Ancient Classics

The fifty daughters of Danaos have with their father fled by ship from Egypt, escaping compulsatory marriage with their fifty cousins, the sons of Aegyptos. They arrive in Argos, where, by supplication to the king and people, they seek refuge from their cousins, who sailed in pursuit. Their devout abhorrence of the marriage is the weightiest theme of the play.

After Zeus has learned that Prometheus stole his sovereign property, fire, and conveyed it to mankind, he orders Hephaistos, under the direction of Power and Force, to bind his adversary to an arduous crag of most difficult remoteness on the earth. As the Titan responds to this punishment, the reader is inspired with the fire of individual affirmation, devoted indomitably to life and liberty.

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. The consequences of her counteraction are incredible. In this faithful translation, F. L. Light attempts to write as good a play in English as the original in Greek. F. L. Light has also translated Antigone of Sophocles.

Caligula’s father was a beloved military leader, so the Romans were initially glad to see his son take the throne, but Suetonius recounts the less flattering aspects of Caligula’s life and rule that followed his ascension. The narcissistic Caligula believed he was a god, and often replaced the busts of deities with his own. A devoted fan of gladiator fights, he also often had people assassinated, covered up the deed, and then claimed the deceased had committed suicide. Suetonius concludes this biography by detailing the omens that foreshadowed Caligula’s eventual assassination.

In The Life of Cicero, Plutarch details the priceless contributions Cicero made to Roman society. He translated the works of Greek philosophers into Latin, gained acclaim as an orator and lawyer, and was elected to office. Politics ultimately got the better of him, however, and his life ended in assassination while in exile. Cicero’s ideas live on through his body of work, but to learn about the man himself, Plutarch’s biography is an excellent starting point.

Louis Esson is considered to be the first great Australian dramatist. The political comedy The Time is Not Yet Ripe was first produced in 1912 and is one of his best known works. Doris, daughter of the incumbent prime minister, Sir Joseph Quiverton, has news for her father - she has just become engaged. Much to Sir Joseph's dismay her fiancé is none other than an opposing candidate in the forthcoming general election - and a revolutionary socialist to boot. Is Sir Joseph in danger of losing both his reputation and his majority in parliament?

A collection of five bite-size myths from across the globe, Beasts and Monsters by bestselling author Anthony Horowitz tells the thrilling tales of some of the most terrifying beasts from the world of legend. Part of the Legends series of six books, Beasts and Monsters features the stories of...

A collection of five bite-size myths from across the globe, Battles and Quests by bestselling author Anthony Horowitz is a heartstopping retelling of some of the greatest adventures in the history of storytelling. Part of the Legends series of six books, Battles and Quests features the epic...

A Child's Garden of Verses is a book of poetry for children. Stevenson dedicated the poems to his nurse, Cummy (Alison Cunningham), who cared for him during his many childhood illnesses. The collection includes some of Stevenson's most famous poems, including “The Land of Counterpane”, “My Shadow", and “The Lamplighter”.

This is the audiobook version of the book. The print book has two versions. One version is marked with Pinyin and the other without Pinyin. Please select the version that best suits your need.

Ancient Lights, written by Algernon Blackwood in 1912 and published two years later, is the tale of a man hired to remove a standing grove of trees so the owner's house can maintain the direct light and view that it has enjoyed for a number of years. Algernon Henry Blackwood (March 14, 1869-December 10, 1951) was an English writer of tales of the supernatural. Although Blackwood wrote a number of horror stories, his most typical work seeks less to frighten than to induce a sense of awe.

1532 zieht General Pizzarro nach Peru und nimmt mit 300 Abenteurern den Inka und Gottkönig Attahualpa gefangen. Auf das sagenumwobene Gold der Inka haben sie es abgesehen - ein Metall, das den Inka zwar zum Schmuck dient, das aber darüber hinaus für die Menschen keinen Wert zu haben scheint. Dementsprechend ungläubig sind die Inka, als sie sehen, welche Gier die spanischen Besatzer ergriffen hat. Attahualpa fasst einen Plan.

Mark Antony’s personal life was almost as storied as his immensely successful political career. In Plutarch’s biography, the most striking sections revolve around Antony’s relationship with Cleopatra. Plutarch’s characterization inspired Shakespeare, whose play "Antony and Cleopatra" would not be the same without its influence. With such close ties to Shakespeare, it’s no wonder that the The Life of Antony holds great literary merit all its own.

Apuleius ist nach Homer der wohl berühmteste Dichter der Antike. Seine humorvollen, erotischen Geschichten sind direkt und lebensnah und zeichnen ein überraschendes Bild seiner Zeit.

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....

Remember the story of the Ant and the Grasshopper? The Fox and the Sour Grapes? The Boy Who Cried Wolf? These wonderful tales and hundreds more have been passed down to us over the centuries. The man credited with writing them, Aesop, was an Ancient Greek slave born about 620 BC. Aesop is known as a fabulist or story teller credited with a number of fables shining glaringly true light on our human foibles now collectively known as Aesop's Fables.

Judith Anderson and Anthony Quayle perform 'Medea', an ancient Greek tragedy written by Euripides. It is based upon the myth of Jason and Medea and first produced in 431 BC. The plot centers on the barbarian protagonist as she finds her position in the Greek world threatened, and the revenge she takes against her husband Jason who has betrayed her for another woman.

Esopo, il celebre favolista dell'antica Grecia, con molto acume, ironia e soprattutto talento, compose numerose favole dedicate soprattutto agli animali, con chiari riferimenti ai caratteri e alle abitudini degli esseri umani. Profondo osservatore degli uomini, catalogò sotto forma di favole, i vizi e le virtù dei suoi simili, con obiettività e sagacia. Impossibile non sorridere delle sue osservazioni sulle debolezze degli uomini, che nel suo immaginario, sono impersonati da scimmie, cavalli, muli, corvi, leoni e da tutti gli altri animali conosciuti a quel tempo, e non solo.

Purgatory is the second part of Dante's The Divine Comedy. The listener finds the Poet, with his guide Virgil, ascending the terraces of the Mount of Purgatory inhabited by those doing penance to expiate their sins on earth. There are the proud - forced to circle their terrace for eons bent double in humility; the slothful running around crying out examples of zeal and sloth; while the lustful are purged by fire.

Los viajes y aventuras de Ulises. La anecdota suele regodearse sobre la figura legendaria de Homero, supuesto juglar ciego que iba de pueblo en pueblo cantando sus grandes narraciones epicas. La Iliada, una narracion de la Guerra de Troya, originada en el rapto que hizo Paris de la mujer mas bella del mundo, Helena y La Odisea, la descripcion de las aventuras del sabio Ulises u Odiseo en su vuelta a Itaca, su patria, terminada la guerra...