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Classic Serial: The Aeneid

Daniel Morden

Richard Harrington

Robert Pugh

Sara McGaughey

Fiona Shaw

Matthew Gravelle

Ben Crowe

Eiry Thomas

Michael Bertenshaw

Rachel Atkins

Annette Badland

Daphne Alexander

Amita Dhiri

Ayesha Antoine

Kate McAll

Hattie Naylor

undefined Virgil

Classic Serial: The Aeneid: Episode 1

The Aeneid

Episode 1

BBC Radio 4 - Classic Serial, The Aeneid, Episode 1

With his father on his back and his son in his arms, Aeneas flees Troy to follow his fate.

With his father on his back and his son in his arms, Aeneas flees the ruins of Troy to follow his fate. The journey will take him to Hell and back, and test him to the very core.

1/2. Aeneas is a faithful husband, a loving father, and a devoted son. He's a good soldier too, and when the city of Troy is threatened, all he wants to do is to defend his home. For ten long years he fights against the invading Greeks. Then one day the ghost of a long-dead comrade appears to him on the battlefield, telling him to stop fighting and run. The future of the Trojan people lies elsewhere, and if Aeneas is to lead them, he must survive. So, with his frail father on his back, and his son in his arms, Aeneas abandons Troy and sets out on his quest. Caught between love, duty and fate, he'll travel across storm-tossed oceans, have a passionate but doomed affair, and suffer terrible personal loss, as he ventures to the very depths of Hell to discover his glorious destiny.

This brand new adaptation of Virgil's epic poem, by award-winning writer Hattie Naylor, uses Robert Fagles' translation.

The music was composed by Will Gregory, arranged by Ian Gardiner, and performed by the BBC Singers, conducted by Matthew Hamilton. The soloist is Cherith Milburn-Fryer. Percussion by Joby Burgess. 

Production Coordinator: Scott Handcock
Sound design: Nigel Lewis

A BBC/Cymru Wales production, produced and directed by Kate McAll.

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Hattie Naylor dramatises Virgil's epic poem, using Robert Fagles' translation

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