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The Aeneid
- Narrated by: Simon Callow
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
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Homer Box Set: Iliad & Odyssey
- Written by: Homer, W. H. D. Rouse - translator
- Narrated by: Anthony Heald
- Length: 25 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey are unquestionably two of the greatest epic masterpieces in Western literature. Though more than 2,700 years old, their stories of brave heroics, capricious gods, and towering human emotions are vividly timeless. The Iliad can justly be called the world’s greatest war epic. The terrible and long-drawn-out siege of Troy remains one of the classic campaigns. The Odyssey chronicles the many trials and adventures Odysseus must pass through on his long journey home from the Trojan wars to his beloved wife.
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I mean... I got through it
- By Andrew Jones on 2020-06-19
Written by: Homer, and others
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The Iliad of Homer
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For thousands of years, Homer's ancient epic poem the
Iliad has enchanted readers from around the world. 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. Her compelling 12-lecture look at this literary masterpiece -whether it's the work of many authors or the "vision" of a single blind poet - makes it vividly clear why, after almost 3,000 years, the
Iliad remains not only among the greatest adventure stories ever told but also one of the most compelling meditations on the human condition ever written.
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Made the Iliad easy to understand
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Blake Ritson, David Warner, Hattie Morahan and John Hurt star in this BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of Dante's epic poem. Inferno: Thirty-five year old Dante finds himself in the middle of a dark wood, in extreme personal and spiritual crisis. Hope of rescue appears in the form of the venerable poet Virgil, now a shade himself, who offers to lead Dante on an odyssey through the afterlife, beginning in the terrifying depths of Hell.
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didn't enjoy the story
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Dante's Divine Comedy is considered to be not only the most important epic poem in Italian literature, but also one of the greatest poems ever written. It consists of 100 cantos, and (after an introductory canto) they are divided into three sections. Each section is 33 cantos in length, and they describe how Dante and a guide travel through Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso.
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Very well done
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Ovid's sensuous and witty poetry brings together a dazzling array of mythological tales, ingeniously linked by the idea of transformation - often as a result of love or lust - where men and women find themselves magically changed into new and sometimes extraordinary beings. Beginning with the creation of the world and ending with the deification of Augustus, Ovid interweaves many of the best-known myths and legends of Ancient Greece and Rome, including Daedalus and Icarus, Pyramus and Thisbe, Pygmalion, Perseus and Andromeda, and the fall of Troy.
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This brilliant new treatment of the world's oldest epic is a literary event on par with Seamus Heaney's wildly popular Beowulf translation. Esteemed translator and best-selling author Stephen Mitchell energizes a heroic tale so old it predates Homer's Iliad by more than a millennium.
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I enjoyed this
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Homer Box Set: Iliad & Odyssey
- Written by: Homer, W. H. D. Rouse - translator
- Narrated by: Anthony Heald
- Length: 25 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey are unquestionably two of the greatest epic masterpieces in Western literature. Though more than 2,700 years old, their stories of brave heroics, capricious gods, and towering human emotions are vividly timeless. The Iliad can justly be called the world’s greatest war epic. The terrible and long-drawn-out siege of Troy remains one of the classic campaigns. The Odyssey chronicles the many trials and adventures Odysseus must pass through on his long journey home from the Trojan wars to his beloved wife.
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I mean... I got through it
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Written by: Homer, and others
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- Written by: Elizabeth Vandiver, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Vandiver
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For thousands of years, Homer's ancient epic poem the
Iliad has enchanted readers from around the world. 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. Her compelling 12-lecture look at this literary masterpiece -whether it's the work of many authors or the "vision" of a single blind poet - makes it vividly clear why, after almost 3,000 years, the
Iliad remains not only among the greatest adventure stories ever told but also one of the most compelling meditations on the human condition ever written.
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Made the Iliad easy to understand
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Written by: Elizabeth Vandiver, and others
