The Aeneid

By: Virgil

Narrated by: Charlton Griffin

Length: 15 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

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. He fights and wins a war against mighty Turnus and his Latins, thereby founding the city of Rome and beginning that line of Roman aristocracy which was to end with the great Caesars. With this mighty epic, Virgil glorified the Roman Empire and Augustus in the divine light of Olympian predestination, suggesting a higher power at work in the affairs of Rome. But ultimately, The Aeneid suggests that violence cannot be justified, and that mankind must deal with the consequences of violence whether born of malevolent gods or men.

The greatness of The Aenied lies in its ability to envelope the listener in an aura of spiritual longing, an effect that hitherto had never been accomplished in ancient literature. This was one of the reasons why The Aeneid remained so popular throughout the Middle Ages. Early Christians were greatly impressed by the pious, noble quality of the hero Aeneas, and to them Virgil was an accessible bridge between the pagan world and their own. And his work remained the model for epic poetry right through the Renaissance and beyond. Dante, Shakespeare, and Milton owe a debt of gratitude to Virgil and The Aeneid which can never be repaid.

The Aeneid is organized into 12 books. This recording includes a brief synopsis of the story prior to the beginning of each book in order to help the listener understand the action of the verse.

©2004 Audio Connoissuer

Good Mix of Thoughtful and Theatrical

The Aeneid is one of those "bucket list" books many people say they'll get around to at some point. If you ever do try to read it on your own, you could lose interest, either because of the length or the realities of life. That is why I'm pleased to see so many versions of this book on Audible.

The story itself is indeed a good book. Like most epics, it works well with a good voice talent.

Charleton Griffin is an excellent narrator. While he may not have the "voice of God," his voice is firm, rich, full, strong and authoritative.

Griffin seems to have been trained in classical theater. As a voice actor, he puts this training to work effectively. One benefit of this training is that we get some of the best diction I've heard from anyone this side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Griffin also realizes that neither he nor his audience can see each other. Given this, he uses his abilities as a voice actor to add vocal nuances to his narration.

He paces the story in a way that allows you to think about it, yet he can be dramatic where it's needed.

As a result, you have a performance that takes the dramatic effects of the theater and combines it with the ability to tell the story as if you were the only one hearing it.

Very Epic and Fantastical Story

Enjoyed this book quite a bit, I think I thought it was going to be a bit different then it was for some reason, it is quite a bit similar to the Odyssey or Iliad in tone and form but also different. Whenever the word "epic poem" is used to describe a book I think of something rhymey and syntactic (what does that mean?? ) but this is more like a novel with that epic quality that often is found in old books that are well translated. A bit hard to follow as these sorts of books often are but a lot of that was me not paying enough attention. Would enjoy re-listening at some point. Narration is quality and Griffin does a good job with the female characters which I think he flailed on in the Odyssey. Anyhow, fun and epic book! Perhaps not as epic as the Persian Wars or the Peloponnesian War at least to me, but in some ways perhaps more. Kind of vaguely reminded me of the Narnia Chronicles or some fantasy novel like that in a very slight manner.

Returning Cycles of Trouble

I listen to it or read it every year. So old a story, yet every year this movement from fallen Troy to the founding of Rome is more a commentary on our troubles. Asia seeking a home in Europe, Africa outraged, piety incapable of securing peace. But what art of presentation , it is art that helps us grasp hope out of the terrible battles. Thank you Vergil/Vergel, and the music between the books was enthralling, with the sound of the Chalton Griffin's voice.

Virgil rips off the Illiad and the Odessy!

The Aeneid is less well known to non-classicists and there is a reason for it. It is a blatant steal from the Greeks, like most things Roman. Still, there is a lot to recommend a listen in this English translation. It lays out the story of how the Trojans became the modern Romans. It is informative as to how the Romans viewed themselves in the world. The characters are stiff, cardboard cut-outs and Aeneis comes off as a pompous jerk. The gods are just as whimsical, as they are in the Illiad, leaving men to be whipsawed first one way and then the other as the body count mounts and blood flows in rivers.
Not a casual listen, however.

love it

challege to keep up with all the names, other than that awesome book and story.

great book

great listen. this book is pretty much the Roman version of the odyssey, national hero origin story

5 stars are not enough

I don't usually rate anything 5 stars but I had to here. Excellent performance by the reader.

A masterpiece indeed

I have now listened to the Aeneid for a second time and only recently realized the captivating poetry and power of this masterpiece.

Virgil writes line by line that paints a vivid picture of his story.

This story honored Rome and Romans of his day and I wonder if we have a Virgil for our day.

The reader Charlton Griffin is simply wonderful and makes the book "go".

Ben

listen at 1.30 speed

The narrator is much too dramatic and slow, the story is interesting but not as good as Beowulf or the Iliad.

Not a patch on either the Iliad or Odyssey

If you like the story, you’ll be fine with this. I don’t think it’s nearly as good as Homer’s classics. The narrator uses odd pronunciations of some words and people, but it’s surmountable.