Classics (Greek & Latin Antiquity)
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Adelphi: or, The Brothers
“Micio and Demea are two brothers of dissimilar tempers. Demea is married, and lives a country life, while his brother remains single, and resides in Athens.” Things quickly get a bit messy with hushed-up debauchery, kidnapping/elopement/theft of a slave, general carousing, and marriage nuptials – the usual for the day perhaps, except that: “The Play concludes with a serious warning from Demea, who advises his relatives not to squander their means in riotous living; but, on the contrary, to bear admonition and to submit to restraint in a spirit of moderation and thankfulness.” – Summary by The Translator Cast list: Demea, Brother, aged Athenian: Max K?rlinge Micio, Brother, aged Athenian: Adam Bielka Hegio, an aged Athenian, kinsman of Sostrata: Ethan Hurst ?schinus, son of Demea, adopted by Micio: Tomas Peter Ctesipho, another son of Demea: Shashank Jakhmola Sannio, a Procurer: Son of the Exiles Geta, servant of Sostrata: ToddHW Parmeno, servant of Micio: Devorah Allen Syrus, servant of Micio: alanmapstone Dromo, servant of Micio: Devorah Allen Pamphila, a young woman beloved by ?schinus: Lydia Sostrata, a widow, mother of Pamphila: KHand Canthara, a Nurse: Eva Davis Stage Directions: Sonia Edited: ToddHW
Agamemnon (Browning Translation)
The play Agamemnon details the homecoming of Agamemnon, King of Argos, from the Trojan War. Waiting at home for him is his wife, Clytemnestra, who has been planning his murder, partly as revenge for the sacrifice of their daughter, Iphigenia, and partly because in the ten years of Agamemnon’s absence Clytemnestra has entered into an adulterous relationship with Aegisthus, Agamemnon’s cousin and the sole survivor of a dispossessed branch of the family (Agamemnon’s father, Atreus, killed and fed Aegisthus’s brothers to Aegisthus’s father, Thyestes, when he took power from him), who is determined to regain the throne he believes should rightfully belong to him. Summary by Wikipedia
Agamemnon (Morshead Translation)
The Oresteia is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus concerning the end of the curse on the House of Atreus. The name derives from the character Orestes, who sets out to avenge his father’s murder. The only extant example of an ancient Greek theater trilogy, the Oresteia won first prize at the Dionysia festival in 458 BC. When originally performed, it was accompanied by Proteus, a satyr play that would have followed the trilogy. Proteus has not survived, however. In all likelihood the term “Oresteia” originally referred to all four plays; today it generally designates only the surviving trilogy. Many consider the Oresteia to be Aeschylus’ finest work. Principal themes of the trilogy include the contrast between revenge and justice, as well as the transition from personal vendetta to organized litigation….The play Agamemnon (?????????, Agamemn?n) details the homecoming of Agamemnon, King of Argos, from the Trojan War. Waiting at home for him is his wife, Clytemnestra, who has been planning his murder, partly as revenge for the sacrifice of their daughter, Iphigenia, and partly because in the ten years of Agamemnon’s absence Clytemnestra has entered into an adulterous relationship with Aegisthus, Agamemnon’s cousin and the sole survivor of a dispossessed branch of the family (Agamemnon’s father, Atreus, killed and fed Aegisthus’s brothers to Aegisthus’s father, Thyestes, when he took power from him), who is determined to regain the throne he believes should rightfully belong to him. – Summary by Wikipedia
Agricola
The Agricola (Latin: De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae, lit. On the life and character of Julius Agricola) is a book by the Roman historian Tacitus, written c 98, which recounts the life of his father-in-law Gnaeus Julius Agricola, an eminent Roman general. It also covers, briefly, the geography and ethnography of ancient Britain. As in the Germania, Tacitus favorably contrasts the liberty of the native Britons to the corruption and tyranny of the Empire; the book also contains eloquent and vicious polemics against the rapacity and greed of Rome. This translation by Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb, was first published in 1877. (Summary from Wikipedia.
