Classic Books Store
The Aeneid
RRP: $49.95
Our Price: $32.97
You Save: $ 16.98 ( 34% )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Penguin Audio
Author: Virgil
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Average Customer Rating:
Our Price: $32.97
You Save: $ 16.98 ( 34% )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Penguin Audio
Author: Virgil
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Average Customer Rating:
Experimental feature: Order The Aeneid from the UK, Canada, Germany or France by clicking an appropriate flag below.
Some items available at Amazon.com are not available in all countries.
Some items available at Amazon.com are not available in all countries.
The Aeneid Description
Binding: Audio CD
Dewey Decimal Number: 873.01
EAN: 9781428123700
Format: Audiobook
ISBN: 0143059025
Label: Penguin Audio
Manufacturer: Penguin Audio
Number Of Items: 10
Book Pages: 1
Publication Date: 2006-11-02
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Studio: Penguin Audio
Dewey Decimal Number: 873.01
EAN: 9781428123700
Format: Audiobook
ISBN: 0143059025
Label: Penguin Audio
Manufacturer: Penguin Audio
Number Of Items: 10
Book Pages: 1
Publication Date: 2006-11-02
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Studio: Penguin Audio
Editorial Review of The Aeneid
The much-anticipated new translation of Virgil's epic poem from the award-winning translator of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey.
Unabridged CDs - 15 CDs, 18 hours
Unabridged CDs - 15 CDs, 18 hours
Customer Reviews of The Aeneid
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Great Translation, unbearable narration
Review: I think that Robert Fagles is one of the best translator of Greek and Latin in the past 50 years. I thought that the Odyssey, read by Ian McKellen, was superb, although Homer's Epic was meant to be heard. Virgil's was meant to be read, but, with the enjoyment I had listening to the Odyssey, I thought that I would give the Aeneid a try. What a horrible, horrible mistake! Simon Callow makes the Aeneid virtually intolerable. He reads Virgil's Epic as if he is mocking over-acting. In fact, if this were offered as a parody of bad reading, then most would believe it was simply too hyperbolic even to be funny. No professional reader should ever over-act this badly nor should Penguin Audio Books allow such a travesty to actually be recorded! Honestly, a high school drama student could have rendered a finer job.
The book is wonderful. The audio book is worse that I can describe!
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The reader ruins it.
Review: I just started this book, and have really been looking forward to it. Now Im so disapointed because I cant understand it because of the readers dramatic reading. I am still listening but Im in the market for another copy read by someone else. rb
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Excellent Rendition of a Classic
Review: I don't think that anyone could ask for a better presentation of Virgil's classic. Fagles's translation is scintillating. When I listen to a work like this I generally simultaneously read or consult a number of translations, and Fagles definitely has created a wondrous and exceptional work in English. Simon Callow's rendition is simultaneously exhilarating and haunting. Highly recommended.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A Stone Waste!
Review: I understand that many readers in the United States find Robert Fagles' translation easy to read. Some likely appreciate his use of colloquialisms. A reader with a European accent surely wasn't the best choice for this translation.
Most importantly, Penguin should never have allowed this audio book to leave its shop in the present condition. Sometimes Mr. Callow was so loud that my ears hurt and at other times he sort of muttered. Some of his presentation was enjoyable, but I gave up on the second CD. I use a reasonably good sound system to listen to audio books and have never before had such difficulty.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A classic of Western literature that is often a fun read (or listen)
Review: This is a review of the CD audio book version of Robert Fagles' translation of Virgil's Aeneid.
Victorian Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli once quipped, "My wife is a lovely woman, but she can never remember which came first: the Greeks or the Romans." The Greeks "came first" in two senses. Their civilization produced great works of literature, philosophy and art when Rome was still a primitive village, and although the Romans later conquered the Greek world their cultural achievements never quite matched those of Greece, and they knew it.
