Ancient, Classical & Medieval Literature

One of the most significant books ever written by a head of state, the Meditations are a collection of philosophical thoughts by the Emperor Marcus Aurelius....

Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey are unquestionably two of the greatest epic masterpieces in Western literature....

The great adventure story tells of Odysseus, a veteran of the Trojan War, who - through a landscape peopled with monsters, sea nymphs, evil enchantresses, and vengeful gods....

Wilson has returned with an equally revelatory translation of Homer’s other great epic―the most revered war poem of all time....

The Iliad and The Odyssey are epic poems traditionally attributed to Homer, of which the written versions are dated to the 8th century BCE. Chronicling events in the Greek Bronze Age, this magnificent pair of poems forms the cornerstone of Western literature....

 Beowulf is the greatest surviving work of literature in Old English, unparalleled in its epic grandeur and scope....

Throughout these lectures, you'll meet the poet in many guises; the divine, the alchemical, the common, the playful and the prisoner....

A lean, fleet-footed translation that recaptures Homer’s “nimble gallop” and brings an ancient epic to new life....

The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India. It is of immense importance to the culture of the Indian subcontinent and is a major text of Hinduism....

Kurukshetra is a Hindi classic. It gives an extraordinary account of the Kurukshetra war mentioned in the Mahabharata. It describes in vivid details the armed confrontation that took place between the Pandavas and the Kauravas....

This beautiful collection of 196 of his poems, previously unavailable in English and now translated by native Persian speakers Maryam Mafi and Azima Melita Kolin, will appeal to Rumi lovers everywhere who want a guidebook for their inner journey....

When you join Professor Vandiver for this lecture series on the Iliad, you'll come to understand what has enthralled and gripped so many people....

The Trial and the Death of Socrates remains a powerful document...

Pygmalion remains one of the most popular stories, but mainly in the medium of the musical; the evergreen My Fair Lady....

"Lara" is a tragic narrative poem in two cantos. It was first published anonymously by Lord Byron in 1814 alongside the poem "Jacqueline" by Samuel Rogers....

Julius Caesar is one of Shakespeare’s most compelling Roman plays. The plot against Caesar and the infamous assassination scene make for unforgettable listening....

The great legacy of The Iliad is its shattering revelation of what it means to be human in the face of life's uncertainty and fleeting mortality....

Epictetus (c. AD 50-135) was a former Roman slave (he was also lame in one leg, and walked with a crutch) who went on to become a great teacher....

Eight of George Bernard Shaw's most memorable plays in one splendid collection....

Four classic comedies from one of the wittiest playwrights in Western literature....

In The Canterbury Tales Chaucer created one of the great touchstones of English literature, a masterly collection of chivalric romances, moral allegories and low farce....

Combined for great value! The multi award-winning SmartPass study guide with and without commentary options....

The Tirukkural (honoured Kural) is one of the world's greatest literary and philosophical masterpieces. Composed in Tamil by Tiruvalluvar sometime between 2 BCE and 5 CE....

The first of Homer's great epic poems, the Iliad portrays the final days of the Trojan war....

Experience the stunning Greek poetry of Homer in this collection of his two major works: The Iliad and The Odyssey. These epic poems are beloved for their presentation of Greek history and belief systems, their lessons on Greek virtues, and their continued influence....

Orestes hat sich, unterstützt von Gott Apollon, in die Hände von Pallas Athene gegeben, damit diese ihn richten möge. Immerhin hat er seine eigene Mutter und deren Liebhaber getötet. Athene aber verweigert den Erinnyen, den Rachegöttinnen, ihre Vergeltung - in einer Art Gerichtsprozess soll Orestens Schuld verhandelt werden. Und das Unglaubliche geschieht: Der vermeintlich ewige Kreislauf von Rache und Blutvergießen wird durchbrochen.

Agamemnon, Heerführer der Griechen, hat seine Tochter Iphigenie getötet, um günstige Winde für die Fahrt nach Troja zu erhalten. Nun, nach langen Jahren im Krieg kehrt er zurück, als Kriegsbeute Kassandra im Gefolge. Seine Frau Klytämnestra bietet ihm scheinbar ehrvollen Empfang - doch kaum in den Palast eingezogen, ermordet sie sowohl ihn als auch Kassandra - aus Rache für den Tochtermord. Auch Ägisth, Agamemnons Neffe und ihr Liebhaber, ist Teil des Komplotts - hat denn auch er gegenüber seinem Onkel grausame Rachegelüste.

В книгу вошли басни Эзопа – легендарного древнегреческого раба – в переводах Льва Николаевича Толстого. Эзоп прославился тем, что слагал короткие истории про животных, в которых обличал человеческие пороки. Причём делал это так мастерски, что в народе с лёгкостью узнавали прототип героя. Басни Эзопа облетели весь мир и были переведены на разные языки, а строки из них стали крылатыми. Л.Н. Толстой сделал свой перевод эзоповских историй – максимально приближенный к оригиналу, но понятный деревенским детям, которых обучал писатель.

The Völsunga saga is a legendary saga, a late 13th-century poetic rendition in Old Norse of the origin and decline of the Völsung clan (including the story of Sigurd and Brynhild and the destruction of the Burgundians). It is one of the most famous legendary sagas and an example of a "heroic saga" that deals with Germanic heroic legend. The saga covers topics including the quarrel between Sigi and Skaði, a huge family tree of great kings and powerful conquerors and the quest led by Sigmund and Sinfjǫtli to save princess Signý from the evil king Siggeir. 

Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse. A second edition followed in 1674, arranged into twelve books (in the manner of Virgil's Aeneid) with minor revisions throughout. It is considered by critics to be Milton's major work, and it helped solidify his reputation as one of the greatest English poets of his time.