The Aeneid

Now I know why you are supposed to like this poem. It really does have a strong aura of spirituality about it. I thought the entire production was beautifully done. There is a nice introduction about Virgil and The Aeneid to get you oriented. Then, at the beginning of each section there is a short synopsis of the action to give you a heads up on what is coming. I never got lost or bewildered by the story. This is a breathtaking performance on the part of the reader, too. If you like The Iliad or The Odessey, you're going to love this one. I recommend it without hesitation.

I am nearing the end of The Aeneid, and I cannot say enough about the richness of experience this audio book has brought into my life. And believe me, I am hard to please :-) Virgil himself is unquestionably a master of myth, history, human nature and poetry with few peers in the history of humanity. The translator seems to have done a very credible job at transforming a vibrant work into modern and compelling English. And Charlton Griffin has done an absolutely unbelievable job of bringing this work to life. His ability to make the words of gods or men seem terrifying, heroic, pathetic or amusing as the case may be, should not be missed. I shall never forget his interpretation of the gods in their arguments and precious sarcasms, the hissing intensity of oracles, the forthright heroic speeches of Aeneas, and many others.

Thanks to all involved in this production, it is a masterpiece.

As a professor of literature, I usually eschew audio versions of books for the printed text. However, I have to confess that I found this version and reading to be absolutely captivating. Many nuances in the text are evoked, and a vividness in the tale persists long after the audio is over. Highly recommended!

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

Wow! I love old great books and the Aeneid is a cornerstone of literature. Griffen is stupendous in his inflection and cadence. If you like this kind of literature, get this version. There is another version of the Aeneid narrated by another that is not nearly as well intoned. It is clear, but not as enjoyable.

I'm listening to it for the second/third time now, reading along with traditional verse and doing google searches on the names i don't know. What a fabulous story. I totally give this a thumbs up!
Tolkein took a lot from the Aeneid. Listen for Camilla and think about Eowyn and many more examples.
The story of the Trojan Horse is here, not in the Illiad. This is a GREAT work.

"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.

And Charlton Griffin does as wonderful 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. 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.

I recommend this audio book because it is an influential and good story well read that reveals a lot about how ancient Rome saw itself and its origins and about the weakness and heroism in human nature.

The narrarator is very good. The musical interludes are quite a nice touch as well. However, the translation itself seems somewhat cumbersome in many places.

Overall: Very good

This was VERY well acted, narrated which added immensely to my understanding. I found myself looking forward to a flight so I could listen to a few hours uninterrupted.

Glad I first listened to The Teaching Company "Aeneid" course by Elizabeth Vandiver, else I wouldn't have followed the action. Suspect I would have been lost without that preparation.

Very high body count in books 7-12. I'm still stunned at the variety of ways to describe splattered brains.

Expected this would be a chore, but thoroughly enjoyed it.

Highly recommended.

I'm not sure I'd change anything. For the time it was written, the perspective is probably great. I just got bored with the constant donations of animal intestines and other sacrifices to the gods, the constant pouring of wine... like gallons and gallons of wine to every little thing, the melodramatic prayers... Very mythology driven. If you're into mythology, this will probably be great. If you're not, then you may want to skip over this one.

the perspective

nails

not really

Has anyone bothered to count exactly how many animals were sacrificed and how many gallons of wine were poured out to their homies?