It’s the equinox today, and it is also the birthday of the Roman poet Ovid, born Publius Ovidius Naso in what is now Sulmo, Italy (43 B.C.). He became a famous, beloved poet in Rome, privy to the inner circles of the court.
He published erotic poems, including his Ars Amatoria (The Art of Love) in 2 A.D., which instructed people on the arts of seduction and lovemaking. He wrote Metamorphoses in 8 A.D., for which he is best remembered today. It traces Greek and Roman mythology through the lens of humans’ metamorphoses into other objects — plants, stones, stars, and animals. It was a major inspiration to Shakespeare and many others.
Here is an odd thing about his life: In 8 A.D., he was exiled, and even today, nobody knows why.
In his writing after this, he talks about Emperor Augustus’ anger toward him, and he alludes to having seen something he shouldn’t have seen, but nothing more specific. Whatever the reason, Ovid was sent to Tomi, in what is now Romania, and he was isolated and lonely, longing for his beloved Rome. But even after Augustus died, the next emperor, Tiberius, did not allow Ovid back, and he died in Tomi after about 10 years in exile.
His Art of Love is less erotic and more instructional than you might expect. There is an English translation at poetryintranslation.com. It has very practical chapters, such as: How to Find Her Book, Search while you’re out Walking, Or at the Theatre, Or at the Races, or the Circus, Triumphs are Good too! and There’s always the Dinner-Table, And Finally There’s the Beach. Yes, these are translations, but they seem quite modern and practical!
Our idea of what is erotic two thousand years after Ovid has changed. less sensual, more sexual. Still, many of his passages are quite playful on the ideas of sex.
Not bad advice, Ovid.
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