotes can be given for discussion and use in essays.
Harrison, T. ed (2001) Greeks and Barbarians. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
A very useful set of chapters on varied topics, although it would probably need to be digested for most 6th formers. The discussion about Aeschylus' Persians and whether it is sympathetic (Goldhill: Yes, Hall: No) would be interesting for learners. Useful for quotes for discussion/use in essays.
Morkot, R. (1996) Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece. London: Penguin.
Great for maps (colonisation, poleis, Persian Wars) in particular, it also gives useful, clear introductions.
Osborne, R. (2014) Greek History: The Basics. London: Routledge.
A short and useful overview for all readers. Chapter 5 could be read as an introduction to the topic.
Waters, M. (2014) Ancient Persia: A Concise History of the Achaemenid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Particularly to extend learners who wish to read more about Persian history.
1.1 Greek Identity (p. 14)
Cartledge, P. ed (1998) Ancient Greece. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Well-illustrated and a useful introduction to the topic for all readers.
Hansen, M (2006) Polis. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Short book but an excellent study of the Greek polis. Useful for extending learners.
Lane Fox, R. (2005) The Classical World. London: Penguin.
Very useful to give an overview of the period. Engaging style and easy to read, particularly for able learners.
1.2 The Persian Wars and Greek (Dis)Unity (p. 26)
Bradley, P. (1988) Ancient Greece. Melbourne: Edward Arnold Australia.
Diagrams and maps are particularly useful. The information is clearly presented and easy to follow for all pupils.
Bury, J.B. and Meiggs, R. (1975) History of Greece. London: Macmillan.
More detailed than the above but less “user-friendly”. The timeline at the back is particularly useful.
Green, P. (1996) The Greco-Persian Wars. Oakland, CA: University of California Press.
Useful for academic quotes to support discussion. The analysis of Herodotus is interesting.
1.3 Greeks and Barbarians (p. 38)
Beard, M. (2010) The Parthenon. London: Profile Books.
Aimed at the general reader, this book gives a good sense of the importance of the Parthenon to the Greeks.
Cartledge, P. (2002) The Greeks: A Portrait of Self and Others. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
This book is good for binary definitions. 6th formers will need help with the expression of the ideas.
Vlassopoulos, K. (2013) Greeks and Barbarians. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Not as central for this topic as the Harrison book of the same name but chapters are concise and directed. Useful to extend able learners.
Woodford, S. (1997) An Introduction to Greek Art. London: Duckworth.
This is particularly useful in helping learners to develop their ability to critically appreciate Greek art. There is a clear section on the uses of the different vases.
1.4 Depictions and Portrayals: Mythical Barbarians (p. 54)
Hall, E. (2010) Greek Tragedy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
This is useful for the context and importance of Greek Tragedy. It explains binary differences well and so is useful for this part of the topic.
Harrison, J. (1999) Medea. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
This is a set text. The notes, summaries and questions are particularly good.
Mossman, J. (2008) Euripides’ Medea. Warminster: Aris and Phillips.
Useful as a companion volume to the text but only really for able learners or for teachers to develop views.
1.5 Depictions and Portrayals: Historical Barbarians (p. 70)
Rosenbloom, D. (2007) Persae. London: Duckworth.
Useful historical context is provided. It is a good book to revise what has gone before – so perhaps one to introduce towards the end of the course?
Vellacott, P. trans (1961) Aeschylus: Prometheus Bound and Other Plays. London: Penguin.
This is a set text. Good to supplement this with a companion volume, such as the one above.
1.6 The Reality of Persia (p. 86)
Brosius, M. ed (2000) Lactor 16: The Persian Empire from Cyrus II to Artaxerxes I. London: London Association of Classical Teachers.
Source book – useful for pupils to practice their source analysis skills. Useful to read in conjunction with the Curtis books below.
Curtis, J. (1989) Ancient Persia. London: British Museum Press.
This gives a brief introduction to the Persian Empire and is a book which all students could read before commencing this part of the course. This and all the following British Museum books are aimed at the general reader and lavishly illustrated so very easy to follow.
Curtis, J. (2013) The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia. London: British Museum Press.
Provides a full translation of the Cylinder and discusses possible interpretations of this important primary source.
Curtis, J. and Tallis, N. eds (2005) Forgotten Empire. London: British Museum Press.
A fuller introduction to Ancient Persia, divided into short essays covering many aspects of the life and history of Ancient Persia. It could usefully be read alongside Herodotus' description of Persian customs, which is a prescribed section of the Histories. It also sets in context the prescribed examples of Persian material culture.
Wiesehofer, J. (2001) Ancient Persia. London: I.B.Tauris.
Only the first part is relevant to this topic but the chapter on everyday life is interesting as a comparison to Herodotus.
Further Additions to the Reading List
Kurht, A. (2009) The Persian Empire: A Corpus of Sources from the Achaemenid Period. Abingdon: Routledge.
An exhaustive source book with some very interesting “gems”. Very good for extension work on Ancient Persia.
Holland, T. (2005) Persian Fire. London: Little, Brown.
Accessible, with easy to follow descriptions of the battles.
Dewald, C. ed (2006) The Cambridge Companion to Herodotus. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Divided into essays, this book covers a range of topics – on content and on style.
Man, J. (2017) Amazons. London: Bantam.
Entertaining book on the enduring fascination for the Amazons