From Achilles to Christ: Why Christians Should Read the Pagan Classics

by Louis A. Markos

"The heart of Christianity is a myth which is also a fact." --C. S. Lewis In From Achilles to Christ, Louis Markos introduces readers to the great narratives of classical mythology from a Christian perspective. From the battles of Achilles and the adventures of Odysseus to the feats of Hercules and the trials of Aeneas, Markos shows how the characters, themes and symbols within these myths both foreshadow and find their fulfillment in the story of Jesus Christ--the "myth made fact." Along the way, he dispels misplaced fears about the dangers of reading classical literature, and offers a Christian approach to the interpretation and appropriation of these great literary works. This engaging and eminently readable book is an excellent resource for Christian students, teachers and readers of classical literature.

Genres: Education, Philosophy, Theology, Nonfiction, Christian, Classics, Christianity

264 pages, Paperback

First published July 26, 2007

About the author

Dr. Markos earned his B.A. in English and History from Colgate University and his M.A. and Ph.D. in English from the University of Michigan. At the University of Michigan, he specialized in British Romantic Poetry, Literary Theory, and the Classics.

He has taught at Houston Baptist University since 1991, where he is Professor in English and holds the Robert H. Ray Chair in Humanities.

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was *very* excited to read this book. The entire premise sounded great, happily I would have jumped on the band wagon and agreed. Yes. Christians should read the classics. Just give me the arguments why and I will embrace them enthusiastically.
Except I don't feel that way at all. I thoroughly enjoy Greek myths and know quite a bit about them. I love the Bible and have been brought up in it. As a student, I come prepared with more than an adequate knowledge of both topics. From Achilles to Christ left me feeling more inclined to flee than embrace. I don't know why Christians should read the pagan classics after finishing this book. Most of his arguments felt like a major stretch to me. I didn't quite see their point or I felt the imagery was only slightly there.
I enjoyed his analysis of the Iliad or the Aeneid on its own level. When he is describing how the poet gives insight into a particular character or commends a flashback, I gained quite a bit of comprehension. And the irony is he spends most of the book doing just that. Analyzing the text. However, when he starts explaining how a Greek character is the shadowy equivalent of Moses or David or even Jesus I go....eh. Perhaps. Is Achilles like Christ? He may make the statement or point to how they both experience grief but I wanted to gain a better understanding of it. What would it really mean if Achilles was a pseudo-Christ? I read every page of this book and I don't really know. I'm not even sure I am convinced there is a likeness.
However, what turned me against his arguments and alienated me most strongly is the analysis he gives based on a Freudian interpretation. I do not find in the stories of Oedipus or Electra the Freudian arguments of lust for ones parent. There is one part in particular - and I am totally blanking on which one of the tragedies it came from - where a girl explains how relieved she was to marry the hero because formally her suitor was a sea god thing. The author goes on to affirm that it isn't really seaweed and snakes coming out of this guy, no, she's actually afraid of masculinity and showing it by her revulsion of his outward appearance or something. I don't care if this is even the common understanding of this text. If the dude is hideous, the dude is hideous. No raw masculinity about it. That ticked me off.
Thus, in conclusion, as most of the book is spent describing rather than analyzing, as the Freudian-like analysis seriously angered me, and as the book left very little impression on me....I'd recommend against it. Really, a major disappointment. It had potential.

[David Haines · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book, Louis Markos takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of the great Greek and Roman Classics. We see Hesiod's Theogony, Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, and Virgil's Aeneid. For each of these classics, Markos provides the reader with a summary of the overall story, and then dives into books themselves to point out all kinds of fascinating and inspiring details, including how later author's were inspired by earlier authors, but, more importantly, how these Greek and Roman authors provide their readers with what we might call "pagan prophecies, types, or foreshadows" of the coming Christ of the Jews, who would fulfill all of their longings for justice, peace, meaning, truth, goodness, and beauty. It is, in fact, to this purpose that Markos writes this book: to show, following C. S. Lewis, that God gave "good dreams" to the pagans. These good dreams prepared them, mentally, culturally, morally, and emotionally for the coming Messiah. These pagan myths contained "seeds" of Christian truths which would only come to fruition in Christ.
This is an excellent book which is both an enjoyable and a helpful read. It could be used as an introductory textbook or a guidebook to the reading of Ancient Greco-Roman literature. It could be used as a refresher, for those who read Greco-Roman literature a long time ago, and want to be reminded of what they saw. It certainly will enhance your reading of these great work of literature, and help the reader to see things they may not have noticed before.

