Showing titles in Ancient, Classical & Medieval Literature

The extant letters of Pliny, written between AD 97 and 112, give us a unique insight into Imperial Rome under the early Antonine emperors. Organised into 10 books, the letters reflect a wide range of topics, mirroring Pliny’s own public and private interests. Among many other subjects, the letters also include an eye-witness account of the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79, with the final book containing the exchange of letters between the writer (whose career culminated as Governor of Bithynia) and the emperor Trajan.

Thousands of years ago Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote these meditations as a guide for his own self-improvement, and they're still relevant today. Bedtime stories are narrated by the world’s most celebrated voices and written with no beginning, middle, or end so you don’t stay up to hear what happens next. They're interesting enough to give your mind something to focus on, but delivered in a way that encourages sleep.

The Athenian court has found Socrates guilty and sentenced him to death. While he is waiting to be executed, his friend, Crito, comes to the prison to persuade him to escape and go into exile. Socrates responds by examining the essence of law and community, probing the various kinds of law and making distinctions that go far beyond the particular issue of whether or not Socrates should escape.

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!

Pour se venger d'un Sganarelle buveur, roublard et fainéant, son épouse, Martine, le fait passer pour un grand médecin, mais si fantasque qu'il faut le bastonner pour qu'il accepte d'exercer son art. Affublé malgré lui de ces nouvelles compétences, Sganarelle comprend rapidement l'intérêt qu'il peut tirer de cette situation et se prend au jeu. À grands coups de latin et de ruse, notre médecin de pacotille réussira-t-il à tromper son monde jusqu'au bout ?

Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull is considered one of his most haunting and atmospheric character studies. A would-be playwright is at war with his egoistic mother while the town has become intoxicated by a sensational author. And as the alluring newcomer steals away Kosta’s only love, their new romance could have devastating consequences.

When this groundbreaking serialized dramatization premiered on 320 U.S. radio stations, critics were unanimous in their praise. It won numerous honors including the George Foster Peabody Award and the Pulitzer Prize for broadcasting. Never before or since has such an ambitious undertaking been attempted in public radio, and it was accomplished, not by a major network, but by a small nonprofit independent producer in Chicago. That was in 1981. It has been sitting on the shelf ever since.

Il a suffi à Stéphane Mallarmé de quelques poèmes pour remettre en question l'objet même de la littérature. Avec lui naquit un vers nouveau : souvent remaniés des dizaines de fois, ses poèmes sont un travail d'orfèvre, pour lequel il soupèse chaque mot, le contemple sous toutes ses faces et dans sa transparence, dans le jeu de tous ses reflets, jusqu'à obtenir un bijou textuel dont l'essence est un plaisir musical et sensuel plutôt que l'évocation d'objets réels. Sans Mallarmé, pas de modernité poétique. Découvrez ou redécouvrez Mallarmé au travers de ses meilleurs textes ; on leur reproche souvent leur difficulté, mais la clarté de l'interprétation de Florence Alayrac permet d'en savourer tout le plaisir.

Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, a collection of narratives written between 1387 and 1400, tells of a group of 30 people from all layers of society who pass the time along their pilgrimage to Canterbury by telling stories to one another, their interaction mediated (at times) by the affable host - Chaucer himself. Naxos AudioBooks’ third volume presents the tales of six people, here in an unabridged modern verse translation (by Frank Ernest Hill, 1935).

These four plays, translated into blank verse by C. A. Wheelwright, present to us the wide range of this ancient playwright's fertile imagination. From war and peace to politics and society to the relationships between mena nd women, no topic is off-limits.

"In classical Greece men called rhapsodes memorized and recited “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey.” My own rhapsode is the English actor Dan Stevens, whom fans of “Downton Abbey” will know as Matthew Crawley. He’s been performing the Robert Fitzgerald translation, and no Hellene could...

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Most people have heard of the Celts - the elusive, ancient tribal people who resided in present-day England, Ireland, Scotland and France. Paradoxically characterized as both barbaric and innocent, the Celts appeal to the modern world as a symbol of a bygone era, a world destroyed by the ambition of empire and the spread of Christianity throughout Western Europe. Despite the pervasive cultural and literary influence of the Celts, shockingly little is known of their way of life and beliefs, because very few records of their stories exist.

We have met the intrepid hunter-tracker Allan Quatermain before, in H. Rider Haggard’s marvelous King Solomon’s Mines. This time, grieving from the tragic loss of his son, Quatermain longs to return to his beloved Africa. He sets out in search of a lost white tribe, the Zu-Vendis, ruled by two beautiful sister Queens. Once again, Quatermain’s companions are the indefatigable Sir Henry Curtis and Captain Good, and the magnificent Zulu warrior Umslopogaas. The journey is incredibly dangerous, and thrillingly told.

The Knight's Tale of medieval wars and chivalry is the first tale told to the pilgrims as they set out to Canterbury. It concerns Theseus, returning from fighting at Thebes, and two brother knights Palamon and Arcite, imprisoned but yearning for their loves. But the real hero of this recording is Richard Bebb who, with the help of Professor Derek Brewer, the leading expert on Chaucerian pronunciation, make the original Middle English not only comprehensible to the modern ear, but exciting.

Surviving the Trojan War was just the beginning of the adventure for Odysseus. What lay ahead was a journey home that would last for years as he encountered gods and monsters before finally returning home - only to face the greatest threat to his happiness of all. This translation of Homer's classic tale captures all the timeless excitement and gripping drama that have made it a favorite for centuries.

Vor etwa 2.000 Jahren starb Ovid. Wie kaum ein anderer prägte er die abendländische Kultur. In seinen "Metamorphosen" erzählt er von der Entstehung der Welt und des Menschen. In rund 250 Verwandlungssagen führt er durch die antike Mythologie bis in die Gegenwart des antiken Lesers. Es sind mythische Geschichten von Menschen oder Halbgöttern, die zu Pflanzen, Tieren und Sternbildern werden. Seine "Metamorphosen", geschrieben in Versen und in über 15 Stunden gelesen von Burgschauspieler Peter Simonischek, sind so fantasievoll wie fantastisch und regen immer wieder zu neuen Deutungen an.

Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw is the fascinating tale of Henry Higgins, a professor of speech and phonetics who takes on the task of teaching Eliza Doolittle, a lower-class flower seller, how to "act like a lady".

Odyssey is a classic poem written by Homer that consists of 12.110 verses. It is unique already in that it has reached our days in its original form. This poem is a genuine revelation of the poetic thought of ancient Hellas. ... After the Trojan War, most of the survived Greek leaders returned by sea to Troy. However, after numerous troubles, only the chosen ones could have stayed alive. One of them - the cunning king Odysseus – was wandering in the sea for almost ten years.

Nearly three thousand years after they were composed, The Iliad and The Odyssey remain two of the most celebrated and widely read stories ever told, yet next to nothing is known about their author. He was certainly an accomplished Greek bard, and he probably lived in the late eighth and early seventh centuries BCE Authorship is traditionally ascribed to a blind poet named Homer, and it is under this name that the works are still published.