Roman Roads Media

Roman Roads Media is the video-based classical Christian publisher behind Old Western Culture — the Great Books video course series that introduces students to the Western canon through real engagement with real texts. If Dave Raymond is beloved for American history, Wes Callihan's Old Western Culture is beloved for ancients, medievals, early moderns, and moderns.

Last updated: 2026-04-20 · Every Homeschool Editorial Team

At a glance

Method	Video-based Great Books (classical Christian)
Worldview	Christian classical (broadly orthodox; Reformed lean on commentary)
Grades	9-12 (high school)
Formats	Streaming video plus printed materials
Cost tier	Standard to Premium
Parent intensity	2
ESA-common	Yes
Accredited	No
Established	2011
Website	romanroadsmedia.com

Our scoreboard (1-5)

Criterion	Score	One-line reason
Academic rigor	5	Primary-text Great Books treatment at high school level
Ease of teaching	4	Video leads; parent discussion helpful but not essential
Content quality	5	Wes Callihan is a gifted teacher of the canon
Flexibility	5	Self-paced streaming
Value for money	4	Strong for content depth delivered
Worldview scope	2	Christian classical throughout
Visual/design	4	Clean production; not as cinematic as Compass
Support resources	3	Materials and informal community support

Who the publisher is

Roman Roads Media was founded in 2011 by Daniel Foucachon and his team to bring classical Christian curriculum to homeschool families through video and digital formats. The company's signature product — Old Western Culture — is a four-year video course covering the Great Books of the Western tradition, taught by Wes Callihan, a classical Christian educator whose teaching has shaped many classical Christian school humanities programs.

Old Western Culture covers: Year 1 — The Greeks (Homer, Plato, tragedy, Herodotus, Thucydides); Year 2 — The Romans (Virgil, Livy, Tacitus, Cicero, Augustus); Year 3 — Christendom (Augustine, Boethius, Dante, Chaucer, Aquinas selections); Year 4 — Early Moderns (Milton, Shakespeare, Bacon, Locke). Each year includes approximately 48 video lessons plus readings, written responses, and substantial primary-text engagement.

Scale is meaningful. Old Western Culture has been used by thousands of homeschool families and by classical Christian schools as a humanities program. Wes Callihan's reputation within classical Christian education circles is substantial — he is widely recognized as one of the most gifted teachers of the Western canon in the classical Christian school movement.

The core pedagogy

Roman Roads's pedagogy is Great Books video instruction — Wes Callihan teaches primary texts from the Western canon with substantive lectures plus assigned readings. Students read the actual texts (Homer's Iliad, Virgil's Aeneid, Augustine's Confessions, Dante's Divine Comedy, Shakespeare's plays) and watch Callihan's video lectures that contextualize, interpret, and discuss the texts.

Scope and sequence: Old Western Culture Year 1 covers the Greeks across approximately 48 lessons and a full school year of reading. Year 2 covers the Romans, Year 3 Christendom, Year 4 Early Moderns. A family running the full four-year sequence gets a genuine Great Books humanities program at high school level that matches what brick-and-mortar classical Christian high schools deliver in their literature and Western Civilization courses.

Signature mechanics: (1) Wes Callihan's teaching. The pedagogical heart of Roman Roads. Callihan is a rare combination — deep scholarly command of the texts, genuine teaching gift, warm and engaging presentation, willingness to let students wrestle with difficult material rather than pre-digest it for them. (2) Primary texts. Students read the actual books. This is the defining difference from textbook survey courses and from many video programs that summarize without requiring primary reading. (3) Reading intensity. Old Western Culture Year 1 includes approximately 1,500-2,000 pages of serious reading across Homer, Plato, tragedy, and historians. This is real high school humanities load. (4) Christian worldview integration. Callihan teaches within a Christian framework — Providence, theological questions, engagement with Christian interpretations of the texts. Not Christian-apologetic over the texts, but genuinely Christian in orientation. (5) Video plus reading format. Students watch approximately 30-45 minutes of video per lesson plus 3-5 hours of independent reading per lesson unit.

