Try free for 30 days
-
The History of Rome, Volume 1, Books 1 - 5
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 18 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: History, Ancient History
Add to basket failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from Wish List failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for $41.73
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Buy it with
-
The History of Rome, Volume 2: Books 6 - 10
- By: Titus Livy
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 14 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Livy continues his magnificent epic, with Rome in complete ruin after the Gallic invasion and sack of the city in 310 B.C. Led by Camillus, one of Rome's great heroic patricians, the city regains her self-confidence and once more becomes the leader of the Latin people. Painstakingly rebuilding alliances, forging friendships, cementing relations among her own people, and fighting endless wars, Rome soon becomes the dominant power among the fractious Italic tribes on the Latin plain.
-
The History of Rome: The Complete Works
- By: Titus Livy, Cyrus Edmunds - translator, William A. McDevitte - translator
- Narrated by: Alastair Cameron
- Length: 89 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Titus Livy's only known surviving work is a monumental history of Rome that was originally written in Latin. It is estimated that Livy's The History of Rome was written between 27 and 9 BC and covers the legends of Aeneas, the fall of Troy, the city's founding in 753 BC, and Livy's account ends with the reign of Emperor Augustus. The History of Rome is a must-have for anyone interested in ancient history and the Roman era. With colorful detail and intriguing insight, Titus brings to life some of the most turbulent times in human history.
-
-
Magnificent & momentus, with Romanesque delivery.
- By Anonymous User on 29-09-2019
-
The History of Rome, Volume 3: Books 21-25
- By: Titus Livy
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The incredible saga of Hannibal and his invasion of Italy in 218 B.C. is the subject of this third volume of Livy's magnificent history. As only Livy can describe it, we are swept into the era of the Second Punic War and given a ringside view of the leadership of both sides. The stirring account of Hannibal crossing the Alps, the brutal description of Cannae, and the relentless Roman siege of Syracuse are some of the highlights of this remarkable story.
-
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
- By: Jack Weatherford
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Jack Weatherford
- Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Mongol army led by Genghis Khan subjugated more lands and people in 25 years than the Romans did in 400. In nearly every country the Mongols conquered, they brought an unprecedented rise in cultural communication, expanded trade, and a blossoming of civilization.
-
-
Surprisingly good
- By Amazon Customer on 25-09-2017
-
The Peloponnesian War
- By: Thucydides
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 26 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Historians universally agree that Thucydides was the greatest historian who has ever lived, and that his story of the Peloponnesian conflict is a marvel of forensic science and fine literature. That such a triumph of intellectual accomplishment was created at the end of the fifth century B.C. in Greece is, perhaps, not so surprising, given the number of original geniuses we find in that period. But that such an historical work would also be simultaneously acknowledged as a work of great literature and a penetrating ethical evaluation of humanity is one of the miracles of ancient history.
-
-
haunting
- By Tim Dubber on 19-05-2016
-
The Twelve Caesars
- By: Suetonius
- Narrated by: Andrea Giordani
- Length: 16 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
De Vita Caesarum ("About the Life of the Caesars"), commonly known as The Twelve Caesars, is a set of 12 biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire written by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus. The work was considered highly significant in antiquity and remains a primary source on Roman history. It examines the critical period of the Principate from the end of the Republic to the reign of Domitian.
-
The History of Rome, Volume 2: Books 6 - 10
- By: Titus Livy
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 14 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Livy continues his magnificent epic, with Rome in complete ruin after the Gallic invasion and sack of the city in 310 B.C. Led by Camillus, one of Rome's great heroic patricians, the city regains her self-confidence and once more becomes the leader of the Latin people. Painstakingly rebuilding alliances, forging friendships, cementing relations among her own people, and fighting endless wars, Rome soon becomes the dominant power among the fractious Italic tribes on the Latin plain.
-
The History of Rome: The Complete Works
- By: Titus Livy, Cyrus Edmunds - translator, William A. McDevitte - translator
- Narrated by: Alastair Cameron
- Length: 89 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Titus Livy's only known surviving work is a monumental history of Rome that was originally written in Latin. It is estimated that Livy's The History of Rome was written between 27 and 9 BC and covers the legends of Aeneas, the fall of Troy, the city's founding in 753 BC, and Livy's account ends with the reign of Emperor Augustus. The History of Rome is a must-have for anyone interested in ancient history and the Roman era. With colorful detail and intriguing insight, Titus brings to life some of the most turbulent times in human history.