Ajax (Campbell Translation)
Ajax is a Greek tragedy written in the 5th century BC. The date of Ajax’s first performance is unknown and may never be found, but most scholars regard it as an early work, c. 450 – 430 BC. It chronicles the fate of the warrior Ajax after the events of the Iliad, but before the end of the Trojan War. At the onset of the play, Ajax is enraged because Achilles’ armor was awarded to Odysseus, rather than to him. He vows to kill the Greek leaders who disgraced him. Before he can enact his extraordinary revenge, though, he is tricked by the goddess Athena into believing that the sheep and cattle that were taken by the Achaeans as spoil are the Greek leaders. Much of the play shows the disintegration of Ajax in the face of this humiliation, leading ultimately to his suicide. – Summary by Wikipedia (edited by Expatriate)
Alcestis
Alcestis is the earliest surviving play by Euripides. Alcestis, the devoted wife of King Admetus, has agreed to die in his place, and at the beginning of the play she is close to death. In the first scene, Apollo argues with Thanatos (Death), asking to prolong Alcestis’ life, but Thanatos refuses. Apollo leaves, but suggests that a man will come to Pherae who will save Alcestis. Euripides’ play is perhaps the most unusual Greek drama ever written: a tragedy that is not a tragedy. (Summary by Elizabeth Klett) Cast Admetus: Todd Alcestis/Chorus: Elizabeth Klett Pheres: Bruce Pirie Little Boy: Lyn Silva Manservant: bala Handmaid: Arielle Lipshaw Heracles: mb Apollo: Libby Gohn Thanatos: engineerdst Chorus Leader: Caprisha Page Narrator: David Lawrence Audio edited by Elizabeth Klett
Alcestis (Way Translation)
Alcestis, queen of Pherae, is one of the noblest heroines in all of Greek drama. Her husband Admetus is the supposedly virtuous king of Pherae who wins the friendship of the god Apollo. Apollo tricks the Eumenides into an agreement that when the time comes for Admetus to die, a willing substitute will be accepted in his place, allowing his friend to go on living. Admetus selfishly tries to persuade anyone to agree to be his substitute, even his own parents, but no one is willing to make that sacrifice; this disappointment and its tragic consequences embitter him, leading him ultimately to disown his father and mother. Finally his wife Alcestis nobly agrees to die for him, unwilling to leave her children without a father. When the play opens, the moment for the death of Alcestis is at hand and an unexpected guest is at the door. ?Alcestis,? first produced at the City Dionysia festival in 438 BCE, has always been hard to categorize. Its ambiguous, tragicomic tone?which may be “cheerfully romantic” or “bitterly ironic”?has earned it the label of a “problem play.” “Alcestis” is, possibly excepting the “Rhesus,” the oldest surviving work by Euripides, although at the time of its first performance he had been producing plays for 17 years. (Expatriate; supplemented by Wikipedia)
Cratylus
Cratylus (????????) discusses whether things have names by mere convention or have true names which can only be correctly applied to the object named and may have originated from God. (Summary by Geoffrey Edwards)
Critias
This is an incomplete dialogue from the late period of Plato’s life. Plato most likely created it after Republic and it contains the famous story of Atlantis, that Plato tells with such skill that many have believed the story to be true. Critias, a friend of Socrates, and uncle of Plato was infamous as one of the bloody thirty tyrants. (Summary by Kevin Johnson)
The Acharnians (Billson Translation)
Loaded with cryptic, nearly indecipherable inside jokes and double entendres, this early comedy of Aristophanes has a simple, anti-war premise that resounds down the centuries. On flimsy pretexts, greedy politicians have embroiled the nation of Athens in war after war after war. Dic?opolis is Everyman, an ordinary, plain-speaking citizen fed up with the bumbling, belligerence, and insincerity of the professional leaders. He decides on a whim to make a separate peace with Sparta all by himself, returning with a treaty good for thirty years. Envious of the good deal he has made and of the profit he sees from it, other Athenians try to buy packets of his peace from him, with no success. Puffed up with his own cleverness, Dic?opolis spends the final scenes of the play ridiculing the muscle-brained neanderthal General Lamachus for faux patriotism and comic chest-beating heroism. This translation is by Charles James Billson, who admits in his preface with obvious regret that the chilling effect of ?modern Protestantism? had forced him to prune out the more risque and bawdy bits of Aristophanes?s lines, particularly most of the ?Phallic Hymn.? He tries to make up for this unfortunate lack, however, by filling the play with rhyme patterns and slang borrowed from the ?burlesque? halls of the 1880s, hoping to render the difficult Greek humor into the form of ?a lively acting play.? ( Expatriate)