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christians can look back on the pagan classics from Homer and Virgil and see the universal human longing for a Savior. As Achilles and Odysseus struggle through their heroic adventures, the Christian can draw parallels to Christ's own heroic deeds, finding the completion of every myth in the person of Christ. In the Bible, God often uses pagan kings to reveal His truth and further His kingdom. The truth of Christ can be found reflected in all of creation and especially in the greatest creative literature of the ancient world.
The author says that "...the great, overarching symbols of literature can function as they do only because history and the universe are inherently meaningful and moving toward a purposeful end."pg. 133
The pre-Christian myths of the Greeks and Romans include the same symbols and themes that are present in the Bible, and which find their final fruition in Christ.

I loved the writing style of this book! It's scholarly, but easy to read and understand even if you know nothing about Greek tragedy or Roman poetry. We not only explore the way in which the pagan myths point to Christ, but also how the plot structure and character development has shaped literature and all of Western thought. Each chapter gives a synopsis of the basic legends of the Trojan horse and Hercules and Zeus and Athena, and then we can analyze the main themes and symbols and see how they prepared the way for Christianity.

Because people in the ancient world would have been familiar with concepts like a scapegoat like Oedipus who sacrifices themselves to save the rest of their people, then they would be prepared to believe in a God who becomes human and sacrifices Himself to save all mankind. Greek tragedy was instrumental in popularizing value systems of virtue and honor, and therefore preparing the world to receive faith in Christ.

The author says, "...though the pagan poets and philosophers of Greece and Rome did not have all the answers... they knew how to ask the right questions - questions that build within the readers of their works a desire to know the higher truths about themselves and their Creator." pg. 14

I think it is so important for modern readers to connect with ancient history in order to understand our past and be able to get a wider perspective on our present and future. If you don't know where you came from, you can't possibly understand where you are or where you are going. The threads of thought that we think today go all the way back to ancient Greek civilization. The author says that "...we should be able to discern in those events patterns that mark the hinge points of that greater cosmic plan."pg. 134 The things we value, the way we make decisions, the way our governments and cultures and education and language are organized, all go back thousands of years; and amazingly the roots of things, the core of Western culture hasn't changed all that much. To understand who you are, you must understand the people that came before you.

The entire first section of the book is dedicated to Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. The Iliad is the story of Achilles and Agamemnon, Paris and Helen, and the Trojan War. The focus is on the wrath of Achilles in the midst of war, and the transition from barbarism to civilization in the Greek camp. We analyze what qualities Greeks defined as virtuous and how those are similar or different from Christian virtues. The Greeks thought mostly of winning glory in battle so that their legacy would be remembered, but Achilles begins to question that value system. Through the Trojan War, we explore the paradox of personal choice vs. duty and destiny. Through all the horrors of the war, Achilles suffers loss and seeks revenge and indulges his wrath, but cannot find peace or any stability until he begins to share his grief with another. It is through shared grief that he, and the reader, finally find clarity and human connection. The author likens this to how Christ is also "acquainted with grief" and shares our sorrows. While Achilles begins his story with so much promise and potential to become a great hero, he fails again and again; but Christ is the fulfillment of that promise of a great hero and He never fails.

