Showing results by narrator "Andrea Giordani" in All Categories

Ancient Art and Ritual is a book by Jane Ellen Harrison (1850-1928), who was a student of anthropology and a classical scholar by training. The book shows how mankind has always used rituals to celebrate new life or rites of passage and examines the way that these rituals evolved into art forms. The author also shows how rituals and rites of passage developed into visual and dramatic art, dance, and sculpture as a way of expressing the religious urge. She identifies intense emotional energy as the driving force behind all artistic expression.

St. John Chrysostom’s treatise on humility, hope, and prayer. “Nothing is more powerful than prayer when fervent and genuine,” claims Chrysostom, asserting that it both disperses present dangers and rescues from penalties.

Hannibal, called by Nepos "the greatest of generals", is most remembered today for being the man who marched a contigent of battle elephants over the Alps. But this was only one of his many victories and strategems. Listen in wonder as Hannibal manages, again and again, to repel the army no other man could repel: the ancient Romans.

Anne of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery covers the mid-teenage years of Anne Shirley. She is the new schoolteacher of Avonlea, and Anne meets many new people and gets into several fun mishaps. From accidentally selling her neighbor's cow to painting the town hall a bright, startling blue, the adventures never stop.

Ninth-century Welsh monk Nennius has traditionally been linked to this purported history of the indigenous Britons. Written around 828, this history has been notable for its mention of certain historical figures and even saints. Most notable, however, is the very first mention of the historical King Arthur as a military leader.

Emile Zola applies his keen eye to the human condition in this masterpiece plagued by passions, guilt, and the ghosts that haunt our psyche. Often perceived as a play of temperaments, Zola tells the story of Therese’s unhappy marriage to Camille and her subsequent affair with one of her husband’s friends, Laurent. With his dark symbolism often reaching claustrophobic depths, we become more acquainted with what drives our most animalistic instincts.

Alcibiades was brilliant beyond his time and ambitious beyond his own safety. Was he traitor or true patriot? Even his own historian was not sure.

Inferno follows Dante through hell, with only an roman poet named Virgil to guide him. Dante loses his way in a forest and stumbles across Hell; but Virgil tells him that if he ventures through hell he can reach Heaven where his beloved awaits....

The story of Romulus is perhaps the most noteworthy entry in Plutarch’s Parallel Lives. According to legend, Romulus and his brother Remus founded Rome after being raised by a “she-wolf”, though Plutarch notes that this word was also used to describe sexually immoral women. “The Life of Romulus” shows how it is impossible to separate the man from the myth. For this reason, Plutarch’s portrait of Romulus argues that legends often have as great an influence on culture as the truth.

Oscar Wilde's Salome was originally published in French in 1891 and translated into English by Lord Alfred Douglas. This one-act play, a sinister tale of a woman scorned and her vengeance, has become a landmark of Decadent literature. The play tells the biblical story of Salome, stepdaughter of the tetrarch Herod Antipas, who, to her stepfather's dismay but to the delight of her mother Herodias, requests the head of John the Baptist on a silver platter as a reward for dancing the dance of the seven veils.

Arthur Machen’s novella explores the disturbing consequences of toying with the line between the earthly world and the spiritual realm. The Great God Pan centers around an ominous woman named Helen, who lives in the woods and invites morbid happenings. The book faced harsh censure upon its publication in 1894 for its explicit content, but today it is considered a hallmark of horror fiction. Stephen King himself called it “one of the best horror stories ever written”, making it essential reading for any dedicated fans of the genre.

Before his assassination, Julius Caesar named his great nephew Gaius Octavius as his successor. In this excerpt from The Twelve Caesars, Roman biographer Suetonius tells the life story of Octavius, who took the name Augustus when he became emperor. While Augustus did have a military career, Suetonius focuses on the dramatic details of Augustus’ personal life, making this biography more gossip-filled than its contemporaries.

The fate of a young university student, an amoral scientist, and his beautiful daughter clash in this Gothic tale of science and control. All the young men in Padua, Italy have fallen for Beatrice, who tends the exotic plants in her father’s garden. Giovanni makes his way into the garden and Beatrice’s heart, but the joy of young love shatters when he uncovers a terrible secret about her father’s work. This twisted gothic story presents powerful literary themes with the thrill of horror.

British flag officer, inspiring military leader, and brilliant strategist. The name of Horatio Nelson is intrinsically linked with a great number of decisive British naval victories. His most notable battles were during the Napoleonic Wars culminating in his death during his final victory at the Battle of Trafalgar.

After a year living in lavish boredom within Ivywood Castle, sarcastic and witty Moira Finglas is tired of her repetitive life. Summoned to court by her betrothed, Moira is trapped in an endless cycle of monotony. Moira survives on foul language and small adventures, primarily thanks to her brother, Amis, and her love of reading.

Feudalism denotes the relationships which existed in the Middle Ages - especially from the ninth and 10th to the 12th and 13th centuries - between the members of the fighting and landowning class. In a broader sense, it also covers the life of the subjugated peasantry upon the land dominated by the warriors and all the other economic, social, political, and intellectual results of feudalism. Local officials and great landholders became a law unto themselves, and the former tried to hand on their political power to their sons as the latter did their lands.

"The Study of History" is the introduction to Lynn Thorndike’s History of Medieval Europe. It provides a definition of history and explains terms like "natural history" and the difference between prehistory and the historical ages. There are also sections on archaeology and historical sources.

Caligula’s father was a beloved military leader, so the Romans were initially glad to see his son take the throne, but Suetonius recounts the less flattering aspects of Caligula’s life and rule that followed his ascension. The narcissistic Caligula believed he was a god, and often replaced the busts of deities with his own. A devoted fan of gladiator fights, he also often had people assassinated, covered up the deed, and then claimed the deceased had committed suicide. Suetonius concludes this biography by detailing the omens that foreshadowed Caligula’s eventual assassination.

A Christian woman was mourning the death of her husband. John Chrysostom knew of her grief and wrote her a letter to direct her gaze to the Lord. In the letter (c. 380 AD), Chrysostom echoes the biblical teaching that “dying is gain” and that the glories of heaven outweigh the glitter of earth.

Complete with seven short stories, this is the definitive anthology for Nathaniel Hawthorne fans. Hawthorne’s dark romanticism and cultural commentary made him a staple of 19th-century American literature. Dive into the works that made him famous, such as the chilling “Young Goodman Brown”. Hawthorne delved deep into the human soul with his work, and now you can delve deep into his soul with this collection.