Ovid

Publius Ovidius Naso, known as Ovid, was a famous Roman poet who lived when Augustus ruled. He was a friend of two other great writers, Virgil and Horace. Many people think he was one of the three greatest writers of Latin literature. Ovid wrote many lovely poems that people enjoyed.

Ovid is most famous for his work called the Metamorphoses. This is a long story about myths and legends in fifteen books. He also wrote other poems, like Ars Amatoria and Fasti, in a special style called elegiac couplets.

Even though Ovid was very popular, the emperor Augustus sent him to a faraway place called Tomis near the Black Sea. Ovid lived there for the rest of his life. He said the reason was a “poem and a mistake,” but he never explained what that meant.

After Ovid died, his poems were copied and read for many years. They influenced art and stories in Europe. Today, the Metamorphoses is still a great way to learn about ancient myths.

Life

Ovid wrote a lot about his life in his poems. We learn about his life mostly from his work called Tristia. Other sources include Seneca the Elder and Quintilian.

Ovid was born in the town of Sulmo, now called Sulmona, in Italy, on March 20, 43 BC. His family was well-known and important. With his brother, Ovid learned speaking skills in Rome from teachers like Arellius Fuscus and Porcius Latro.

His father wanted him to study law, but after his brother died, Ovid decided to travel and later focus on writing poetry. He visited places like Athens, Asia Minor, and Sicily. Ovid got married three times and had a daughter and grandchildren.

Ovid became famous for his poetry, writing many love poems and stories about myths. One of his most famous works is Metamorphoses, a long poem about changes in myths. He also wrote about Roman festivals in a poem called Fasti, but he stopped when he was sent away from Rome.

In AD 8, Ovid was sent to live in Tomis, near the Black Sea, by the emperor Augustus. While there, he wrote sad poems asking to return home. Ovid spent the rest of his life in Tomis and died there in AD 17 or 18.

Works

Heroides ("The Heroines")

The Heroides are poems where famous characters from myths write letters to their loved ones. The letters show their feelings about being apart and their hopes to be together again.

Amores ("The Loves")

The Amores is a collection of love poems. These poems tell stories about love and relationships, focusing on a poet and his lover named Corinna. The poems show both happy and sad times in their relationship.

Medicamina Faciei Femineae ("Women's Facial Cosmetics")

This poem gives advice to women about beauty treatments for their faces. It mixes serious advice with humor.

Ars Amatoria ("The Art of Love")

The Ars Amatoria teaches readers how to find and keep love. The first book is for men, showing how to attract a woman. The second book continues with advice for men on keeping a lover. The third book is for women, giving them tips on how to attract and keep a lover.

Remedia Amoris ("The Cure for Love")

This poem offers advice on how to move on from a breakup or unrequited love. It suggests ways to avoid thinking about a former lover and to find new relationships.

Metamorphoses ("Transformations")

The Metamorphoses is Ovid's most famous work. It tells over 250 myths in 15 books, all about changes and transformations. The stories range from the creation of the world to the deification of Julius Caesar.

Fasti ("The Festivals")

The Fasti is a poem about the Roman calendar and its festivals. Each book covers a month from January to June, explaining the traditions and myths connected to each festival.

Ibis ("The Ibis")

The Ibis is a poem where Ovid uses myths to speak about someone who harmed him while he was in exile.

Tristia ("Sorrows")

The Tristia are poems Ovid wrote while in exile. They describe his life far from home, his feelings of loneliness, and his hope to return.

Epistulae ex Ponto ("Letters from the Black Sea")

The Epistulae ex Ponto are letters Ovid wrote from exile to his friends. He asks them to help him return home and shares stories about his life in exile.

Lost works

Some of Ovid's works have been lost over time. This includes an early version of The Amores, his tragedy Medea, and parts of other poems. Only a few lines or mentions of these works remain today.

Spurious works

For a list, see Pseudo-Ovid.

Consolatio ad Liviam ("Consolation to Livia")

The Consolatio is a long poem that helps Augustus’ wife Livia feel better after the death of her son Nero Claudius Drusus. It tells Livia to share her sadness and talks about Drusus’ time in the military. The poem describes Drusus’ funeral and the feelings of the people of Rome. It ends with Drusus telling Livia he is safe and happy. Experts think this poem was written during the time of Tiberius, but its exact date is unknown.