The Odyssey is the story of Odysseus trying to find his way home to his wife Penelope after the Trojan War is over. His house has been overrun by suitors for Penelope who want to take over, and Odysseus' son Telemachus is too young to stop them. This story focuses on the duties and responsibilities of home life, and how each person, male and female, has their own role to fill so that daily life is peaceful and orderly. The author compares this to the Mosaic Law, saying that it is not enough that the law should be followed, but it must be "written on our hearts." It is not enough for Odysseus and his son Telemachus to understand the concepts of virtue and honor in their culture; they must live out that virtue and cleanse their house from the usurping suitors, thus restoring the proper order and their family identity. Odysseus' triumphant return to claim his family home is paralleled in Christ's return in judgement as Scripture describes the Day of the Lord, a time of joy for faithful servants and of justice and destruction for evil.

The second section explores the works of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, analyzing their different approaches to how the Greek gods interact with humans, and how humans react to their fate in life. We explore destiny vs. personal freedom, the emotional vs. the rational, the needs of the family vs. the duties we owe to the state, and the nature of faith in a higher power that is ultimately mysterious.

The one that impacted me the most was the story of Oedipus. I used to hate that story, because it's gross, but now I think about it in a completely new light. When he is born, it is prophesied that Oedipus will kill his father and marry his mother, so the baby is left out in the wild to die by exposure, but he is rescued and adopted by a king in a foreign land. He grows up and travels and meets a company of people, they have a conflict and he kills them all, not realizing that he has just killed his own father. Later he visits a city and meets the widowed queen and they marry, not realizing that he has just married his own mother. When a plague hits the city years later, Oedipus is told that the only way to get the gods to relieve this plague is for him to find the man who killed his father. Oedipus is committed to finding this truth, even when it means discovering the truth about his own true identity, leading to his own destruction. He is so honorable and courageous that he will face the truth no matter what it is. He willing sacrifices himself to save the city from the plague, just as Christ sacrificed Himself to save mankind from the plague of sin. I used to always think of Oedipus as just a tragic figure who succumbs to a terrible fate, not fully realizing how heroic his actions really are and how honorable and innocent he is despite his horrific deeds. In the struggle between fate and freedom, there is a tragic triumph is Oedipus' self-discovery even while he maintains his true integrity. The Christian also has a paradox between free-will and predestination, where we have both the reality of personal choice and divine destiny that work together.

The final section explores the works of Virgil and the bloody history of the Roman Empire, and the author scrutinizes what he calls the "ghosts in the machine, the hidden forces that propel history toward its appointed end." Virgil brings the Greek tragedies into a full circle with the history of Rome, showing how the Greek heroes are reborn in a way and their stories are recycled over and over through history. This point is where the Greek virtues of personal honor begin to transform into the Roman virtues of duty to your city. Private desires have to be set aside to fulfill the public responsibilities.

In the Aeneid, Aeneas flees the Trojan War seeking a new place to settle, and his destiny is to establish the great city of Rome. The author likens this to Abraham seeking for a Promised Land and a great destiny for a mighty people in the far future. They both work for the hope of something that they themselves will never see, but that their children's children will bring to pass.

Over and over in the Greek and Roman stories, we see the theme of one person sacrificing themselves, giving their life to save others. This book made me see how Christ really is the center point of all of history, and every great story ever told contains reflections of that cornerstone of Christ's death and resurrection. It resonates, not just forward in time, but also backward through all of history. After reading this book, I will never think of the scope of history or literature in quite the same way again.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review.

[Rick Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Canto XXII of Dante’s Purgatorio, Dante and Virgil meet a man named Statius, a pagan convert to Christianity. In their ensuing discussion, Statius says to Virgil:

"…Thou first directedst me
Towards Parnassus, in its grots to drink,
And first concerning God didst me enlighten.

Thou didst as he who walketh in the night,
Who bears his light behind, which helps him not,
But wary makes the persons after him,

When thou didst say: 'The age renews itself,
Justice returns, and man's primeval time,
And a new progeny descends from heaven.'

