Get a free audiobook
-
The Iliad
- A New Translation by Caroline Alexander
- Narrated by: Dominic Keating
- Series: Iliad & Odyssey, Book 1
- Length: 19 hrs and 46 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Poetry
People who bought this also bought...
-
The Odyssey
- Written by: Homer, Emily Wilson - translator
- Narrated by: Claire Danes
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Acclaimed actress Claire Danes burnishes an epic story of heroes, gods, and monsters in a groundbreaking translation of The Odyssey, the first great adventure story in the Western literary tradition. When the wily warrior-king Odysseus sets off for home after the Trojan War, he doesn’t realize this simple undertaking will become a perilous journey of 10 years. Beset at every turn, he encounters obstacles, detours, and temptations—both supernatural and human—while his wife Penelope fends off would-be suitors desperate to take the throne.
-
-
An epic will always be an epic!
- By JohnS on 2019-06-02
-
The Divine Comedy
- Penguin Classics
- Written by: Robin Kirkpatrick - translator, Dante Alighieri
- Narrated by: Jot Davies, Robin Kirkpatrick, Kristin Atherton
- Length: 17 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Divine Comedy describes Dante's descent into Hell with Virgil as a guide, his ascent of Mount Purgatory and his encounter with his dead love Beatrice, and finally, his arrival in Heaven. Examining questions of faith, desire and enlightenment, the poem is a brilliantly nuanced and moving allegory of human redemption. This major translation is published here for the first time in a single volume.
-
The Aeneid
- Written by: Virgil
- Narrated by: Simon Callow
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
Gilgamesh
- A New English Version
- Written by: Stephen Mitchell - translator
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 4 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
I enjoyed this
- By S.i.R. HOLLiiWOOD on 2019-12-02
-
Celtic Mythology
- Tales of Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes
- Written by: Philip Freeman
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Amazing book on Irish Mythology
- By Rob Edward on 2020-04-13
-
Caesar and Christ
- The Story of Civilization, Volume 3
- Written by: Will Durant
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 36 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The third volume of Will Durant's Pulitzer Prize-winning series, Caesar and Christ chronicles the history of Roman civilization and of Christianity from their beginnings to A.D. 325.
-
-
Review
- By DOUGLAS A. PHELPS on 2019-01-12
-
The Odyssey
- Written by: Homer, Emily Wilson - translator
- Narrated by: Claire Danes
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Acclaimed actress Claire Danes burnishes an epic story of heroes, gods, and monsters in a groundbreaking translation of The Odyssey, the first great adventure story in the Western literary tradition. When the wily warrior-king Odysseus sets off for home after the Trojan War, he doesn’t realize this simple undertaking will become a perilous journey of 10 years. Beset at every turn, he encounters obstacles, detours, and temptations—both supernatural and human—while his wife Penelope fends off would-be suitors desperate to take the throne.
-
-
An epic will always be an epic!
- By JohnS on 2019-06-02
-
The Divine Comedy
- Penguin Classics
- Written by: Robin Kirkpatrick - translator, Dante Alighieri
- Narrated by: Jot Davies, Robin Kirkpatrick, Kristin Atherton
- Length: 17 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Divine Comedy describes Dante's descent into Hell with Virgil as a guide, his ascent of Mount Purgatory and his encounter with his dead love Beatrice, and finally, his arrival in Heaven. Examining questions of faith, desire and enlightenment, the poem is a brilliantly nuanced and moving allegory of human redemption. This major translation is published here for the first time in a single volume.
-
The Aeneid
- Written by: Virgil
- Narrated by: Simon Callow
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
Gilgamesh
- A New English Version
- Written by: Stephen Mitchell - translator
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 4 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
I enjoyed this
- By S.i.R. HOLLiiWOOD on 2019-12-02
-
Celtic Mythology
- Tales of Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes
- Written by: Philip Freeman
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Amazing book on Irish Mythology
- By Rob Edward on 2020-04-13
-
Caesar and Christ
- The Story of Civilization, Volume 3
- Written by: Will Durant
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 36 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The third volume of Will Durant's Pulitzer Prize-winning series, Caesar and Christ chronicles the history of Roman civilization and of Christianity from their beginnings to A.D. 325.