Halieutica ("On Fishing")

The Halieutica is a short poem with 134 lines that gives advice about fishing. It talks about how animals protect themselves and then moves on to the best places to catch fish. Even though some people thought this poem was written by Ovid, experts now believe it was not really his work.

Nux ("The Walnut Tree")

This short poem, written in 91 parts, tells the story of a walnut tree that asks boys not to throw stones at it to get its fruit. The tree talks about how things were better in the past and compares itself to characters from myths. It praises the peace brought by the emperor and asks to be destroyed rather than keep suffering. Scholars think this poem was not actually written by Ovid, even though it seems to have been written around the same time.

Somnium ("The Dream")

This poem is about a dream where the poet sees a white heifer and a bull. When a crow pecks the heifer, she leaves the bull for other bulls. Someone explains the dream to mean that the bull is the poet, the heifer is a girl, and the crow is an old woman who convinces the girl to leave her lover. Experts think this poem was not written by Ovid, but it was likely created during the early days of the empire.

Style

Ovid was a famous writer of love poems in Latin. He was very good at writing love poems in new ways. In his poems, Ovid shared his own feelings instead of writing about big events. Some people think the woman named Corinna in his poems was not real but a character he made up.

Ovid liked to try new things in his writing. He used old ideas in new ways and wrote some brand-new poems. His love poems talk about many different ideas. Some are about his relationship with Corinna, and others are about love stories from myths or give fun advice about relationships. Scholars say Ovid's love poems sound softer and more emotional than his longer, story-like poems, which are more formal and serious.

Legacy

Ovid’s books have been seen in many ways over time. Even while he was alive, Ovid was famous but also faced criticism. He believed his name would become even more well-known.

After these early challenges, Ovid became one of the most loved Roman poets, especially during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. His stories inspired many writers and artists. For example, French writer Marguerite de Navarre used Ovid’s ideas, and English writer Geoffrey Chaucer was influenced by a French version of Ovid’s work.

During the Renaissance, Ovid’s writing helped shape ideas about humanism. Famous artists like Sandro Botticelli and writers such as William Shakespeare used his poems. Later, during the Romantic period, some thought Ovid’s style was too formal, but others liked his stories of exile.

Ovid’s influence continues today in books, music, and plays. Many modern writers and artists have used his tales, keeping his stories alive and important across different times and places.

Works, authors, and artists influenced by Ovid

Literary and artistic

Many important writers and artists have been inspired by Ovid’s work over the years. For example:

• Around 800–810, a poet named Moduin used the name Naso, inspired by Ovid.
• In the 12th century, troubadours and writers used Ovid’s ideas.
• Writers like Dante Alighieri, Petrarch, and Geoffrey Chaucer were influenced by Ovid.
• Artists such as Sandro Botticelli and writers like William Shakespeare adapted Ovid’s stories.
• In the 1800s, Alexander Pushkin compared his own exile to Ovid’s during his time in Odesa.
• James Joyce mentioned Ovid in his book A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.
• Musicians like Benjamin Britten and Bob Dylan have used Ovid’s themes in their work.
• Authors such as David Malouf and Christoph Ransmayr have written books based on Ovid’s life and stories.

Dante mentioned Ovid twice in his writings, recognizing him as one of the great poets.

Retellings, adaptations, and translations of Ovidian works

Ovid’s stories have been retold and adapted in many ways over the years, including:

• In 1609, Francis Bacon retold Ovid’s fables in The Wisdom of the Ancients.
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote an early opera called Apollo et Hyacinthus in 1767.
• Jean Cocteau adapted the Orpheus myth from Ovid in plays and films.
• Richard Strauss composed an opera called Daphne in 1938.
• Ted Hughes translated parts of Ovid’s Metamorphoses into modern poetry in Tales from Ovid.
• Mary Zimmerman adapted Metamorphoses for the stage in 2002.
• Recent writers like Nina MacLaughlin have reimagined Ovid’s stories from new perspectives.