The Aeneid is an epic poem that tells the story of Aeneas, a Trojan who flees his city as it is being sacked by the Greeks. (The story of the Trojan Horse is actually not in the Iliad, but there is a moving account of it in the Aeneid.) Aeneas wanders for many years and eventually comes to Italy and founds what becomes Roman civilization. Aeneas is thus conquered by the Greeks, but founds the civilization that will conquer them. And this poem about Aeneas is meant to rival the Iliad (with its accounts of battles) and the Odyssey (with its accounts of the wanderings of its hero on his way home).
The Aeneid is also a commentary on the politics of the era in which it was composed. Virgil lived in the time when the Roman Republic had come to an end and Octavian had succeeded Caesar as emperor. Aeneas is the supposed founder of the Roman royal line, so in honoring him Virgil is honoring his patron. And Octavian came to power only after a period of warfare (just like Aeneas). Further parallels are provided by the relationship between Aeneas and Dido, Queen of Carthage. Aeneas and Dido fall in love, and he is tempted to stay with her. But he remembers his sacred duty to found a new empire in Italy, so he leaves her behind. (I don't want to spoil the story for you, but what happens with Dido after Aeneas leaves her is one of the most famous parts of the Aeneid.) Carthage was a city that fought two wars with Rome. (Remember Hannibal leading the elephants over the alps? That was the Carthaginians.) So Aeneas's psychological victory over the temptations of Carthage foreshadows the later conflict between the empires. Furthermore, Octavian's rule was secure only after he defeated Mark Anthony. Mark Anthony allowed himself to be seduced by a foreign queen (Cleopatra in this case). So in showing Aeneas's resolve against the temptations of a foreign queen, Virgil is condemning Octavian's opponent.
The Aeneid is considered one of the greatest works (perhaps THE greatest) of Latin literature. It was so highly esteemed that it was sometimes used as a book of divination: you opened it up to a random page and stuck your finger on a line, which was your "fortune." (I tried it: apparently I am going to be shot dead with an arrow by a goddess.)
As a story, I find the Aeneid good but uneven. Parts of it are quite gripping. In addition to some of the events I've mentioned, the account of Aeneid's visit to the underworld, and the poetically appropriate punishments that the vicious receive, is engaging. We can see why Dante was so inspired by it that, in the Divine Comedy, he makes Virgil be his guide through Hell. At his worst, though, Virgil can be a bit bombastic. This isn't helped by the actor who reads the text for this audio book. His delivery reminds one of a stodgy British professor delivering a commencement address.
The CD case includes a booklet with the introduction to Fagles' translation by classicist Bernard Knox. This is very helpful, situating Virgil in his time, summarizing the poem (I found this useful as a review after having listened to the whole thing), and offering some personal reflections on the meaning Virgil has for him.
In the final analysis, the Aeneid is very good, but not as great as the Iliad or the Odyssey. I guess the Greeks do still "come first."
Review Summary: Great Translation, unbearable narration
Review: I think that Robert Fagles is one of the best translator of Greek and Latin in the past 50 years. I thought that the Odyssey, read by Ian McKellen, was superb, although Homer's Epic was meant to be heard. Virgil's was meant to be read, but, with the enjoyment I had listening to the Odyssey, I thought that I would give the Aeneid a try. What a horrible, horrible mistake! Simon Callow makes the Aeneid virtually intolerable. He reads Virgil's Epic as if he is mocking over-acting. In fact, if this were offered as a parody of bad reading, then most would believe it was simply too hyperbolic even to be funny. No professional reader should ever over-act this badly nor should Penguin Audio Books allow such a travesty to actually be recorded! Honestly, a high school drama student could have rendered a finer job.
The book is wonderful. The audio book is worse that I can describe!
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The reader ruins it.
Review: I just started this book, and have really been looking forward to it. Now Im so disapointed because I cant understand it because of the readers dramatic reading. I am still listening but Im in the market for another copy read by someone else. rb
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Excellent Rendition of a Classic
Review: I don't think that anyone could ask for a better presentation of Virgil's classic. Fagles's translation is scintillating. When I listen to a work like this I generally simultaneously read or consult a number of translations, and Fagles definitely has created a wondrous and exceptional work in English. Simon Callow's rendition is simultaneously exhilarating and haunting. Highly recommended.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A Stone Waste!