Through thee I Poet was, through thee a Christian…”

Throughout the ages disagreement has existed among Christians about the relative value of pagan literature for a Christian worldview. There have been those like Tertullian who deny that Jerusalem ought to have any traffic with Athens, and this seems to be the common view of many conservative Christians today. However, there is another tradition within the Church, exemplified by the passage from Dante above, that pagan writers possessed at least some knowledge of the logos by the common grace which all men possess, even if they did not have the full revelation of Jesus Christ. As one who, by profession, teaches the pagan classics to Christian high school students, it should be clear on which side of the fence I stand. All pagan stories are yearning for something true, something once known but half forgotten in the mists of time. As such pagan stories can contain truth that may instruct and be beneficial to Christians seeking to better understand God’s creation and purpose in the world. Nor does it surprise me that the Apostle Paul shows a good knowledge of Greek poetry to be useful not only when discoursing with pagans (Acts 17) but also when instructing a young pastor (Titus 1:12).

From Achilles to Christ: Why Christians Should Read the Pagan Classics is an attempt by Professor Louis Markos to inculcate an appreciation for the pagan classics among Christians of today, and to pick up the line of medieval interpretation of the classics of which Dante is merely one example. I bought this book hoping to find a closely reasoned and sustained argument for Christian reading of the pagan classics, and was initially disappointed to find that this book was something else entirely. While the introduction was a short case for Christian reading of Greek and Roman literature, the rest of the book is a series of meditations working through some major works of classical literature, and drawing out the pre-Christian themes which prefigure Christ or point toward more Christian truths.

While I was, as I said, initially disappointed that this was the case, I quickly began to appreciate Professor Markos’s approach as a wonderful way to draw people into classical works. The book was a pleasure to read, and was full of gleanings and insights which I know will help me in my teaching, and which would also help anyone in understanding the great books of the past. I feel that he never overreached by trying to force the ancients into a Christian mold, but truly uncovered the insights of the greatest writers of antiquity and showed the collective yearning in the Greek soul for something more. I would heartily recommend this book to any Christian who is opposed to reading pagan literature as a good case for the other side. Likewise, I would recommend this book for any Christian who is actively engaged in reading and enjoying the pagan classics. From Achilles to Christ will enrich your reading of these works in a wonderful way.

Finally, I might recommend that the reader be familiar with the works being discussed before reading the chapters about them in the book. If possible, you should read the actual classic before reading Markos’s meditation on it. I can’t imagine reading this book without that background. Throughout my reading, I found myself smiling along with Professor Markos, and nodding at remembered passages and scenes from the literature. However, without a contextual framework, it may be difficult to retain all of Professor Markos’s insights while picking up the actual piece of ancient literature. Above all, this book ought to spark an appreciation for the pre-Christian writers of antiquity and for all that they have to offer to the world, and especially to Christians, today.

[Tommy Kraemer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Markos is insightful and his ability to weave together threads across all of the stories he covers is impressive. Also, his ability to connect the stories to the greater biblical narrative was moving. With that being said, this book is not for everyone. If you are not interested in epic poetry or tragedies, this book will be a snooze-fest for you. But I am interested in both, so it was good for me.

[Dvdlynch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting parallels are drawn here but the two chapters on Euripides go to truly Postmodern(read: ridiculous) lengths to give a Christian tint to Pagan texts.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book surprised me a bit. I had looked it up because the project intrigued me. As a Latin teacher and a Christian, I've had to come to my own accommodation with my classical education, so I was interested in seeing what other people have done. Yet, I was a bit leary as a lot of attempts to harmonize Christianity and classics ultimately bog down into a kind of Western cultural hegemony which sees both Classics and Christianity as part of a cultural whole called the West whose value mythologizes both the study of the classical period and the Christian faith. That tendency is, thankfully, lacking in this book; a deficit for which I am quite grateful.