-
-
Magnificent & momentus, with Romanesque delivery.
- By Anonymous User on 29-09-2019
-
The History of Rome, Volume 3: Books 21-25
- By: Titus Livy
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The incredible saga of Hannibal and his invasion of Italy in 218 B.C. is the subject of this third volume of Livy's magnificent history. As only Livy can describe it, we are swept into the era of the Second Punic War and given a ringside view of the leadership of both sides. The stirring account of Hannibal crossing the Alps, the brutal description of Cannae, and the relentless Roman siege of Syracuse are some of the highlights of this remarkable story.
-
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
- By: Jack Weatherford
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Jack Weatherford
- Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Mongol army led by Genghis Khan subjugated more lands and people in 25 years than the Romans did in 400. In nearly every country the Mongols conquered, they brought an unprecedented rise in cultural communication, expanded trade, and a blossoming of civilization.
-
-
Surprisingly good
- By Amazon Customer on 25-09-2017
-
The Peloponnesian War
- By: Thucydides
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 26 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Historians universally agree that Thucydides was the greatest historian who has ever lived, and that his story of the Peloponnesian conflict is a marvel of forensic science and fine literature. That such a triumph of intellectual accomplishment was created at the end of the fifth century B.C. in Greece is, perhaps, not so surprising, given the number of original geniuses we find in that period. But that such an historical work would also be simultaneously acknowledged as a work of great literature and a penetrating ethical evaluation of humanity is one of the miracles of ancient history.
-
-
haunting
- By Tim Dubber on 19-05-2016
-
The Twelve Caesars
- By: Suetonius
- Narrated by: Andrea Giordani
- Length: 16 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
De Vita Caesarum ("About the Life of the Caesars"), commonly known as The Twelve Caesars, is a set of 12 biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire written by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus. The work was considered highly significant in antiquity and remains a primary source on Roman history. It examines the critical period of the Principate from the end of the Republic to the reign of Domitian.
Publisher's Summary
When Livy began his epic The History of Rome, he had no idea of the fame and fortune he would eventually attain. He would go on to become the most widely read writer in the Roman Empire and was eagerly sought out and feted like a modern celebrity. And his fame continued to grow after his death. His bombastic style, his intricate and complex sentence structure, and his flair for powerfully recreating the searing drama of historical incidents made him a favorite of teachers and pupils alike. Along with Virgil and Cicero, Livy formed the Latin triumvirate of essential studies for 2,000 years.
Hardly anyone who was educated was unaware of at least some of the more famous stories of Roman myth and history as told by Titus Livius. When completed, Livy's magnificent work consisted of 142 "books" (i.e. long chapters) and covered the period from the mythical founding of Rome through the time of Augustus. Books 1 - 10 and 21 - 45 are all that have come down to us in reasonably complete form. Volume 1 consists of books 1 - 5, which takes us from the founding of Rome in the eighth century BC to its sack by the Gauls in 390 BC. The Audio Connoisseur series will eventually come to six volumes. This version was translated by Roberts.
What listeners say about The History of Rome, Volume 1, Books 1 - 5
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Joshua McDermott
- 16-05-2021
.
Beautifully read, giving a sense of weight to even the most repetitive elements of Livy's history
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- C. R. Hardt
- 15-09-2017
Wonderful, but
...but "whilst" rhymes with "while", not "will." Over and over and over...
Other than that, I love Mr. Griffin.
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Darwin8u
- 30-03-2017
1
Look, that you may see how cheap they hold their bodies whose eyes are fixed upon renown!"
- Livy, Book II, xii 13
"Oratory was invented for doubtful matters"
- Livy, Book III, lv 3
"Vae victis!"