A day in the life

A tenth-grader using Old Western Culture Year 1 (The Greeks) watches two or three video lessons per week (total approximately 90-120 minutes of video), reads approximately 40-60 pages per week of primary text, and writes a response paper or answers discussion questions as assigned. Time commitment is approximately 6-9 hours per week for Old Western Culture as a single course.

A full Old Western Culture year represents a one-credit high school humanities course that covers literature, western civilization history, and significant Christian theology / philosophy. Students completing all four years over a four-year high school sequence have genuinely engaged the Western canon at a level serious liberal arts colleges expect.

What they do exceptionally well

Real Great Books humanities at high school level. Roman Roads offers what very few homeschool publishers offer: a genuine four-year Great Books course taught by a teacher with scholarly command of the material. For families who cannot send their student to St. John's or Thomas Aquinas College but want that preparation, Old Western Culture is among the strongest paths available.

Wes Callihan as teacher. Some teachers merely present information; Callihan teaches. The difference is real. Students watch his videos not because they have to but because he is engaging. Families report that Old Western Culture videos are among the few video courses that hold teenage attention through hundreds of hours of content.

Primary text engagement. Students finish Old Western Culture having read Homer's Iliad, Virgil's Aeneid, Augustine's Confessions, Dante's Divine Comedy, and Shakespeare's major plays. This is a library of reading experience that most college students never acquire.

What they do poorly

Reading load is not for everyone. Old Western Culture expects substantial reading — 40-80 pages per week of demanding primary text. Students who do not yet read at that level will struggle. Students who do not enjoy demanding reading will find it grinding.

Less cinematic production than Compass. Roman Roads videos are substantive and well-produced but more austere than Compass Classroom's location-filmed high-production history courses. Students preferring visual richness may find Compass more engaging; students preferring intellectual substance find Roman Roads peerless.

Four-year commitment for full benefit. The Old Western Culture sequence is designed as a four-year arc. Families who use only one or two years get partial benefit. Families who commit to the full four-year sequence through high school get the full benefit, but this is a substantial commitment.

Who it fits

• Classical Christian families committed to Great Books humanities education
• Students who read well and enjoy demanding reading
• Students headed to Great Books colleges (Thomas Aquinas, St. John's, Patrick Henry, Hillsdale, New Saint Andrews)
• Families who value primary-text engagement over textbook summary
• Families willing to commit to multi-year sequences

Who it doesn't

• Students who do not read well or do not enjoy primary texts
• Families looking for short-commitment or single-year products
• Families whose children do not engage with video instruction
• Families wanting a more ecumenical or secular humanities approach

Cost honest assessment

Old Western Culture Year 1 (The Greeks) complete: approximately $150-$250 for video streaming plus materials. Individual year access runs approximately one year per purchase. Each subsequent year similar.

Four-year Old Western Culture full sequence: approximately $700-$1,000 total (across the four years), averaging approximately $200 per year for full humanities content at high school level.

Roman Roads also offers other products (single-subject video courses in logic, writing, grammar) at individual prices around $50-$150.

Total annual homeschool cost for a student using Old Western Culture as humanities plus other publishers for math, science, etc.: approximately $800-$1,500 per year — competitive with self-directed homeschool using classical publishers.

ESA eligibility notes

Roman Roads products are approved on most ESA marketplaces that handle Christian classical curriculum. Video streaming is treated as curriculum purchase on most marketplaces. Families should confirm their specific state's treatment.

Alternatives

• Angelicum Academy (Catholic) — a Catholic family would choose Angelicum's live seminar format over Old Western Culture's video format for real-time discussion with peers and trained tutors.
• Wilson Hill Academy or Schole Academy — a family wanting live teacher-led Great Books instruction would choose one of these academies over Old Western Culture's self-paced format.
• Compass Classroom Dave Raymond — a family wanting video-based American history instead of Western civilization would choose Dave Raymond; these complement rather than replace each other.

How we verified this

Our editorial team reviewed Roman Roads Media's catalog at romanroadsmedia.com, Old Western Culture sample video lessons, the reading lists for each of the four years, and Wes Callihan's broader reputation within classical Christian education circles. We cross-referenced against Cathy Duffy's reviews and community discussion within classical Christian homeschool networks, particularly among families preparing students for Great Books colleges. Pricing is as of April 2026.