What Markos does, however, is use his literary methods to look for allegorical and figurative connections between the Bible and Classical literature. Sometimes those connections are a bit strained, but sometimes they can be quite enlightening. This warms my heart because this approach isn't all that different from what Christians in the patristic age and later tended to do to incorporate classical learning. So, Markos is in good company.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

2024: Now that I have read most of the works discussed here, I appreciated his ideas much more. Really worthwhile, with a ton of recommendations for further reading in the back.

2016: This book wasn't what I thought it would be, which was an argument for reading the pagan classics. I expected reasons why. Instead it is a discussion of Homer and Virgil, with connections to Christianity pointed out and discussed. I would have been completely lost, had I not read Greek Myths and The Trojan War with my children in the past 2 years. That gave me a general familiarity with the Greek characters, which was very helpful.

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent survey of ancient literature (the epics and tragedies), not just "from a Christian perspective," though that certainly, but also animated by the thesis that God spoke to the pagans through their best literature, not, certainly, as clearly and authoritatively as he spoke to his own people in scripture, but nevertheless that he was shaping and preparing them through it for the revelation of Jesus in his fullness.

[Porter Sprigg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Markos does a good job connecting the proto-Christian stories of Homer and Virgil to Scriptural themes and characters. I think sometimes his connections are a bit of a stretch but overall I appreciated his attempts to show the beauty in the pagan classics from a Judeo-Christian perspective.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

From Achilles to Christ: Why Christians Should Read the Pagan Classics opens the book with a remonstrance against the Protestant attitude that anything that predated Christ, or anything outside the Bible, is value-less. Although a Protestant himself, author Louis Markos regards the Catholic church favorably for its integration of the classic western tradition into its own tradition, in effect building upon and continuing the queries of Aristotle and Plato into the nature of the cosmos, ethics, beauty, etc. Markos' conviction is the same of CS Lewis' as expressed in The Abolition of Man, namely that while Christianity is the ultimate truth, basic truths are also available in other traditions. The aim of Markos in this volume is to see the truths which the Greek myths express about the nature of man and meaning. He then guides the reader through the works of Homer, selected works by Greek playwrights and historians, and ends with the Aeneid. As someone who has been removed from Western Literature I and II for far too long, I was interested in this chiefly as an accessible look at Greek literature, a reminder of its stories and writers. Markos reflects on the themes present in literature, like the struggle between familial duties and loyalty to the polis. Because the Greek dramatic tradition is in fact a tradition, Markos notes how differently the same myths might be used by different authors, and examines how the Aeneid is a deliberate Roman tribute to the Illiad and Odyessey, using its structure, locales, and elements. It was not a Latinized copy of the Greek epic, however, but one written with Rome's own history in mind -- and not ancient, but recent, as Aeneas' story can be read as a tribute to Augustus' victory over Marc Anthony and Cleopatra. Markos also connects the classical heritage to Christianity when he can, argue at times that the Greeks are foreshadowing the advent of Christ. This is similar to Luc Ferry's approach in Wisdom from the Myths, in which he argues that the Greek myths and plays constitute a coherent worldview -- a Stoic one. Markos isn't as insistent as Ferry, however, and the core of the book is merely in seeing what truths the old stories still tell us about ourselves and our relationships to our own polis and the cosmos.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

The subtitle of this book by evangelical scholar Louis Markos, 'why Christians should read the pagan classics', is a bit unfortunate. This is clearly a defense the author finds himself making in his professional life (it's a pity the defense should even need arise in the first place). Apart from the fact that the statement just adds to an ever-growing list of things Christians should do, Markos makes the argument early in the book and then moves on. What ensues is simply a very enjoyable engagement with classical literature coming from the perspective of a scholar who clearly loves his work. No pragmatic reason or justification needed - just enjoy. Forget the subtitle.

The main drive (or conceit, to use the technical term) of the book is to draw from classical pre-Christian literature, truths, foreshadowings and parallels read backwards through the lens of Christian revelation - Christian theology has been reading ancient texts (most notably the Hebrew scriptures) this way pretty much from year dot. This reading method applied to classical literature had its heyday in the medieval period. It's how Virgil (the pre-Christian Roman poet) ended up being Dante's guide in Dante's 'The Divine Comedy'.

