Ancient Classics

"L'Art d'aimer" est une œuvre en vers du poète latin Ovide parue autour de l'an 1. Elle se veut une initiation à l'art de l'amour et surtout de la séduction. L'ouvrage est divisé en trois livres. Le premier enseigne aux hommes à séduire les femmes. Le deuxième livre apprend à transformer sa conquête en amour durable. Le dernier livre s'adresse aux femmes, et prodigue les conseils pour séduire et conserver la relation : coiffure, habillement, maquillage, attitudes et jeux d'ombre qui mettent en valeur, y compris pendant l'acte amoureux.

The Allegory of the Cave appears in Plato’s Republic and compares the effect of education and the lack of it on human nature. It is written as a dialogue between Plato's brother and Socrates, who tells of people that have been chained to the wall of a cave their whole lives. They see shadows projected on the wall from objects passing in front of a fire behind them. Socrates explains that the philosopher is like a prisoner who has escaped the cave and realizes that the shadows on the wall are not the true reality at all.

Antigone, daughter of Jocasta and Oedipus, faces great challenges when she must arrange a formal burial for her brother, Polynices. This rendition of Antigone by Sophocles is of the highest-caliber audio. It's completely unabridged. Enjoy the classic story of Antigone narrated to perfection.

"Abandon all hope you who enter here." Dante's Hell is one of the most remarkable visions in Western literature. An allegory for his and future ages, it is, at the same time, an account of terrifying realism.

This epic poem by Edmund Spenser is the longest poem in the English language. It is an allegorical work, written in praise of Queen Elizabeth I. Michael MacLiammoir reads a selection from Book III.

Pietra miliare della letteratura del Novecento, il romanzo mette in scena un perfetto quadrilatero amoroso entro cui le storie dei protagonisti s'intrecciano con le grandi domande della vita, come quelle sul valore delle scelte individuali, sul rapporto tra pesantezza e leggerezza, libertà e costrizione. Alla fine degli anni Sessanta, tra la Primavera praghese e l'invasione sovietica, la giovane Tereza e il marito Tomáš, la pittrice Sabina e il suo amante Franz, oscillando tra fedeltà e tradimenti, esplorano passioni e vertigini di un mondo che è diventato una trappola.

There is no finer way to welcome young people (or adults!) to the pleasures of Shakespeare than with these four masterful retellings of the Bard's most beloved plays. Ranging from the pure magic of A Midsummer Night's Dream to the heartbreak of young love in Romeo and Juliet, featuring the spine-tingling tragedy of Macbeth (complete with ghost and witches) and culminating in the laugh-out-loud hijinks of Twelfth Night.

Compilé par Arrien, cet ouvrage résume la doctrine du philosophe stoïcien Épictète. Avec ceux de Sénèque et Marc Aurèle, ce manuel est l'un des principaux textes de la doctrine stoïcienne. Nous y apprenons par exemple que le chemin vers le bonheur dépend de notre capacité à ne pas se soucier de ce qui ne dépend pas de nous. À l'inverse, il devient ainsi nécessaire de s'attacher à tout ce qui dépend de nous, comme les opinions, les désirs ou les pensées.

This audiobook contains the most exciting and essential parts of the Iliad, capturing the final 50 days of the Trojan war and bringing to life ancient men and heroic battles. It provides an integral beginning to the infamous journey of Odysseus. Translated by Stanley Lombardo.

The work opens with Serenus asking Seneca for counsel, and this request for help takes the form of a medical consultation. Serenus explains that he feels agitated and in a state of unstable immobility, "As if I were on a boat that doesn't move forward and is tossed about." Seneca uses the dialogue to address an issue that cropped up many times in his life: the desire for a life of contemplation and the need for active political engagement. Seneca argues that the goal of a tranquil mind can be achieved by being flexible and seeking a middle way between the two extremes.

Acerbic wit and stinging satire are contrasted with delicate sensibility and passionate desire in the work of the Latin poet Catullus. Armed with an urbane sophistication and an aristocratic circle of friends, Catullus moved about easily in the upper ranks of Roman society and was acquainted with Cicero, Caesar, and Pompey among others.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest surviving literary work in the world. The epic poetry describes the ancient King Gilgamesh and his journey to discover the secret to eternal life.

On the Shortness of Life was written by Seneca around the year 49AD. He argues that we waste so much time because we do not properly value it. We expend great effort in protecting other valuables such as money and property, but because time appears intangible, we allow others to occupy it and take time away from us. Wise people, on the other hand, understand that time is the most valuable of all resources, and with effort can free themselves from external control to engage in meaningful introspection and create an intentional life.

Two and a half millennia after it was created, Homer's Odyssey remains one of humanity's most memorable adventure stories. In this re-creation of Homer's classic as a young adult novel, we see the aftermath of the Trojan War through the eyes of Alexi, a fifteen-year-old Trojan boy. Orphaned by the war and enslaved by Odysseus himself, Alexi has a very different view of the conquering heroes of legend.

In this collection of folk and fairy tales from the Scottish Highlands, we are transported to an enchanted world of persecuted heroines and courageous heroes, scheming stepmothers and monstrous beasts, swan maidens and talking cats, murderous robbers and thieving giants, benevolent fairies and mysterious strangers, and much more...Whether it is a tale of romance or revenge, legend or magic, this unabridged anthology - collected by the folklorist, Peter Buchan - has a story for everyone and is essential reading for lovers of classic Scottish folktales.

Thomas Bulfinch introduces us to the gods of the Greek, Roman, and Norse mythologies. We learn their stories and we also observe the similarities between the deities of yore. Comparing these stories and characters to those of some modern religions may produce some surprising results!

The Victorians were obsessed with Egyptology and mummies. It was during the second half of the 19th century that many of the most significant archeological finds were made in Egypt, and stories of the revenge of the mummies on anyone raiding their tombs, stealing their treasures or unwrapping their corpses abounded. This collection brings together the best and scariest short stories of the period, featuring vengeance-seeking mummies, bandaged zombies, pharaonic ghosts and ancient curses.

The Odyssey by Homer is an ancient Greek poem which tells the story of the hero Ulysses and his arduous journey home to Ithaca after the long and bloody Trojan war. After the ten-year battle and the fall of Troy, Ulysses intends to make his way back to his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus. The Gods are against him and he faces many obstacles in his path which delay his return for many years. With her husband gone for so long Penelope assumes that he is dead and never to return.

The Adventures of Odysseus is the story of what happened after the Trojan War when Odysseus, the most cunning of all the Greek heroes, left Troy and made his way back home to his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus. It was first told by a poet named Homer nearly 3,000 years ago and is retold in this new version especially for younger listeners.

Cleopatra is one of the most famous women in history - and thanks to Shakespeare, one of the most intriguing personalities in literature. Award-winning writer and beloved professor Harold Bloom delivers exhilarating clarity and invites us to look at this character as a flawed human who might be living in our world. He also explores his own personal relationship to the character: Just as we encounter one Anna Karenina or Jay Gatsby when we are in high school and college and another when we are adults, Bloom explains his shifting understanding of Cleopatra over the course of his own lifetime.