Ancient Classics

À 75 ans, Victor Hugo a perdu sa femme, sa fille Léopoldine et ses deux fils. Il se retrouve seul avec ses deux petits-enfants, Jeanne et Georges. Alors que la vieillesse lui apparaît, elle s'entoure de la plus petite jeunesse, et l'art d'être grand-père s'impose à l'auteur : c'est obéir aux plus petits. Sa démarche littéraire se fond avec son dernier recueil poétique, rendre justice aux plus démunis, raconter leurs misères et leur héritage, accepter de n'être qu'un passeur et qu'il faut partir.

The Works and Days is a didactic poem written by the ancient Greek poet Hesiod around 700 BC. It is in dactylic hexameter and contains 828 lines. At its center, the Works and Days is a farmer's almanac in which Hesiod instructs his brother Perses in the agricultural arts.

Oliver Twist is the well-loved tale of an orphan, who starts life in a workhouse and finds himself embroiled in London's criminal underworld, before being saved by a kind gentleman who knows something of his surprising family history. A satire and social commentary as well as a page-turning yarn, full of grit, wit, and some of the most memorable characters in English Literature. The second published serialised novel by Charles Dickens, The British Library remarks that "it has proven to be one of the best-loved novels in the history of literature".

"Et tu bois cet alcool brûlant comme ta vie Ta vie que tu bois comme une eau de vie." Premier recueil de poèmes d'Apollinaire, "Alcools" est publié en 1913, alors que certains poèmes du recueil ont été écrits dès 1902. Apollinaire y mêle différents motifs comme la souffrance amoureuse, la mélancolie et le passage du temps, la ville moderne, ou encore le quotidien dans son exploration des paysages rhénans.

Don Juan Tenorio, el drama romantico por excelencia, es una de las pocas obras que han tenido y siguen teniendo una vida autentica mente popular. Dificil seria encontrar un espanol que no sepa recitar de memoria alguno de sus versos. El drama, que repite el viejo tema de Don Juan, ha adquirido una eficacia literaria inusitada en la mezcla de temas de capa y espada con los religiosos y morales.

This Greek tragedy is based on the myth of Prometheus, a Titan who, in defiance of the gods, gives fire to mankind, an act for which he is subjected to perpetual punishment.The play consists almost entirely of speeches since the protagonist is chained throughout.

Long considered the world's greatest adventure story, The Odyssey is celebration of life in all its infinite variety. The poem has deeply ingrained in us the sense of life as a journey, introducing a gallery of characters and events that have profoundly influenced western literature. Scylla and Charybdis, Circe, the Lotus Eaters, a visit with the dead, and, through it all, Odysseus's determined search for home, are all here in a classic translation.

The classical civilisations of Greece and Rome dominated the world for centuries and continue to intrigue and enlighten us with their inventions, whether philosophy, politics, theatre, athletics, celebrity, science or the pleasures of horse racing. Robin Lane Fox's spellbinding history spans almost a thousand years of change from the foundation of the world's first democracy in Athens to the Roman Republic and the Empire under Hadrian.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest surviving literary work in the world. The epic poetry describes the ancient King Gilgamesh and his journey to discover the secret to eternal life.

The Trojan War is over, and Odysseus, the cunning king of Ithaca, sets out for home, his wife Penelope, and his son Telemachus. It proves a long, 10-year journey, fraught with dangers, from Polyphemus, the one-eyed Cyclops, and the seductive Sirens, to the love of Calypso on her all-too-comfortable isle.

This 14th-century Italian poet was a model for many who followed him. His passionate sonnets to Laura became the epitome for love poetry. Over some 40 years he wrote 366 sonnets to Laura, whom he probably never even spoke to, and they remain immediate and affecting even now. Called "Rime Sparse (Scattered Rhymes)", they influenced Chaucer and many others.

The Life and Legacy of Augustus Caesar Explore the transformative reign of Augustus Caesar, the founder of the Roman Empire, in this comprehensive and engaging biography. "The Life and Legacy of Augustus Caesar" delves into the life of one of history's most influential leaders, from his early beginnings as Gaius Octavius to his rise as the revered first Emperor of Rome. This meticulously researched book offers an in-depth exploration of Augustus' political strategies, military conquests, and cultural contributions that defined his era. Discover how Augustus skillfully maneuvered through ...

Part wolf, part Husky, he was born to the wilderness and carried his burden among men stoically. He had known starvation, bitter cold, overwork and suffering at the cruel hand of man. He was a giant among his kind and as fearless as the men who drove him mercilessly through the perils of a frozen world. And now, through the uncertain hand of fate, he is free...he is called Kazan, the Wild Dog. But his journey has just begun and survival against the unforgiving wilderness with his blind mate, Grey Wolf, is a personal challenge. He had never known fear...until now!

For over a century, the beautiful words of the Lebanese American poet, Kahlil Gibran, have graced everything from greeting cards and wedding invitations to inspirational wall hangings and corporate motivational literature. By one account, Gibran is the third best selling poet of all time.

Most of the great Greek stories and epic tales are initiated over women, which is exactly what happens in the very beginning of The Iliad by Homer. The Trojan War has been waging for nearly a decade, and really erupted when Helen, the wife to Menelaos, was kidnapped and thus launched the "thousand ships" in pursuit of her. This is the reason that the Achaians and the Trojans have been fighting each other for so long. Achilles, who has become hero to the Greeks, is given the present of a slave girl for his excellence in battle.

Award-winning drama from SmartPass. The play is unabridged, with guided description to set the scene and fill in visual moments.

Homer's Iliad is the famous epic poem set among the tales of Troy. Its subject is the anger of the hero Achilles and its consequences for the warring Greeks and Trojans. Unlike other books on the Iliad, this one combines the detailed expertise of a historian with the sensitivity of a teacher of it as poetry. Lane Fox goes on to consider hallmarks of the poem, its values, implicit and explicit, its characters, its women, its gods and even its horses. He argues repeatedly for its beautiful observation and addresses its parallel use of what is, to us, the natural world.

This fictional classic describes the factual persecution endured by the early Christians living in the catacombs beneath Rome through the character of Marellus, a captain in the Praetorian Guard and despised Christian. Penned by an anonymous 19th-century author, Martyr of the Catacombs has challenged and encouraged the faithful for over a hundred years.

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 Theogony" (“Birth of the Gods”) is a poem by Hesiod which describes the origin, position and relationships of the gods of the Greek pantheon. Hesiod created a synthesis of the diverse Greek traditions concerning the gods, in the form of a hymn invoking Zeus and the Muses. The Theogony is the first known Greek mythical cosmogony. However, it should not be considered as the authoritative source of Greek mythology, but rather as a portrait of a dynamic tradition that was recorded around 700 BCE.