- Livy, Book V. xlviii. 9
Book 1 (Rome Under the Kings) & Book 2 (The Beginnings of the Republic)
This might be the first book to bankrupt me. Or rather books. I own several versions of Livy (Folio, The first Penguin (Books 1-5), second (Books 6-10), and third (Hannibal; Books 21-30), plus the first six volumes of the Loeb's History of Rome by Livy). I've decided to track and read through the Loeb, while listening to Audible, but that is going to require me to buy another 8 volumes. The good from that is, well, eight more little red books. The bad? Well, these little books retail for $26 (although you can usually find either really good used copies or new copies for $12-$18). So I'm looking at almost $200 to finish purchasing these books and I've already spent about $60. So, why read the Loeb version?
Quod est in Latinam verso | Because Latin is on the left
Et lingua mea sedenti in recto | And English sits on the right *
Now those who know me, KNOW I don't read or speak Latin. So, why is having Livy in Latin and English that important? Because some day I DO want to read Latin. Because it pleases me. Because if I read on the recto side a phrase that strikes my fancy, like:
"Their name was irksome and a menace to liberty."
- Livy, Book II. ii. 4
I can go almost straight across and discover what that was in Latin:
"Non placere nomen, periculosum libertati esse."
It delights me. I know that probably sounds a bit affected and effete, but hell it entertains me. I don't complain that American consumers spend more than $25.3 billion a year on video games. So, let me have my 14 little red books. I'm not sure how fast I'll get through all of them. I think for my family's financial stability I'll drip and drab these out through-out the year.
* I kill me.
______________________________
Book 3 (The Patricians at Bay) & Book 4 (War and Politics)
My second (of fourteen) Livy's History of Rome covers books 3 and 4 (467-404BC). It largely deals with early growing pains in Rome as its second census shows its population swollen beyond 100,000. The tensions between the plebs (represented politically by the tribunes) and the patricians (represented politically by the senate). My favorite parts of Book 3 dealt with Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus, the machinations of the decemvirs, and Appius Claudius claiming Verginius' daughter Verginia as a slave.
My favorite part of Book 4 was the debate over a law about marriage between patricians and plebeians and the right for plebeians to be consuls. Canuleius' speech from this section was brilliant, and could easily have been used 2000+ years later when debating a woman's right to vote, etc.. Here are some of Livy's best lines:
'When we raise the question of making a plebeian consul, is it the same as if we were to say that a slave or a freedman should attain that office? Have you any conception of the contempt in which you are held? They would take from you, were it possible, a part of the daylight. That you breathe, that you speak, that you have the shape of men, fills them with resentment." (Book IV, iii 7-8)
"'But,' you say, 'from the time the kings were expelled no plebeian has ever been consul.' Well, what then? Must no new institution be adopted? Ought that which has not yet been done -- and in a new nation many things have not yet been done -- never to be put in practice, even if it be expedient?" (Book IV, iv 1).
"Finally, I would ask, is it you, or the Roman People, who have supreme authority? Did the banishment of the kings bring you dominion, or to all men equal liberty?" (Book IV, v 1).
______________________________
Book 5 (Gauls at Rome)
One of my favorite characters in the book is Marcus Furius Camillus, one of Rome's great, early generals. He was given at his death the title of Second Founder of Rome after he helped to defend a sacked Rome against the Senoni chieftain Brennus and his gallic warriors.
Some men are generals. Some are statesmen. Others just seem to have it all. Camellus is one of those men who seem destined to lead, protect, and inspire. These three books are filled with battles, wars, and manly, martial speeches. I think one of the best parts of these early Roman histories of Livy are his speeches. Obviously, he is embellishing things and probably making a great deal up, but still -- this is damn good stuff. Here are some of Livy's best lines:
'Do we think the bodies of our soldiers so effeminate, their hearts so faint, that they cannot endure to be one winter in camp, away from home; that like sailors they must wage war with an eye on the weather, observing the seasons, incapable of withstanding heat or cold?" (Book V, vi 4)
"The gods themselves never laid hands upon the guilty; it was enough if they armed with an opportunity for vengeance those who had been wronged." (Book V, xi 16).
"...since it commonly turned out that in proportion as a man was prone to seek a leading share of toil and danger, he was slow in plundering." (Book V, xx 6).
