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

Absolutely amazing!

If you enjoyed the Illiad and the Odyssey you will love The Aeneid - a breathtaking, suspenseful, poignant and action packed ride that takes you through the fall of Troy, to the tragic love affair with Dido and the final bloody battlefields of Italy. Behind the journey lurk the vengeful gods, particularly Juno (Hera) dogging Aeneis's steps like an evil witch. Much more so than Homer, Virgil highlights the terrible futility and waste of war. In terms of Charlton Griffin's narration, yes, there is the odd pronunciation of some words that is vaguely irritating but you get used to it and is more than compensated for by a very powerful performance and his surprising ability to so effectively do female voices. Some reviewers commented on a brief summary given at the beginning of each chapter or book - that wasn't part of the audio book I listened to. A very accessible translation. I would thoroughly recommend this audio edition of the The Aeneid!

Doesn't Compare to Homer

Would you try another book from Virgil and/or Charlton Griffin?

Maybe.

Would you ever listen to anything by Virgil again?

Maybe

What does Charlton Griffin bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His performance was admirable.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Sure

Any additional comments?

While providing some interesting fill-ins to some historical events (the sacking of Troy, the relationship between Dido and Aeneas, the founding of Rome), the overall story is pretty boring. Aeneas pretty much does what the gods tell him to do, without much personal flare. His apparent heroism doesn't add up to much.

After listening to Homer's The Illiad and The Odyssey, this book is no where near in stature and greatness.

Clear and unassuming

The reader reads the book in a clear manner and allows the listener to come to their own conclusions regarding tone and atmosphere of the storyline.
A great way to hear a great book

A Great Epic--

"Of arms I sing and the hero, destiny's exile," begins Virgil's epic poem The Aeneid, which I just finished enjoying in the Audio Connoisseur version. Though I am no expert, the 1961 verse translation, by Patric Dickinson, feels natural, clear, and pleasurable. The forty-something-minute introduction is illuminating about the strong points as well as the limitations of Virgil's epic. The Aeneid is not The Iliad (but then what is?), for Virgil has almost no sense of humor and too great a belief in Augustan Rome as the acme of world empires. But he also has a rich, noble, and dramatic imagination.

Among the highlights are Aeneas recounting the fall of and escape from Troy, Dido despairing, Aeneas finding the ghost of an assassinated Trojan in a mound pierced by spears that have grown into myrtle shoots, Aeneas visiting the underworld, the Trojans trapping the Latin hero Turnus inside their fortifications only to discover they have bitten off more than they can chew, baby Camilla's father tying her to a spear and throwing it over a river, and Turnus asking a last boon of Aeneas. Such scenes are beautiful, terrible, exciting, moving, fantastic, and heroic.

The production is fine, with good sound quality and ancient Mediterranean-type music introducing and concluding the books. But if you wish to hear the story freshly, you should fast forward past the suspense-killing and superfluous five-minute summaries that introduce each book. Charlton Griffin does a good job here as he does reading The Iliad, varying his pitch and pace to evoke the different emotions and moods of Virgil's many characters and scenes, bringing the poem to life with conviction. However, every book he reads tends to have the Charlton Griffin Rhythm, so you'd better listen to the sample to be sure if you want to hear it for fifteen hours.

Anyway, the Aeneid is an influential and good story that reveals a lot about how ancient Rome saw itself and its origins and about the weakness and heroism in human nature.

A beautiful, ancient, echoing story

The story, much like that of Odysseus, smacks of action movie but lingers like art. A clever, moving translation and powerful reading. Recommended.

amazing read abd translation

amazing , I loved it , his voice is amazing. I was very impressed. sounds effects are on spot

Excess pomposity from reader

Obviously, the Aeneid is awesome.

However, this reader is unbearably pompous and self-indulgent to the point of absurdity. He speaks in a ridiculously plummy upper class accent (although occasional odd slips make me suspect him of being an American faking it). He booms and drawls in slow motion. It's unbearable.

Now, you could argue that Roman epic poetry requires a certain sense of Shakespearean grandeur and that the reader is attempting to give it that. Fair enough. But he reads the introduction in the same style!! "Virgil... was... BORN ... in a village near ... MANTUA..." he intones in his molasses-like way.

Make. It. Stop.

I had to give up after book 2. I wish someone would do a sensible recording that treats Virgil with some respect instead of using him as an opportunity to show off.

Short of learning Latin, this is great!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

There are certain works every educated person should read, and the Aeneid is high on the list. Griffin's formal, somewhat stilted reading is appropriate for this text. I have not compared other English translations of the Aeneid, but this one, with a few odd word choices, stayed true to the parts of the original I'm familiar with.

The only reason the story gets 4 stars instead of 5 is that, as classical epics go, Homer is the only one who deserves 5 stars. But then, who can live up to his standards?

Performance marred by music

The music in between books was annoying. I wish there were some better complete editions of the Aeneid.

One of the Great Founding Mythos of Western Civ

I absolutely love this brilliance. Follow Aneaus through so much history and the founding Mythos of multiple prominent western nations intertwined together like some brliant tapestry of western civilization and Antiquity itself. From the fall of Troy, to Dido and the founding of Carthage, within the land enclosed inside a single bullshide, to the lands of Latium, Alba longa, and to the great deeds of Romulus and Remus themselves, who go on and found the eturnal city, the capital of the world, Roma Eturna. Anyone one who professes to love western civilization, who professes to fight for our culture, whos lives have benefitted in countless ways from western civilisation. You must read this book. It is the only way to gain the wisdom and beauty of countless heoric, awe inspiring deeds that proceed you, whom you have a sacred duty to preserve and pass on, and lift even higher. .

2