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Aristotle's Poetics is the earliest surviving work of dramatic theory and the first extant philosophical treatise on literary theory. The philosopher presents a treatise on what he defines as poetry, which includes verse drama, the satyr play, lyric poetry, and epic poetry.

Award-winning storyteller Barbara McBride-Smith breathes life (albeit a wizened Texan version) into the old Greek myths. With her incurable Texas drawl, she spins the Greek myths as you've never heard them before, rendering them 99% more fun while retaining 100% of their original insights into the crooked ways of the human heart and the no less crooked ways of the ancient Greek gods.

Ancient Mesopotamia is often referred to as the “cradle of civilization”, and there’s good reason for it. If you take a look at history, a lot of firsts happened in Mesopotamia. These origins were soon adapted by different civilizations around the world. They were refined until almost perfected.

There are few mythological characters that require less of an introduction than Hercules. His labors are known and have been reimagined by cultures far beyond their Greek beginnings, and he continues to influence modern culture in more ways than any other ancient Greek hero.

"Buried Alive" (1908) is a witty satire by Arnold Bennett about a shy painter. Excerpt from the book: "The peculiar angle of the earth's axis to the plane of the ecliptic - that angle which is chiefly responsible for our geography and therefore for our history - had caused the phenomenon known in London as summer. The whizzing globe happened to have turned its most civilized face away from the sun, thus producing night in Selwood Terrace, South Kensington.

Oedipus Rex & Antigone: two of the most famous plays by Sophocles. Both are a part of the same trilogy, and they are arguably the most important parts of the trilogy. To truly complete your journey with Sophocles, you will need to also check out Oedipus at Colonus.

This superbly written, highly listenable account of the tumult of A.D. 69 focuses on the four men who sought imperial power in the void left by Nero: an old man, a soldier, a playboy, and an extravagant debaucher. The empire-wide, year-long civil war that resulted is brought to life in this sustained narrative, which is rich in detail, intrigue, and insight, as well as the aristocratic biases of the author.

The Persians: A Translation from Aeschylus There is no drama where the total multiplicity of horror in defeat is more cogently presented than in the Persians by Aeschylus, who fought in the Athenian triumph at Salamis, where the Persian fleet was rammed and wrecked.

Jaya: A Retelling of the Mahabharata has the whole epic, which was originally known as Jaya, condensed into a tiny capsule in this book. Other than retelling the interesting parts of the Mahabharata, what makes this book a favourite among audiences is Pattanaik's rendering of the various local folklores and tales that are associated with the epic, which have been presented in a whole new genre. With a master stroke, the author has elaborated the storyline by including lesser-known folklore stories of the epic, while keeping intact its original form and style.

Medea es una obra teatral en la que el personaje principal, Medea, mata a sus hijos para vengarse de su esposo, quien la ha dejado por otra mujer. A pesar de lo terrible de este acto, se ha identificado a este personaje con la mujer enganada. El analisis de esta obra ha generado muchas controversias. Esta es la obra mas famosa de Eurpides.

The CliffsNotes study guide on Mythology supplements the original literary work, giving you background information about the author, an introduction to the work, and critical commentaries, all for you to use as an educational tool that will allow you to better understand the work. This study guide was written with the assumption that you have read mythology.

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.

Plato's dialogue in the Symposium, which has as its topic the subject of love, explores the idea of love as a means of ascent to contemplation of the Divine. For Plato, generally, to love other human beings is to direct one's mind to love of Divinity. One proceeds from recognition of another's beauty to appreciation of Beauty as it exists apart from any individual, to consideration of Divinity, the source of Beauty, to love of Divinity.

This highly acclaimed series makes Shakespeare very accessible and is found in all 50 U.S. states, all Canadian provinces, and 45 countries. The Sixty-Minute Shakespeare series is an ideal alternative for those who lack the time to tackle the unabridged versions of the world's most widely read playwright. Professor Cass Foster has judiciously condensed (without modernizing) the Bard's richly poetic language. He has skillfully retained the integrity of the text, allowing students to experience the thrill of the stories as well as the captivating imagery in the prose and verse. In addition, ...

Sophocles' timeless drama is often considered the greatest of all surviving Athenian plays. Oedipus, king of Thebes, must save his ailing city by tracking down the murderer of its former king. Translation by F. Storr.

Benvenuti nell’epico mondo dell’Iliade, dove è sempre un buon giorno per vincere o morire. Nell’ultimo anno dell’assedio di Troia, Dei ed eroi, condottieri e soldati si affrontano in grandiose battaglie. Dal duello tra Ettore e Aiace agli inganni e ai complotti dell’Olimpo, dal salvataggio di Nestore all’impresa notturna di Ulisse e Diomede.

Benvenuti nell’epico mondo dell’Iliade, dove è sempre un buon giorno per vincere o morire. Nell’ultimo anno dell’assedio di Troia, Dei ed eroi, condottieri e soldati si affrontano in grandiose battaglie. Dalla contesa tra Achille e Agamennone al celebre catalogo delle navi, dalla sfida di Paride a Menelao per l’amore di Elena alle imprese del possente guerriero Diomede.

On Clemency is a two volume (incomplete) hortatory essay written in 55-56 CE by Seneca the Younger, a Roman Stoic philosopher, to the emperor Nero in the first five years of his reign. From Seneca's remarks, it would appear that it was written after Nero had turned 18, which would place it after the murder of his rival Britannicus in 55 AD. It may therefore have been written partly as an apology, perhaps as a means of assuring the Roman nobility that the murder would be the end, not the beginning of bloodshed.

A passage of diverse heroics and distant perseverance in quest of the Golden Fleece is with transcendent narrative and canonic rhythm in the Argonautica recounted. Jason and the Argonauts, sailing from Iolcos on the Argo, pass into the Euxine, or Black Sea, on their voyage to Colchis at the eastern end of the sea. F L Light's translation re-embodies the motive energy of metric Apollonius in this epic of golden probation in endurance and dispatch.

It is both amazing and wonderful that so much of the richness of our language and our moral education still owes a huge debt to a Greek slave who was executed over 2,000 years ago. Yet "sour grapes", "crying wolf", "a dog in a manger", "actions speak louder than words", "honesty is the best policy", and literally hundreds of other metaphors, axioms, and ideas that are now woven into the very fabric of Western culture all came from Aesop's Fables.