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- Length: 2 hrs and 50 mins
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Overall
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Blake Ritson, David Warner, Hattie Morahan and John Hurt star in this BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of Dante's epic poem. Inferno: Thirty-five year old Dante finds himself in the middle of a dark wood, in extreme personal and spiritual crisis. Hope of rescue appears in the form of the venerable poet Virgil, now a shade himself, who offers to lead Dante on an odyssey through the afterlife, beginning in the terrifying depths of Hell.
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didn't enjoy the story
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Written by: Dante Alighieri, and others
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Overall
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Dante's Divine Comedy is considered to be not only the most important epic poem in Italian literature, but also one of the greatest poems ever written. It consists of 100 cantos, and (after an introductory canto) they are divided into three sections. Each section is 33 cantos in length, and they describe how Dante and a guide travel through Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso.
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Very well done
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Written by: Dante Alighieri, and others
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I enjoyed this
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I love this book. Seriously recommend.
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Publisher's Summary
The publication of a new translation by Fagles is a literary event. His translations of both the Iliad and Odyssey have sold hundreds of thousands of copies and have become the standard translations of our era. Now, with this stunning modern verse translation, Fagles has reintroduced Virgil's Aeneid to a whole new generation, and completed the classical triptych at the heart of Western civilization.
The Aeneid is a sweeping epic of arms and heroism and a searching portrait of a man caught between love, duty, and the force of his own destiny. Here, Fagles brings to life the timeless journey of Aeneas as he flees the ashes of Troy to found Roman society and change forever the course of the Western world.
Fagles' translation retains all of the gravitas and humanity of the original as well as its powerful blend of poetry and myth.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
(P)2006 Penguin Audio, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. All rights reserved.
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What listeners say about The Aeneid
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Maggie
- 2017-10-18
Good but the chapters aren't IN ORDER
I enjoyed the audiobook. Usually, when I listen to audiobooks, I follow along in my book but I have found that the Chapter times given in this audiobook are not correct. If you click Section 4, for example, it will not start at the beginning of Chapter/ Book 4 but in the middle of Chapter/ Book 3. It is also a real pain to fast forward or rewind in the audiobook in order to find where the Chapter/ Book actually starts!
Here are the correct times if you also have this problem:
Book 1 - 0:00:49
Book 2 - 1:01:51
Book 3 - 2:05:10
Book 4 - 3:01:12
Book 5 - 3:59:01
Book 6 - 5:01:26
Book 7 - 6:15:36
Book 8 - 7:13:29
Book 9 - 8:07:41
Book 10 - 9:03:57
Book 11 - 10:10:13
Book 12 - 11:16:03
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89 people found this helpful
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- Tad Davis
- 2008-11-25
Not the best, but not bad
In my opinion, the audiobook world is still waiting for a 5-star rendition of The Aeneid. If someone could talk Dan Stevens into doing Robert Fitzgerald’s translation, he might be able to knock it out of the park — he’s already done that for Homer. In the meantime, four stars ain’t bad, and this one, and the newer one from Naxos (narrated by David Collins) are the two I think are the best.
Of those two I prefer the Fagles translation. Fagles seems to have lost some of his shine in recent years as other translators have taken up the cudgel, but he still packs a wallop. The four stars I gave the story aren’t about the translation but about the hero, whom I have to admit I have never cared for. The four stars for Simon Callow’s performance are there because his delivery is so bold and declamatory that at times it verges on melodrama.
On the other hand, as jarring as the melodramatic flourishes seem at times, the truth is that Aeneas needs a boost. And Callow certainly gives him one. As epic heroes go, Aeneas is a pill and a half: dutiful to a fault, self-righteous and self-justifying ("well, I never actually said the word MARRIAGE, did I?" he tells the anguished Dido). Virgil seems to take received wisdom and the Grandeur that was Rome at face value, where Homer delightfully subverts everything he touches. (I’ve read some commentary on the poem recently that questions this, suggesting that Virgil does, in fact, undermine the glorification of Aeneas at key points. I’m not an expert, so I have to take other people’s word for it. It HAS always puzzled me as to why, when he returns to the surface from the underworld, he does so by way of the gate of horn — the portal of false dreams.)
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64 people found this helpful
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Overall

