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

Meditations is former U.S. President Bill Clinton's favorite book. This audio consists of a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor 161-180 AD, setting forth his ideas on Stoic philosophy....

The Republic poses questions that endure: What is justice? What form of community fosters the best possible life for human beings? What is the nature and destiny of the soul? Find out....

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

With this series of lectures, you can encompass 3,000 years of philosophical debate - by the end of next month....

Julius Caesar wrote his exciting Commentaries during some of the most grueling campaigns ever undertaken by a Roman army....

In The Trachinian Tragedy, better known as the Women of Trachis, the wife of Herakles, Deianeira, finds she has a rival in the house for her husband's affection....

Robert Fitzgerald's translation of The Odyssey has been the standard translation for more than three generations of students and poets....

In this, the first prose history in European civilization, Herodotus describes the growth of the Persian Empire with force, authority, and style....

Marcus Aurelius was Roman Emperor from 161 C.E. to his death in 180 C.E. He was destined to be a leader, havin being born into a prominent family - one related by blood and marriage to rulers and bankers....

Professor Vandiver gives you a full overview of Greek tragedy, in its original setting and as a lasting contribution to the artistic exploration of the human condition....

In this ancient picaresque adventure, Lucius, an insatiably curious young man, finds himself transformed into a donkey....

Choephori, or The Libation Bearers, is the second in the Oresteian trilogy on the House of Atreus, written by Aeschylus. It deals with the reunion of Agamemnon‘s children, Electra and Orestes, and their revenge upon their mother Clytemnestra for the murder of Agamemnon, which takes place in the first play, Agamemnon. The title refers to the chorus of libation bearers who supports and encourages Electra and Orestes in their quest for justice. The Oresteia is the only extant example of an ancient Greek theatre trilogy. 

Jason and the Golden Fleece, also titled The Argonautica, is the epic poem of Jason's quest for the golden fleece of the winged, golden-woolled ram, Chrysomallos, which was a symbol of authority and kingship. Written by Appolonius of Rhodes in the third century BCE, it is the only surviving Greek epic which bridges the gap between Homer and late antiquity. Jason travels with a group of kings and demigods to Colchis, after various detours where the crew faces monsters, storms, and other obstacles.  

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 is a famous Greek tragedy attributed to the ancient playwright Sophocles at around 440 BCE. The play expands on the Theban legend of Oedipus that predates it, dealing with Antigone’s burial of her brother Polyneices in defiance of the law and the tragic results of her act. On another level, the play exposes the dangers of the absolute ruler or tyrant in the character of Creon. No one speaks freely to him, so he makes a series of mistakes, illustrating the folly of tyranny.