-
-
Review
- By DOUGLAS A. PHELPS on 2019-01-12
-
The Odyssey
- The Fitzgerald Translation
- Written by: Homer, Robert Fitzgerald - translator
- Narrated by: Dan Stevens
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Robert Fitzgerald's translation of The Odyssey has been the standard translation for more than three generations of students and poets. Macmillan Audio is delighted to publish the first ever audio edition of this classic work, the greatest of all epic poems. Fitzgerald's supple verse is ideally suited for audio, recounting the story of Odysseus' long journey back to his wife and home after the Trojan War. Homer's tale of love, adventure, food and drink, sensual pleasure, and mortal danger reaches the English-language listener in all its glory.
-
-
Dan Stevens does it again!
- By JeanClur on 2019-04-08
-
The Complete Essays of Montaigne
- Written by: Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, Donald M. Frame (translator)
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 49 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
“A faithful translation is rare; a translation which preserves intact the original text is very rare; a perfect translation of Montaigne appears impossible. Yet Donald Frame has realized this feat. One does not seem to be reading a translation, so smooth and easy is the style; at each moment, one seems to be listening to Montaigne himself - the freshness of his ideas, the unexpected choice of words. Frame has kept everything.” (Andre Maurois, The New York Times Book Review)
-
-
Great reading of the essays
- By Anonymous User on 2019-09-16
-
Paradise Lost
- Written by: John Milton
- Narrated by: Frances Barber, full cast, Ian McKellen
- Length: 2 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A brand-new dramatised retelling of Milton’s epic poem about the fall of man, with Milton as the narrator, adapted by one of the leading poets and thinkers of our generation: Michael Symmons Roberts. Paradise Lost was first published in 1667 and tells the story of Satan’s plot to bring about the fall of man by tempting Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. This brand-new adaptation begins in the midst of the action and follows the exploits of a hero (or antihero) taking in warfare and the supernatural and expressing the ideals and traditions of a people. Milton himself is the blind narrator, grieving the loss of his wife, whose eyesight worsens as the drama develops.
-
-
Narrated by Ian McKellan. Need I say more?
- By Anonymous User on 2019-10-29
-
Christianity
- The First Three Thousand Years
- Written by: Diarmaid MacCulloch
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 46 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once in a generation, a historian will redefine his field, producing a book that demands to be read or heard - a product of electrifying scholarship conveyed with commanding skill. Diarmaid MacCulloch's Christianity is such a book. Breathtaking in ambition, it ranges back to the origins of the Hebrew Bible and covers the world, following the three main strands of the Christian faith.
-
-
Disappointed
- By Gerry Potter on 2019-02-28
-
Histories
- Written by: Herodotus
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 27 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this, the first prose history in European civilization, Herodotus describes the growth of the Persian Empire with force, authority, and style. Perhaps most famously, the book tells the heroic tale of the Greeks' resistance to the vast invading force assembled by Xerxes, king of Persia. Here are not only the great battles - Marathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis - but also penetrating human insight and a powerful sense of epic destiny at work.
-
-
Entertaining
- By scottrs on 2018-11-16
-
The Aeneid
- Written by: Virgil
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 15 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Aeneid represents one of the greatest cultural and artistic achievements of Western Civilization. Within the brooding and melancholy atmosphere of Virgil's pious masterpiece lies the mythic story of Aeneas and his flight from burning Troy, taking with him across the Mediterranean the survivors of the Greek onslaught. Aeneas, after many travails and adventures, including a love affair with Dido Queen of Carthage and a visit to the underworld to see his father, ends up in Italy.
-
-
Well Read, Clear translation
- By Amazon Customer on 2019-10-10
-
The History of the Peloponnesian War
- Written by: Thucydides
- Narrated by: Mike Rogers
- Length: 22 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The rivalry between two of the dominant city states of Ancient Greece, Athens and Sparta, erupted into a war lasting nearly 30 years and was to have a dramatic effect on the balance of power in the area. Between 431 and 404 BCE, the two cities battled it out on land and sea, aided by their alliances with neighbouring states: Athens’ Delian League vigorously opposed Sparta’s Peloponnesian League in a conflict which effectively involved the whole region.
-
Mythology
- Written by: Edith Hamilton
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since its original publication by Little, Brown and Company, in 1942, Edith Hamilton's Mythology has sold millions of copies throughout the world and established itself as a perennial best-seller in its various available formats. Mythology succeeds like no other audiobook in bringing to life for the modern listener the Greek, Roman, and Norse myths and legends that are the keystone of Western culture - the stories of gods and heroes that have inspired human creativity from antiquity to the present.
