A Pair of Classical Tales

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Are you looking to introduce or supplement your study of the culture of ancient Rome or Greece? If so, look to these two books by Caroline Dale Snedeker, a Newberry-Award winning author, who painstakingly researched and studied the time periods of the settings of her novels.
Published posthumously, Lysis Goes to the Play is a short novel about a young Greek boy who is looking forward to attending his first play with his father. Disappointed when something comes up and his father has to cancel the outing, Lysis decides to disguise his sister Callisto as a boy and attend the theater performace with her. Although I felt that the characters could use more development, this 62-page book alludes to important aspects of Greek culture and historical figures. The pagan religious customs, the roles for males and females, the social hierarchy, and the architecture and art of ancient Greece included in the book would make excellent discussion starters. You will be delighted to see Athenian greats, such as Sophocles, Pericles, and Euripedes, through Lysis’s eyes.

A novel about Rome, rather than Greece, is A Triumph for Flavius, written by Snedeker when she was 82. Longer than Lysis Goes to the Play, this novel’s ninety-four pages also include more character development. The novel opens with the triumphal return of Flavius’s father, Lucius Mummius, who has defeated Corinth. Mummius has brought his son a “souvenir,” a princely Corinthian slave by the name of Ariphron. Flavius is torn by the pride of owning this important conquest and the fear and awe that Ariphron instills. The novel follows the slowly building friendship of Flavius and Ariphron, all the while giving us glimpses into the culture of ancient Rome. Roman warfare, architecture, religious beliefs, schooling, and the dynamics between slaves and masters are explored. Flavius undergoes a a dynamic change from the beginning of the book to the end in how he views Ariphron.

Both of these excellent examples of historical fiction are recommended for Grades 3-5. Happy reading!