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The Aeneid is one of the greatest works in all of world literature. It is filled with mythology, history, and archaeology; it is infused with patriotism, religious feeling, and pathos; it is rich in adventure and romance. As the story begins, a storm shipwrecks Aeneas and his Trojan followers near Carthage in North Africa. There, Aeneas falls in love with Dido, queen of Carthage. But the gods order him to leave for Italy. In despair, Dido commits suicide. Upon finally reaching Italy, Aeneas goes down into the lower world and learns about his future descendants, the Romans.

Written in alternating prose and poetry, La Vita Nuova is a profound reflection on the nature of love, devoted to Dante's muse Beatrice. Following Beatrice's death in 1290, Dante became obsessed with the young Florentine woman, whom he only ever knew from a distance. He believed his love for her was a form of divine love and saw her as an image of salvation itself - a theme that is later explored in his masterpiece The Divine Comedy, where she guides him through heaven.

Edmund Spenser first published The Faerie Queene in 1590. The poem tells of the adventures of the Redcross Knight and the Lady Una. The kingdom of Una's royal parents is menaced by a dragon and the queen of Fairyland, Gloriana, commissions Redcross to accompany Una to her parents' faraway kingdom to slay the dragon. This prose retelling of the poem, for children, attempts to retain some sense of the original Elizabethan poetic language.

In all of Roman history there was never a more turbulent year than A.D. 69, the ill-omened "Year of the Three Emperors". By some miracle, the greatest historian of the age, Tacitus, was able to chronicle those momentous events in a work he called The History. In its pages are some of the most memorable events of Roman history described in some of the most intensely passionate prose ever devised.

Discover one of the most powerful philosophical works ever written, now in a clear and truly listenable modern English edition. On the Shortness of Life by Seneca is more than an ancient essay. It is a direct and timeless reflection on how we waste our lives, and how we can reclaim them. Written nearly 2,000 years ago, Seneca confronts a question that still defines modern life: Why does life feel so short? His answer is simple and unsettling: Life is not short. We make it short. What makes this edition different?

How to think clearly, act purposefully, overcome any obstacle, and find peace and happiness along the way. The Meditations is a collection of Marcus' personal journal entries. They were not intended for publication but to remind Marcus himself of his principles and priorities. As a result, they are intimate, direct, and extremely useful. This new edition is rendered in contemporary English, with a foreword by Sam Torode.

This tale of a man who, when tinkering with magic, becomes changed into an ass is one of the most entertaining and remarkable stories from classic Latin literature. It is funny, bawdy and completely approachable - but also shows life from the point of view of a beast of burden in the Roman...

The great poetic tradition of pre-Christian Scandinavia is known to us almost exclusively though the Prose Edda, a collection of narrative literature, and its companion, the Poetic Edda. The poems originated in Iceland, Norway, and Greenland between the ninth and 13th centuries, when they were compiled in a unique manuscript known as the Codex Regius. The poems are primarily lyrical rather than narrative.

Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. His writings cover many subjects including physics, biology, zoology, metaphysics, logic, ethics, aesthetics, poetry, theatre, music, rhetoric, psychology, linguistics, economics, politics and government.

Three tales from The Canterbury Tales, read in the original Middle English by Richard Bebb under the direction of Britain's foremost Chaucer scholar, Derek Brewer.

Set high upon its seaside cliff, the hall of Kilton is racked by inner turmoil. Ceric, on the margin of sanity, finds strength and even bliss returning to him. But it is not without price, as his young brother Edwin, Lord of Kilton, grasps for a possession he never fully won.

Pindar was one of the greatest lyric poets of ancient Greece. He is best known today for his odes to the victors of athletic contests, including those at famed Olympia. These odes, the only complete surviving pieces by Pindar, are marvels of sustained imagination, packed with dense parallels between the athletic victor, his illustrious aristocratic ancestors, and the myths of Olympian gods and heroes like Jason, Heracles, and Perseus.

Meditations is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 AD, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy. The Meditations is divided into 12 books that chronicle different periods of Marcus' life. Each book is not in chronological order and it was written for no one but himself. The style of writing that permeates the text is one that is simplified, straightforward, and perhaps reflecting Marcus' Stoic perspective on the text.

Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 B.C-A.D. 65), the chief advisor to the emperor Nero, was the power behind the throne in Ancient Rome. He is most famous for his writings on Stoic ideology, in which philosophy is a practical form of self-improvement. Seneca’s letters address the issues of life and death confronting every generation while upholding the ideals of Stoicism–valuing courage and friendship, avoiding corruption and self-indulgence, striving to achieve a good life while being immune to life’s setbacks, and enjoying life without the fear of dying.

Piran Chegwin had known since he was just a boy that he wanted to be a priest—to bring comfort and care to ordinary folk in a little parish church. So when his father manages to scrape together the money for him to study theology at Oxford, it seems his future is set. That is, until he encounters Martin de Villiers, an ambitious, self-important fellow student who takes an instant dislike to Piran. Piran's only offense? Having been born a Cornishman. But to Martin's eyes, it's an offense that must be set right.

In Sophocles' tragedy, Oedipus discovers that he has been caught in his terrible destiny, unknowingly murdering his father and marrying his mother.

In this brilliant conclusion to his bestselling Mythos trilogy, legendary author and actor Stephen Fry retells the tale of the Trojan War. Full of tragic heroes, intoxicating love stories, and the unstoppable force of fate, there is no conflict more iconic than the Trojan War. Troy is the story...

This superbly written, highly listenable account of the tumult of A.D. 69 focuses on the four men who sought imperial power in the void left by Nero: an old man, a soldier, a playboy, and an extravagant debaucher. The empire-wide, year-long civil war that resulted is brought to life in this sustained narrative, which is rich in detail, intrigue, and insight, as well as the aristocratic biases of the author.

Rome grew from a tiny community of small hill villages near the River Tiber in central Italy to one of the most powerful empires the world has seen. The Romans themselves believed that their great city was founded in the middle of the eighth century BCE. By the middle of the second century CE, Rome had a population of 1.5 million; Alexandria, in Egypt, 500,000; and Londinium, in Briton, 30,000.

Start your listening journey today. “Meditations” provides not just philosophical wisdom, but a roadmap to living a fulfilling and thoughtful life. Let this journey of self-discovery enrich your life.