-
The Commentaries
- Written by: Julius Caesar
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 14 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Julius Caesar wrote his exciting Commentaries during some of the most grueling campaigns ever undertaken by a Roman army. The Gallic Wars and The Civil Wars constitute the greatest series of military dispatches ever written. As literature, they are representative of the finest expressions of Latin prose in its "golden" age, a benchmark of elegant style and masculine brevity imitated by young schoolboys for centuries.
-
-
Passionnant
- By S. Morgan on 2020-03-07
-
Babylon
- Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization
- Written by: Paul Kriwaczek
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Civilization was born 8,000 years ago, between the floodplains of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, when migrants from the surrounding mountains and deserts began to create increasingly sophisticated urban societies. In the cities that they built, half of human history took place. In Babylon, Paul Kriwaczek tells the story of Mesopotamia from the earliest settlements seven thousand years ago to the eclipse of Babylon in the sixth century BCE. Bringing the people of this land to life in vibrant detail, the author chronicles the rise and fall of power during this period.
-
-
A good introduction to the history of Mesopotamia
- By Mauro on 2019-09-19
-
Inglorious Empire
- What the British Did to India
- Written by: Shashi Tharoor
- Narrated by: Shashi Tharoor
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the 18th century, India's share of the world economy was as large as Europe's. By 1947, after two centuries of British rule, it had decreased six-fold. Beyond conquest and deception, the Empire blew rebels from cannons, massacred unarmed protesters, entrenched institutionalized racism, and caused millions to die from starvation. British imperialism justified itself as enlightened despotism for the benefit of the governed, but Shashi Tharoor takes on and demolishes this position, demonstrating how every supposed imperial "gift" was designed in Britain's interests alone.
-
-
Overwhelming with facts (could be fiction )
- By Mathymohan on 2019-02-07
-
Phenomenology of Spirit
- Written by: G. W. F. Hegel, A. V. Miller (translator), J. N. Findlay
- Narrated by: David DeVries
- Length: 29 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Perhaps one of the most revolutionary works of philosophy ever presented, The Phenomenology of Spirit is Hegel's 1807 work that is in numerous ways extraordinary. A myriad of topics are discussed, and explained in such a harmoniously complex way that the method has been termed Hegelian dialectic. Ultimately, the work as a whole is a remarkable study of the mind's growth from its direct awareness to scientific philosophy, proving to be a difficult yet highly influential and enduring work.
Publisher's Summary
With her virtuoso translation, classicist and best-selling author Caroline Alexander brings to life Homer's timeless epic of the Trojan War.
Composed around 730 BC, Homer's Iliad recounts the events of a few momentous weeks in the protracted 10-year war between the invading Achaeans, or Greeks, and the Trojans in their besieged city of Ilion. From the explosive confrontation between Achilles, the greatest warrior at Troy, and Agamemnon, the inept leader of the Greeks, through to its tragic conclusion, The Iliad explores the abiding, blighting facts of war.
Soldier and civilian, victor and vanquished, hero and coward, men, women, young, old - The Iliad evokes in poignant, searing detail the fate of every life ravaged by the Trojan War. And, as told by Homer, this ancient tale of a particular Bronze Age conflict becomes a sublime and sweeping evocation of the destruction of war throughout the ages.
Carved close to the original Greek, acclaimed classicist Caroline Alexander's new translation is swift and lean, with the driving cadence of its source - a translation epic in scale yet devastating in its precision and power.
More from the same
What listeners say about The Iliad
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Nate
- 2020-11-13
beautiful story, beautifully orated
Excellent speaker, a man like a god. Standing above all other men in counsel. So the epic of shining Hector, breaker of horses and the son of Peleus, swift footed Achilles, was told.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- John MacLachlan
- 2020-05-26
excellent and accessible.
Dominic Keating does an excellent job performing this work. his voice carries a weight and presence that is very appropriate for this work. I haven't read any other translations of the Iliad, but Caroline Alexander has done a great job breathing life into this work for an audience in the 21st century. This piece is a must listen.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- T. Bachman
- 2019-04-04
Great
A genuinely stellar performance by the narrator and the translator. I strongly recommend this audiobook.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- S Wallace
- 2018-09-20
Gut-Wrenching! Unforgettable! Life-changing!
#Audible1 A translation that makes the oldest epic on the planet seem urgent. I cannot recommend this enough. I also really enjoy the narrator saying "Iliados" rather than "Iliad"--it's the little things that make a good narration.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Tad Davis
- 2016-04-22
Forceful
I had a hard time getting into this translation when it first came out. The language seemed unnecessarily formal, sometimes downright knotty. I kept comparing it to another line-by-line translation that came out recently, the one by Peter Green, and found greater clarity in his.
