Plato's most famous work and the bedrock of Western philosophy
Written in the form of a Socratic dialogue, The Republic is an investigation into the nature of an ideal society. In this far-reaching and profoundly influential treatise, Plato explores the concept of justice, the connection between politics and psychology, the difference between words and what they represent, and the roles of art and education, among many other topics....

"The first female translator of the epic into English in over sixty years, Stephanie McCarter addresses accuracy in translation and its representation of women, gendered dynamics of power, and sexual violence in Ovid's classic. Ovid's Metamorphoses is an epic poem, but one that upturns almost every convention. There is no main hero, no central conflict, and no sustained objective. What it is about (power, defiance, art, love, abuse, grief, rape, war,...

A retelling of Greek, Roman and Norse myths.

Nathaniel Hawthorne masterfully grabs the imagination of children with these timeless tales of adventure based on the incomparable Greek mythological heroes' escapades. Children will enter a world of magic and intrigue as they face ferocious beasts, clever enchantresses, and tricky gods, alongside the greatest heroes of all time. Will Theseus escape from the maze that is guarded by the awful Minotaur? Can Jason steal the Golden Fleece from under

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"Young parlor maid Honorine and her friend Francis find themselves in the middle of an epic feud between a crew of scientific sailors and the magical constellations come to life"-- Provided by publisher.

"Composed around 730 B.C., Homer's Iliad recounts the events of a few momentous weeks in the protracted ten-year war between the invading Achaeans, or Greeks, and the Trojans in their besieged city of Ilion. From the explosive confrontation between Achilles, the greatest warrior at Troy, and Agamemnon, the inept leader of the Greeks, through to its tragic conclusion, The Iliad explores the abiding, blighting facts of war. Carved close to the original...

Bearer of an almost unspeakable, immutable fate, Oedipus yet feels himself a man chosen-that is, favored-by the gods. Now an old man, blind and outcast, Oedipus wanders through Greece guided by his daughter Antigone until he comes to Colonus, where he knows he will die. Protected by the ruler of Thebes against the armies of Creon who have come in pursuit, he curses his son Polynices for indifference and ingratitude. Oedipus in this play is old and...

It is said that every road movie and novel about a defining journey owes a debt to the Odyssey. This imaginative program uses the poem's division into groupings of books as a framework to allow Dr. Tom Winnifrith, of Warwick University; Dr. Douglas Cairns, of Leeds University; and Ken Dowden, senior lecturer at Birmingham University, to analyze the oral tradition and key elements of the story line. Readings and dramatizations from the Odyssey enhance...

Two of Italy's greatest artists are eternally linked, one genius having paid homage to another. Two hundred years after Dante Alighieri wrote The Divine Comedy, Sandro Botticelli illustrated the classic with a series of exquisite drawings crafted at the height of his career. In this program, translator Mark Musa, art historians, clergy, and other experts guide viewers through Botticelli's exquisite portrayal of Dante's Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso,...

In the beginning was Chaos. And Eurynome divided the seas from the sky, set the wind in motion, and released the forces of nature. Out of the Universal Egg emerged the sun and moon, the planets, the stars, the earth, and all living things. This program tells that story, and that of the first family: Gaea, Uranus, and Cronus. It then moves on to Zeus: his birth on Crete, the trick by which he was saved, and how he dethroned his father. Also discussed...