Product Description

This collection of Ovid’s poems deals with the whole spectrum of sexual desire, ranging from deeply emotional declarations of eternal devotion to flippant arguments for promiscuity. In the Amores, Ovid addresses himself in a series of elegies to Corinna, his beautiful, elusive mistress. The intimate and vulnerable nature of the poet revealed in these early poems vanishes in the notorious Art of Love, in which he provides a knowing and witty guide to sexual conquest – a work whose alleged obscenity led to Ovid’s banishment from Rome in AD 8. This volume also includes the Cures for Love, with instructions on how to terminate a love affair, and On Facial Treatment for Ladies, an incomplete poem on the art of cosmetics.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #69210 in Books
• Published on: 2004-04-29
• Original language: Latin
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

About the Author
Publius Ovidius Naso was born in 43 BC at Sumo in Central Italy. He was expelled from Rome by the emperor Augustus in AD 8 for some unknown offence. He published poetry throughout his life. Peter Green is the Dougherty Centennial Professor of Classics in the University of Texas, Austin. He has translated Ovid and Juvenal for the Penguin Classics.

Customer Reviews

Everyone Should Love Ovid
Ok, I must admit my utter bias in writing this review, as I adore Ovid. This is a great collection of his poetry in translation for anyone with an interest in Ovid or in Latin love poetry. The poems probably make more sense if you are familiar with his predecessors (Catullus, Propertius and Tibullus) but why not let this lead you into a love affair with the love elegists? He is devilishly witty and loves to play around with the genre. Definitely for anyone with a wicked sense of humour.

My review for The Erotic Poems
I really enjoyed this book. If you're interested in how people thought way before our own time, and you're interested in true poetry; this book is the right for you. It gave me a real insight in how Ovid thought about love, and I think it's a shame people don't think or write that way anymore. Either way, I loved the book.