Ancient Classics

This Greek tragedy is based on the myth of Prometheus, a Titan who, in defiance of the gods, gives fire to mankind, an act for which he is subjected to perpetual punishment.The play consists almost entirely of speeches since the protagonist is chained throughout.

Along with Virgil, Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) was the greatest poet produced by Rome, and in many ways his work has had arguably an even greater impact. His brilliant expression and astonishing acumen continue to amaze readers today, either in their original Latin or in innumerable worldwide translations. Shakespeare's debt to Horace is incalculable, and it is difficult to read his Sonnets today without immediately being reminded of the famous Odes.

Mit sprachlicher Wucht wird von der Liebe im antiken Rom erzählt, zwischen dem jungen Patrizier Marcus Vinicius und der Christin Lygia, die als Geisel nach Rom kam. Die Liebenden geraten in den Strudel der Ereignisse um die Christenverfolgung. Der dekadente Nero lässt Rom anzünden, beschuldigt aber die Christen. Nun droht Lygia der Tod im Amphitheater. Doch Vicinius, inzwischen selber Christ, lässt nichts unversucht, seine Geliebte zu retten. Henryk Sienkiewicz erhielt 1905 "auf Grund seiner großartigen Verdienste als epischer Schriftsteller" den Literaturnobelpreis.

A Golden Deed must be something more than mere display of fearlessness. Grave and resolute fulfilment of duty is required to give it the true weight. For the true metal of a Golden Deed is self-devotion. Selfishness is the dross and alloy that gives the unsound ring to many an act that has been called glorious. And, on the other hand, it is not only the valor, which meets a thousand enemies upon the battlefield, or scales the walls in a forlorn hope, that is of true gold....

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.

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.

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.

In Stephen Mitchell's The Iliad, the epic story resounds again across 2,700 years, as if the lifeblood of its heroes Achilles and Patroclus, Hector, and Priam flows in every word. And we are there with them, amid the horror and ecstasy of war, carried along by a poetry that lifts even the most devastating human events into the realm of the beautiful. Mitchell's The Iliad is the first translation based on the work of the preeminent Homeric scholar Martin L. West.

Veinte años tardará Ulises, el rey de Ítaca, en volver a su patria. Luego de luchar en la guerra de Troya por diez años, siendo uno de los héroes, Ulises emprende el regreso a su tierra natal. Pero una ofensa al dios Poseidón lo alejará de su camino por otros diez años, siendo condenado a navegar sin rumbo y a vivir las más extrañas aventuras y vicisitudes en el camino. Así, en su retorno a Ítaca, Ulises desafiará monstruos y tempestades, se enfrentará a encantamientos y a las seductoras sirenas, sobreponiéndose al designio de los dioses, en su intento por volver a su hogar.

A Storytellers' reworking of Caesar's Commentaries as a new version. This follows the original line-by-line to create a modern voice that is faithful to Caesar's exacting text.

The Tempest is a beautiful and sweeping drama by William Shakespeare and is one of the Bard’s last plays. With a role written as a farewell to the theater, this emotional drama is a beautiful testament to Shakespeare’s talents as a storyteller and writer. The play centers around Prospero, a usurped ruler and powerful sorcerer who lives out his days on a remote island with few humans with whom to interact. Prospero seeks his revenge on his brother by causing his ship to wreck on his island, and the adventure of the play begins.

Julius Caesar is one of Shakespeare’s most compelling Roman plays. The plot against Caesar and the infamous assassination scene make for unforgettable listening. Brutus, the true protagonist of the play, is mesmerizing in his psychological state of anguish, forced to choose between the bonds of friendship and his desire for patriotic justice.

Paradise Lost is a well-known part of the English literary canon. Told as an epic poem in blank verse, Paradise Lost is John Milton’s retelling of the biblical story of Satan’s fall from grace and the beginning of humanity. In the beginning of Paradise Lost, Satan has been banished to Hell and is working to organize the angels who fell with him and create his new kingdom. While a constant angelic war rages, Satan begins to wield his influence on the first humans created on Earth, and soon tempts them into defying God by using wit and logic to tempt Eve.

Petronius’ Satyricon is a rampant and vivacious Roman adventure dating back to the first century, during the reign of Nero. It follows the exploits of Encolpius, an impoverished ex-gladiator, and his boy-lover Giton. The action is fleet and the narrative sweeping: over the course of their journey we meet a host of lewd and comical rogues, including beggars, prostitutes, poets, sodomites, and pedants, and witness many strange and curious events, including a remarkably vulgar multi-course feast, hosted by the pompous nouveau riche Trimalchio

The Roman poet Publius Ovidius Naso (Ovid) is best known for his epic poem Metamorphoses, a collection of myths and legends from Ancient Greece and Rome. His works continue to be widely read and admired, and he is regarded as one of the most significant poets of ancient Rome. Ovid’s love poems are both brilliant and evocative. In Amores, the romantic mysteriousness of elegiac love-poetry is exploded by his witty and ironic treatment of the form. Ars Amatoria and Remedia Amoris both lay down the rules for the game of love, which both sexes can play.

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.

Enjoy this amazing narration of Robert Frost's poetry, including his most famous poems, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, The Road Not Taken, among many others.

Led by his guide Beatrice, Dante leaves the Earth behind and soars through the heavenly spheres of Paradise. In this third and final part of The Divine Comedy, Dante encounters the just rulers and holy saints of the Church. The horrors of the Inferno and the trails of Purgatory are left far behind. Ultimately, in Paradise, Dante is granted a vision of God's Heavenly court - the angels, the Blessed Virgin, and God Himself.

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.

After the death of their father, Oedipus, Antigone and Ismene return to Thebes. The ruler is their unyielding uncle by marriage, Creon, who assumed command after the death of the sons of Oedipus, Eteocles, and Polynices in a fratricidal struggle to take control of the city. Creon has the body of one brother buried with full civic honors but forbids the burial of the body of the other, whom he regards as a traitor. Antigone's challenge to Creon's decree, which she considers unjust, results in the extinction of the family line of Oedipus.