Reading this way will also inevitably be influenced by particular theological and cultural lenses and Markos's theological and cultural extrapolations weren't always comfortable. But basically it was a good time. Fascinating and engrossing. I particularly enjoyed his treatment of Homer's Odyssey, which I've now decided I need to read in the near future. Which, of course, is Markos's ultimate aim. Mission accomplished. Happy to have gone along for the ride.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The two main aims of this book are 1) to give brief overviews of some of the great works of antiquity and 2) to connect the stories and themes in these works to parallels in Scripture and salvation history in order to argue that these pagan works were proto-Christian and quasi-"prophetic" in that they anticipated the revelation that is to come in Jesus Christ.

While #1 is done very well, and while I agree with the author's overall claim regarding #2 (since these themes are perennial to the human condition), I found the various parallels between these classical works and Scripture and salvation history to be strong in only a couple of instances but tenuous in most places. An example of a possibly strong parallel: Markos's conjecture that Jesus's words to the Greeks in John 12:23-26 ("Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies...it will bear much fruit") could have been a bridge building moment if these Greeks were of the Eleusinian cult, given their worship rites surrounding the myth of Persephone and Demeter that explains the cycle of death and rebirth of the crops each year. An example of a weak parallel, or what strikes me as "parallelomania": in Hesiod's Theogony, Krono's castration of Ouranos to prevent more children is parallel to Onan's "castration" of himself in spilling his seed to avoid impregnating Tamar.

[Dustin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing and left me looking for more works of his. This book is essential for those who might consider themselves Christian Humanists. The author points out their have been biblical precedents in which God has revealed himself to pagans and has utilized them i.e., Nebekenezzer, the Witch of Endor, and Ruth to reveal something of himself to humanity. And if so, then why not pagan myths as well? Markos outlines parallels between the pagan classics as they work to produce truths familiar to Christians. If you are not a Christian, then you might enjoy for the same reason one might enjoy Joseph Cambell. Cambell pointed out these stories have been re-told throughout time and argue these stories draw upon a collective consciousness that we all share. Implying these tropes becomes timeless because we recognize the timeless truths about humanity and our place in the universe, albeit subconsciously.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book, and did like parts of it quite a bit (mostly where Markos was analyzing the texts in detail). But there was some really muddy thinking about the nature of revelation and God's dealings with pagan nations that marred the book. I don't need to be persuaded that Christians should read the pagan classics for any other reason than that they're great works of literature, great works of literature grapple with the human condition - and the Bible supremely interprets and defines the human condition. Thus we can learn wisdom from anything that helps us think about human experience. But saying that God was preparing the pagan world for Christ through ancient poets is something with far more theological problems, and sounds almost post-Vatican II Roman Catholic in its theological structure. Stick with the easy claim - these are great works of literature that promote wisdom - and leave the theological rationale aside, and it was a great book.

[Caleb Bratcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a rich approach to pagan literature! I went into the book jaded from only partially successful attempts during my school years to read the classics like the Iliad and Aeneid, but this book awakened a new desire in me to explore them with fresh eyes.

Various comments in the book make me think I would disagree with Louis Markos on much, but his beautiful use of the English language, his love for God's story, and his love for incredible literature make the book worth a read for believers from all over the Christian spectrum.

In a world full of literary kitsch, authors like Louis Markos truly carry on the legacies of the masters of English literature like Lewis and Tolkien and help laypeople like myself see the wonders of past human creativity for what they are.

[Justin Denlinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fascinating and informative. I think Christians do well to at least understand the influences that have shaped the thinking of many prestigious Christian figures, for better or worse.

I do think a lot of the medieval thinkers were way too comfortable with synthesizing the classics into Christianity, and it had devastating effects.

