March
Plutarch: 'Lives of Noble Grecians and Romans' (only Lycurgus, Numa Pompilius, Lycurgus and Numa compared, Alexander, Caesar) Kindle/Nook/Google
And with this we leave the Greek writers. But not the Greeks themselves as we open with the history of Lycurgus, the founder of the Spartan way of life. Numa Pompilius was the second king of Rome. And of course you've probably heard of Alexander the Great and Caesar. Sadly, this is the only Plutarch on the list.
I'm tempted to suggest a viewing of the movie '300' to familiarize yourself with the Spartans but from what I understand they might have taken a few liberties. (No, really.)
A couple of years ago I read 'Fire from Heaven' by Mary Renault, an historical novel dealing with Alexander's early years. The book was striking for it's heroic portrayal of the boy with an nearly indomitable spirit from early days. It apparently was the inspiration for the Oliver Stone film 'Alexander'. I thought 'Fire from Heaven' was pretty good.
We'll cover Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar' in year seven. I'd recommend Shaw's version too.
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