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

5 stars are not enough

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

Deserved Classic

A beautiful translation with countless poetic flourishes. The trip to the underworld and the culminating showdown between Aeneas and Turnus are riveting.
The narrator gives each of the many characters a distinct and appropriate voice.
You will enjoy this ageless masterpiece.

Over-Dramatic Reading

I have read sections from the Aeneid on paper that were very good, but this reader is so uniformly dramatic and serious that the content and writing become flattened. Hard to focus in climactic moments as all scenes, even unimportant scenes, are read in the same booming tones. Hard to listen to for long stretches of time. I know The Aeneid is a classic and believe the narrator wanted to treat the material with respect, but I would have enjoyed the story more if he had toned it down a little.

Not for casual reader/listeners

Is there anything you would change about this book?

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.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

the perspective

What three words best describe Charlton Griffin’s voice?

nails

Did The Aeneid inspire you to do anything?

not really

Any additional comments?

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

This is the very best narrator for this book.

This is the very best narrator for this particular book. I ordered others. this one is it.

Difficult to follow in audio

it's a great work, but requires careful reading to follow the story. That makes it a bit unsuited for audiobook. The story is easy to zone out with.

Good job

Well done there, read the book out loud and add some sounds in between chapters. That was fun. Thank you.

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.