37 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amazon Customer
- 07-06-2018
Wish there was a better version of this book
Reading much to slow and the editing is deplorable. Periods of silence lasting minutes, many ambient sounds that detract from the reading.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Noel
- 10-01-2016
Content is excellent but large pauses
There are many many times where the content is blank for a minute or two before reader begins talking again. Maybe he's reflect lost sections of the original but no explanation is offered.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- CM Rice
- 28-10-2019
Too much dead air
The producer of this audiobook was an idiot. There are massive stretches of dead air at the end of each section that make listening a profoundly annoying experience. Great narrator of a great book, but the editor/producer needs to get their head examined
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- megan
- 06-05-2014
Ahhhhhhh Livy
First one of these for me I was impressed I have of course heard of Livy and have read small portions of it in the past but this was something else and new I plan to list to it again and get more info out of it. The writing and narrator at times made it hard to listen to but the second time should be much better.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Jeff
- 22-01-2015
Starts slow but pays off as you go along
Despite being hopelessly biassed at times Livy manages to give us the Roman side of the story in a beautifully written and dramatic account of conflicts both political and millitary. Unfortunately Livy starts off slow. After his account of the reign of the kings, which was interesting, his descriptions of the early republic pretty much boil down to a seemingly endless recounting of election results and millitary conflicts with little or no critical commentary. Things get intriguing again at the end of Volume I with the rise and fall of the Decimvirs.
Frankly I would recommend listeners to start with Volume II or III of this work unless you really want to understand Rome's early political development. Initially, Livy seems to pretty much stick to his sources and not add much of his own to the story, but towards the end of Volume I and really beginning in Volume II, he begins to give differing accounts and his own critical analysis of events and becomes much more interesting. In volume II, the battles get much more interesting and the listener is taken step by step through Rome's domination of Italy. Volume III can be summed up by the name Hannibal.
What I got got out of Volume I was a deeper understanding of how the idea of a Republic came into being and how the Romans viewed society. While there are a lot of things that Livy doesn't state outright, much can be inferred by "listening" between the lines. The picture of early Rome presented by Livy shows the hard and often bloddy struggle between partisans of Democracy and Oligarchy (ie the plebs and patricians) which eventually produced the system that came to dominate the modern Western world. Their system had many of the same problems ours does today, notably the tension between political elites and those skilled at populist rhetoric.
Charlton Griffin is a master narrator, nothing more need be said.
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Julian Gress
- 12-08-2020
Excellent
The value of this work requires no estimation from me, but the translation and narration are ideally suited for English listeners. I switched to this version after attempting another, with which I was disappointed, both by the comprehensibility of the translation, and the difficulty of following the brisk narrator. All my complaints were resolved when I switched to this edition. The occasional silent gaps therein are a contemptible price to pay for the readability of this volume in the iconic voice of Charlton Griffin.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Jeremy T.
- 03-07-2020
The introduction slams Livy's books
I made the mistake of buying all six volumes. I started listening to the introduction and it completely slams Livy's books. It is so critical that I'm left wondering why they bothered creating all of these audiobooks. The description on Audible praises Livy, so I feel like this is false advertising. I am returning all of these volumes.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Hallmark27
- 30-03-2015
Great information let down by poor recording
Very interesting content, but not the easiest narration to listen to and the sound quality is not that great.
Will be downloading the rest of the series, because it's a great insight in to the Roman people.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Ciaran
- 30-08-2017
Ave Caesar
Great narrator and content. If you like Roman history, go for it. It was fascinating to hear about a part of history that is so rarely covered.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- me,myself,andI
- 17-10-2019
Great!
Read with the right level of pomposity for livy. I have listened twice already, and will again.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Harvey
- 22-12-2016
Good narration of a must read classic...
Loved it, one small flaw is the narrator's penchant for abbreviating Roman first names, not necessary as there are only about eight in common usage.
20 Best Fantasy Audiobooks
This genre is so full of talent, it can be difficult to know what to listen to next — so look no further than this list to get you started.



20 Best Nonfiction Audiobooks
From the entire history of humanity to astrophysics, to our gut and mental health, dig into this list and learn something new.



Best Australian Podcasts on Audible
Audible Original Podcasts are free for Audible members. Check out this list of home-grown content, from binge-worthy true crime to self-help.