The Aeneid
The Aeneid is a Latin epic written by Virgil in the 1st century BC that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who traveled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. The first six of the poem?s twelve books tell the story of Aeneas? wanderings from Troy to Italy, and the poem?s second half treats the Trojans? ultimately victorious war upon the Latins, under whose name Aeneas and his Trojan followers are destined to be subsumed. The poem was commissioned from Vergil by the Emperor Augustus to glorify Rome. Several critics think that the hero Aeneas? abandonment of the Cartheginian Queen Dido, is meant as a statement of how Augustus? enemy, Mark Anthony, should have behaved with the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra. (Summary by Wikipedia and Karen Merline)
The Aeneid of Virgil (Version 2)
The Aeneid is a Latin epic written by Virgil in the 1st century BC that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who traveled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. The first six of the poem?s twelve books tell the story of Aeneas? wanderings from Troy to Italy, and the poem?s second half treats the Trojans? ultimately victorious war upon the Latins, under whose name Aeneas and his Trojan followers are destined to be subsumed. The poem was commissioned from Virgil by the Emperor Augustus to glorify Rome. Several critics think that the hero Aeneas? abandonment of the Carthaginian Queen Dido, is meant as a statement of how Augustus? enemy, Mark Anthony, should have behaved with the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra. (Summary by Wikipedia and Karen Merline)
The Aeneid, prose translation
The Aeneid is the most famous Latin epic poem, written by Virgil in the 1st century BC. The story revolves around the legendary hero Aeneas, a Trojan prince who left behind the ruins of his city and led his fellow citizens to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. The first six of the poem?s twelve books tell the story of Aeneas? wanderings from Troy to Italy, while the poem?s second half treats the Trojans? victorious war upon the Latins. This is the recording of J.W.MacKail’s prose translation. (Summary by Leni)
The Consolation of Philosophy (Version 2)
The Consolation of Philosophy was written about 524 A.D. and has been called one of the most popular and influential books ever written. The book is presented as a dialogue between Boethius, the author, and Lady Philosophy, his tutor. Through her teaching, Boethius learns the true nature of fortune, misfortune, wealth, good, and evil. This dramatic reading is an attempt to present this wonderful work in an audio format while maintaining the dialogic structure of the work. (Devorah Allen) Cast List Boethius, the Narrator: Larry Wilson Philosophy: Devorah Allen Headings and Footnotes: KevinS
The Constitution of Athens
The Constitution of Athens (Greek: ???????? ????????) was written by Aristotle or his student. The text was lost until discovered in the late 19th century in Egypt. Topics discussed include Solon’s legislative reforms abolishing debt slavery and the rise and decline of democracy and tyranny in Athens. (Summary by Geoffrey Edwards)
The Fables of Phaedrus
The fable is a small narrative, in prose or verse, which has as its main characteristic the aim of conveying a moral lesson (the “moral”), implicitly or, more normally, explicitly expressed. Even though the modern concept of fable is that it should have animals or inanimate objects as characters – an idea supported by the works of famous fabulists such as Aesop and La Fontaine – Phaedrus, the most important Latin fabulist, is innovative in his writing. Although many of his fables do depict animals or objects assuming speech, he also has many short stories about men, writing narratives that seem to the modern eye more like short tales than fables. Despite many other fables being attributed to Phaedrus, only five books are considered by scholarship to have been written by him. Phaedrus’ five books of fables are here presented in a translation to English prose by Henry Thomas Ridley. (Summary by Leni)
The Fall of Troy
The Fall of Troy also called “Posthomeric” is an account of the Trojan war from the Arrival of Penthesleia to the sack of Troy.(summary by Titurel)
The Fasti
The Fasti is a Latin poem in six books, written by Ovid and believed to have been published in 8 AD. The Fasti is organized according to the Roman calendar and explains the origins of Roman holidays and associated customs, often through the mouths of deities and with multiple aetiologies. The poem was left unfinished when the poet was exiled to Tomis, so only the first six months of the year appear in the poem. (Summary by Leni)