Although the acceptance of ideas that are antithetical to Christ’s teaching (Just War, swearing oaths, etc) was largely due to the influence of Augustine on the later Early Church (and so, long before the medieval period), the Catholic obsession with baptizing the pagan classics more firmly cemented those cancerous ideas.

[Kimmy Lucas · Rating 3 out of 5]

“If it is true, as Paul teaches in Acts 17:26-28, that we were all made in his image, that he is not far from us, that in him we live and move and have our being, then it must also be true that those timeless works of ancient Greece and Rome that record the musings of humanity's greatest seekers and yearners will contain traces, remnants and intimations of that wisdom which made us.”

I do think that human beings throughout time have known glimpses of the truth, but I did not enjoy this book as much as I expected. Many of the chapters just did not capture my attention. Some of the connections Markos discusses are striking, but many of them just seemed a stretch to me.

[Tim Deforest · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating and intelligent book that very strongly makes a case for God having spoken to pre-Christian cultures through their myths, plays and poems--that hints of Jesus and God's overall plan for humanity are there as points of light in the darkness, thus priming them for one day understanding and embracing Christianity. The author is a literary scholar who has a deep understanding of Homer, Virgil, Sophocles and the other great writers of antiquity, putting his knowledge and his faith to good work to discover that God's Truth can be found anywhere.

[JR Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a superb commentary/introduction to Homer, Virgil, and a smattering of Greek Dramas. I don't know if I'm as "hawkish" as Markos is on the "Christian-ness" of these pagan works, but I'm almost there.

The other, similar book is Leithart's "Heroes of the City of Man" which I hear is also very good/ Markos recommends it in the bibliographical essay at the back.

[Brad · Rating 5 out of 5]

A magisterial survey of the greatest Greek and Roman poetry, and the many ways they pointed to and prepared the pagans for the coming Christ, not unlike how the special revelation of the Old Testament prepared the hearts of Israel for the Christ.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I throughly enjoyed this book

I am no expert in Homer or Virgil; I remember muddling through the Odyssey in high school and later in college, but I never read the Iliad or the Aeneid, both books have set on my shelves or years; perhaps it is time to take them up and again.

[Brad Herold · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Good Way For Christians To Start The Classics

What if, Tolkien challenged his skeptical friend, the reason that the story of Christ sounded so similar to the pagan tales of dying and rising gods was because Jesus was the myth that came true?

[Austin Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good.

[Lisa Brantly · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Great resource

[James R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

stupendous

What a great review of the Greek classics and their contributions to contemporary culture. This should be required reading in any humanities program

[Julie Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book can be dense reading if, like me, you haven't read a lot of these classics. I knew The Iliad and The Odyssey, with a wisp of understanding of the Aeneid. However, Markos does a uniformly excellent job of explaining each work, the deeper context that the original audiences would have had, and the context in which we are likely to read it ourselves (both secular and Christian). A really good book if this is the kind of book you like. And I do!

[Louise · Rating 2 out of 5]

A thought-provoking book, on so many levels. Markos' deconstruction of the pagan myths such as the Iliad and the Odyssey is worthy reading, and his parallels within the Bible are an interesting concept.

However, the belief that God/Yahweh directed Homer, Sophocles, Virgil, and others to write these works is I feel a little fantastic. The premise of the book is that the authors were being shown a glimpse of what was to come, and they then interpreted it to suit their environment.

Markos also seems to believe there are only 3 types of people in the world - Christians, pagans, and atheists. Within this, I found some of his religiosity to be narrow-minded and unnecessary.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I might use some of it for my conference paper at Dordt College in the fall of 2012, but I ended up putting it down because of time.

Lou Markos signed a copy on September 20, 2013, at Houston Baptist University.

I wonder how it compares to Leithart's Heroes in the City of Man (here).

[Madelyn Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m still on the fence for this book. I’ll write a more detailed review later, but suffice it to say that I do not believe it lived up to its expectations and the author went a bit too far on some claims. It was an interesting book overall, but not quite the experience I’d expected.

http://madelynrosecraig.com/2021/07/1...