Books with author Rev. Alfred John Church

The Aeneid for Boys and Girls relates the compelling tale of Aeneas, the legendary ancestor of Romulus. Aeneas escaped from the burning city of Troy and wandered the Mediterranean for years before settling in Italy. Patterned after the Iliad and the Odyssey, the Aeneid was originally composed as an epic poem by Virgil to glorify the imperial city of Rome.

I found that "The Story of the Persian War," if it was to be fully told, would require all the space at my command. I have not, therefore, gone beyond this subject, and have given to this book the title which best describes its contents. There are yet "Stories of the West" to be found in Herodotus, which I may have, I hope, and opportunity of giving to the public.The illustrations of this volume are taken from various sculptures and vases. The artist has sought to reproduce in them the coloring of a certain small class of Greek pottery, examples of which may be seen in the British Museum.ALFRED J. CHURCH

Follow Aeneid as he flees a burning Troy with his family and sets out on a dangerous journey to found what will one day become The Roman Empire. Thrill with him as he gets caught up in conflicts between the gods, all the while striving to complete his own grand destiny. Virgil intended this book to be a sequel to the Iliad and the Odyssey, and as such it takes up with events just after the finish of the Odyssey. Inscribed here are myths and legends and tales of bravery destined to last for all time.

It is the second year of the ninety-third Olympiad and the Theatre at Athens is full, for the great dramatic season is at its height, and to-day there is to be performed a new play by Aristophanes, the special favorite of the Athenian public. It is a brilliant scene, but a keen observer, who happened to see the same gathering some five and twenty years ago, must now notice a certain falling off in its splendor. For these five and twenty years have been years of war, and latterly, years of disaster.

It has been said that the Greeks had three schools of comedy—the old, the middle, and the new. The old was the "Comedy of Politics." It took the form of extravaganza or farce. The reader will find nine specimens of it in this volume, all taken from Aristophanes, who indeed is the only writer of this school that is left to us. With the middle we need not now concern ourselves. Possibly we may get some idea of what it was like from the Women in Parliament and the Plutus, two of Aristophanes's later plays. The new comedy was the "Comedy of Manners." It may be compared with the dramas that bear this name on the modern stage, and also with the ordinary novel. We have it only in the translations of Plautus and Terence.I have dealt very freely with my originals, not indeed adding anything, but leaving out much, translating sometimes, and sometimes paraphrasing. Of the liberty which I have allowed myself, I may give an instance. In the Acharnians I have in one place translated "drachmas" by "guineas," though "shillings" would have been nearer the truth. But the context seemed to require it. It was necessary that the envoys should be thought overpaid, and the word "shillings" would not have given the impression.I have many obligations to acknowledge. Perhaps my largest debt is to the translation of Mr. Hookham Frere. These I have even ventured to alter and compress, and to mingle with them some of my own renderings. I owe much to the admirable versions by Mr. B. B. Rogers of the Wasps and the Peace, and to the editions of Mr. Merry, one of the most ingenious and felicitous of Aristophanes's critics. I would mention also a translation of the Acharnians by Mr. Billson, and of the Women in Parliament by the Rev. R. Smith. Mr. Lucas Collins's excellent summaries in the "Ancient Classics for English Readers" I have also found useful.

Herodotus, the “father of history,” is possibly the most famous historian of all—and perhaps the most maligned, despite his clear warning at the start of his book that he was merely recording, not vouchsafing, those things that he had not seen himself. As a result, his accounts are often dismissed, but as Alfred Church’s masterful retelling shows, this is an unjust assumption.Starting with the reign of King Crœsus of Lydia (ca. 560 BC), his wars with the Persians, and the rise of Cyrus the Great of Persia, Herodotus’s story line moves through the late Egyptian dynasties, and deals with their downfall and submission to the Persians. The stories of Cyrus’s successor, Cambyses, and the renowned King Darius are related, along with a fascinating—if brutal—account of the habits of many of the peoples, Indo-European and otherwise, who shaped the destiny of the Ancient Middle East.The author is as careful as Herodotus in his relation of the ascertained facts, and writes in his preface:“I should be sorry that readers who are not acquainted with the work of the ‘Father of History’ should carry away from this book the impression that he is nothing more than a credulous and gossiping teller of stories. That he was often deceived, and that he writes with a simplicity which is quite remote from our ways of thinking, is manifest; but those who know him best are aware that he was nevertheless a shrewd and painstaking observer, whose credit has been distinctly increased by the discoveries of modern times.”This edition has been completely reset, and contains all the original text and illustrations.

The "Story of the Last Days of Jerusalem" is an adaptation of Josephus' dramatic first-hand account of the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 in his famous historical work, "The Jewish Wars." It captures in detail one of the greatest tragedies of all time, often overlooked in more contemporary histories. Some of the scenes are particularly graphic and are not suitable for younger or more sensitive readers. But this volume is an invaluable addition for the more mature student who is interested in studying the final history of Ancient Israel, yet does not have the time to read Josephus' original but very lengthy work. Includes New Testament quotations prophesying the events.

The Iliad is typically described as one of the greatest war stories of all time. Set during the Trojan War, this timeless poem vividly conveys the horror and heroism of men and gods wrestling with towering emotions and battling amid devastation and destruction. Homer's tale is a compassionate view of human life lived under the shadow of suffering and death in the face of an often uncaring divinity. To call it a war story does not begin to describe the emotional sweep of its action and characters in the 10th and final year of the Greek siege of Troy.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.