Review: I understand that many readers in the United States find Robert Fagles' translation easy to read. Some likely appreciate his use of colloquialisms. A reader with a European accent surely wasn't the best choice for this translation.
Most importantly, Penguin should never have allowed this audio book to leave its shop in the present condition. Sometimes Mr. Callow was so loud that my ears hurt and at other times he sort of muttered. Some of his presentation was enjoyable, but I gave up on the second CD. I use a reasonably good sound system to listen to audio books and have never before had such difficulty.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A classic of Western literature that is often a fun read (or listen)
Review: This is a review of the CD audio book version of Robert Fagles' translation of Virgil's Aeneid.
Victorian Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli once quipped, "My wife is a lovely woman, but she can never remember which came first: the Greeks or the Romans." The Greeks "came first" in two senses. Their civilization produced great works of literature, philosophy and art when Rome was still a primitive village, and although the Romans later conquered the Greek world their cultural achievements never quite matched those of Greece, and they knew it.
The Aeneid is an epic poem that tells the story of Aeneas, a Trojan who flees his city as it is being sacked by the Greeks. (The story of the Trojan Horse is actually not in the Iliad, but there is a moving account of it in the Aeneid.) Aeneas wanders for many years and eventually comes to Italy and founds what becomes Roman civilization. Aeneas is thus conquered by the Greeks, but founds the civilization that will conquer them. And this poem about Aeneas is meant to rival the Iliad (with its accounts of battles) and the Odyssey (with its accounts of the wanderings of its hero on his way home).
The Aeneid is also a commentary on the politics of the era in which it was composed. Virgil lived in the time when the Roman Republic had come to an end and Octavian had succeeded Caesar as emperor. Aeneas is the supposed founder of the Roman royal line, so in honoring him Virgil is honoring his patron. And Octavian came to power only after a period of warfare (just like Aeneas). Further parallels are provided by the relationship between Aeneas and Dido, Queen of Carthage. Aeneas and Dido fall in love, and he is tempted to stay with her. But he remembers his sacred duty to found a new empire in Italy, so he leaves her behind. (I don't want to spoil the story for you, but what happens with Dido after Aeneas leaves her is one of the most famous parts of the Aeneid.) Carthage was a city that fought two wars with Rome. (Remember Hannibal leading the elephants over the alps? That was the Carthaginians.) So Aeneas's psychological victory over the temptations of Carthage foreshadows the later conflict between the empires. Furthermore, Octavian's rule was secure only after he defeated Mark Anthony. Mark Anthony allowed himself to be seduced by a foreign queen (Cleopatra in this case). So in showing Aeneas's resolve against the temptations of a foreign queen, Virgil is condemning Octavian's opponent.
The Aeneid is considered one of the greatest works (perhaps THE greatest) of Latin literature. It was so highly esteemed that it was sometimes used as a book of divination: you opened it up to a random page and stuck your finger on a line, which was your "fortune." (I tried it: apparently I am going to be shot dead with an arrow by a goddess.)
As a story, I find the Aeneid good but uneven. Parts of it are quite gripping. In addition to some of the events I've mentioned, the account of Aeneid's visit to the underworld, and the poetically appropriate punishments that the vicious receive, is engaging. We can see why Dante was so inspired by it that, in the Divine Comedy, he makes Virgil be his guide through Hell. At his worst, though, Virgil can be a bit bombastic. This isn't helped by the actor who reads the text for this audio book. His delivery reminds one of a stodgy British professor delivering a commencement address.
The CD case includes a booklet with the introduction to Fagles' translation by classicist Bernard Knox. This is very helpful, situating Virgil in his time, summarizing the poem (I found this useful as a review after having listened to the whole thing), and offering some personal reflections on the meaning Virgil has for him.
In the final analysis, the Aeneid is very good, but not as great as the Iliad or the Odyssey. I guess the Greeks do still "come first."