What a difference a gifted narrator makes! When I listen to Dominic Keating read this translation, it sounds anything but formal and knotty: yes, it's rhythmic and filled with all the repetitive epithets so dear to Homer's heart, but boy does it have an impact. I actually listened to the Catalogue of the Ships this time around without zoning out, and could almost see the great armies massing on the plain, feeling the vibration of their boots on the ground. The words cut like sharpened bronze.
It comes with a short, clear, and helpful introduction by Alexander that condenses a lot of the material she covered in her book "The War that Killed Achilles".
A reliable source - the most reliable of all, Caroline Alexander herself, in an online chat - said she has no plans to do The Odyssey. It's not that doing The Iliad wore her out, it's just that she doesn't feel the same emotional connection to The Odyssey. I'm sorry to hear that. I've love to hear someone do for that poem what she's done for this one.
Many people have done line-for-line translations of Homer, Richmond Lattimore being the one most often recommended. Lattimore's verse has great dignity but (for me) not nearly so much clarity, and nowhere near the visceral punch.
I've read the Iliad in so many different translations that I have no idea whether this one would be good for a first-time listener. But if you have an interest in Homer, you owe it to yourself to give this one a listen at some point.
157 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sandra Sena
- 2016-09-14
Narration and translation matters
After having read Why Homer Matters (by Adam Nicolson), I tasked myself to read the source material, having never read it in my formal education. I managed to get half way through a different adaptation when it became a chore to continue so I abandoned listening. Recently, I was highly recommended this translation and I'm glad I gave it another try. The introduction alone gave a succinct encapsulation of "why Homer matters". The Iliad is the source of all storytelling and this translation was incredibly fluid and the narration was completely engaging! I was swept into the drama (which I felt lacking in my last attempt) and I think I would listen to anything read by this narrator.
71 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Karen
- 2019-11-27
Available to 21st Century Ears
The translation is fraught with grammatical oddments such as the use of nominative forms for objective pronouns, which is shattering to those who tend to be fastidious about such things. The narration is clean and not theatrical yet sensitive to the text. The pronunciation of classical names is unconventional but consistent. I never quite adjusted to Priam being pronounced “PREE-um” instead of “PRIGH” as in “high” — “PRIGH-am” or to Mount Ida as “EE-dah” instead of “EYE-dah.”
46 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Penguin Flying
- 2019-11-14
Beginnings of words chopped off
The narration seems very strong — perhaps it would get a little tiresome after a while — but there is either a consistent audio problem or (less likely) tendency on the part of the narrator that leads to the beginnings of words and paragraphs being chopped off. This is sometimes pronounced, sometimes subtle, but very distracting and it’s hard for me to pay attention to anything else. The most obvious example is the name “Achilles” — very often at the beginning of a line (or a sentence in the introduction) the first vowel sound is cut off so the name comes through as [‘chilles] (kill-ease). Pretty soon I was listening for it, doubting whether I was hearing correctly, noticing it every time it happened, and for that reason was unable to enjoy the poem. Very disappointing. I’ll be trying a different translation (I already bought and abandoned the Fagles done by Derek Jacobi after realizing it was abridged).
32 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- George
- 2016-10-28
timeless
There are reasons this work has stood for 3000 years. We all face the same fundamental human dilemmas illustrated by Achilles, friends and enemies: Life, death, the struggling for meaning...and perhaps the fickle dictates of fate.
19 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anne
- 2018-08-13
Absolutely Thrilling
This translation and the performance together make an absolutely thrilling listen. A narration that sends a listener back to the text to enjoy it again and in another way is rare, indeed, and this production does just that.
18 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ben
- 2018-11-07
Clear and Precise Narration and Translation
The narrator did a fantastic job, restraining himself from poetic flourishes or "acting," but kept his pace and cadence appropriately throughout, never straining for effect.
17 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jesse Sierke
- 2018-03-18
A bold reading of the basis for Western literature
As was surely the intent of its composers, this poetic telling of the struggle of bodies and hearts and minds for the sacred city of Troy weaves together threads of myth, history, and human drama to form a living tapestry in the imagination of the listener.
15 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jeff
- 2016-06-22
Excellent
This well written and masterfully narrated version has fast become my favorite version of this epic tale.
15 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Nico Vela
- 2019-11-06
A great translation
A great translation that brings forth the original spirit of the Iliad. The narration is wonderful, and the book is great to read.
12 people found this helpful