- Rob
- 2007-05-08
Fagles is best
I've been a huge fan of Fagles' translations before buying this book and this translation does not disappoint. For epics such as this, the Iliad, and the Odyssey I've chosen to to read the actual book as I'm listening. For people, such as myself, whose concentration is not the greatest (I've had a couple strokes so I have an excuse) the combination of listening while reading is terrific.
I think the narrator is terrific and Rober Fagles is just amazing. If you like Fagles Aeneid, be sure to read and/or listen to his Iliad and Odyssey. Also, check out Steven Mitchell's "Gilgamesh", also availble from audible.com.
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40 people found this helpful
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Overall

- Joseph
- 2007-01-27
Narration Spotty
Although the narration is dramatic and in keeping with the quality of the translation, the narator's voice becomes unintelligible at the end of each passage. I gave up trying to listen while driving or exercising. I simply could not understand what was being said. If you purchase this title, I suggest you also buy the book and read it while listening to the narrator's performance, or else listen in a very quiet environment.
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36 people found this helpful
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- Sulpicia
- 2013-12-18
A hellenist's review of the audio Aeneid
I should provide a quick note on my bias before I begin my review: I am a graduate student in classics However, I am a hellenist (i.e. I study Greek rather than Roman stuff). I also really don't like Virgil.
I have to confess that although I study classics, I have never been able to get all the way through the Aeneid before this (I've just read the sections I needed to get the gist for class). I've really tried to get into it-- I previously read portions of the Fagles, Fitzgerald, and Mandelbaum translations-- but I just couldn't get hooked. The audiobook did the trick-- I listened to the whole thing over the course of a week.
Simon Callow can be a little over dramatic and female voices are pretty grating, but he read at a reasonable pace and he kept my interest in the story. I actually even enjoyed some of it.
Fagles' translation of the Latin (I've read books II and VIII in Latin, so I have some minimal basis for judgement) has the virtue of being fairly literal, while still providing an accessible modern English text. In general, Fagles' translations seem to be more enjoyable aloud than on paper (I have also recently listened to Fagles' Odyssey and I found it to be the same way).
As I've mentioned, the Aeneid is not really my cup of tea. Yet, listening to it gave the story a different and more enjoyable pace. I highly suggest the audio version for anyone who needs to read Virgil's epic either for class or exams (or, honestly, for anyone who just wants a passing acquaintance with the influential texts of classical literature).
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34 people found this helpful
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Overall

- Todd Albert
- 2006-11-04
The Best Aeneid Translation Ever
This translation of the Aeneid stands head and shoulders above anything else I have seen in English. It's exciting, to the point, and very very nuanced. The narrator is a fantastic choice too. His voice creates a world and moves you along through it. I put on my earphones just intending to to listen to a few minutes of the beginning the night I downloaded this, and I was pulled in for four hours of adventure before I could finally force myself to click "stop".
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28 people found this helpful
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Overall

- PlainMan
- 2007-01-13
Naration not easy to understand
The narrator’s dramatic voice frequently fades in volume and elocution near the end of sentences. So, listen to this story at home; not on the road or other places where the ambient noise will make hearing difficult.
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26 people found this helpful
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Overall

- Monte
- 2007-12-14
The Aeneid
Great story and terrific translation. Unfortunately, the narrator seems to have mistakenly undertaken an onstage Shakespearean performance rather than an audiobook narration. You can almost feel the spittle on your face as the narrator overdramatically renders the speakers. I agree with the other reviewers, read this magnificent book and wait for the next audiobook version.
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9 people found this helpful
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- Marina
- 2015-09-02
Good actor's distracting reading of the amazing Aeneid
I was hoping to be floored by Fagles' translation, narrated by an actor I like very much. However, Simon Callow's performance is overly-dramatized in tone and dynamics to the extent that it is hard to follow the poetry and plot. One sentence will vary from shrill and shouted to whispered and mumbled, with the wrong words emphasized. Disappointing.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Pedro Poitevin
- 2015-08-03
Not for everyone
Part of the blame may lie with Virgil, whose derivative epic does not quite measure up to Homer's Iliad and Odyssey; part of it with the translator Robert Fagles, who may have privileged meter a bit too much over readability; and part of it with Simon Callow, who is too histrionic for the material, but the end result is less than optimal: this is an audiobook that listeners should only buy if they are aware both of Callow's tendency to dramatize and Fagles' metrical enthusiasm. I wish Stanley Lombardo (who translated Homer's texts so well) took on the task of giving us a more readable Virgil. The contrast couldn't be starker.
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5 people found this helpful