Ovid

Mandy Green (University of Durham)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.2: Ancient Roman Writing and Culture (Republic and Empire), -750-476.
Vol. editors: Anca Dan (École Practique de Hautes Études PSL), Martine Diepenbroek (University of Johannesburg), William John Dominik (University of Otago), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Victoria Fendel (University of Oxford), Thomas Habinek (University of Southern California), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Sophia Papaioannou (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Guendalina Daniela Maria Taietti (University of Liverpool), Jula Wildberger (American University of Paris)

Dates

Born 20 Mar -43
Died 17
Activity c. -23-17

Places

Born in Ancient Rome (Republic & Empire)
Active in Ancient Rome (Republic & Empire)

Activities

Primary

Poet

Other

Essayist
Letter-writer/ Diarist

Resources

Ovid's Works

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Ovid generally refers to himself in his poetry by his

cognomen

or “family name,”

Naso

— “Nose” — as this could be more easily accommodated to Roman metre. Playful love poet, self-appointed “expert” in the arts of seduction, dramatist, epic poet and poet of exile, Ovid is a compelling storyteller and supreme stylist whose influence on later ages has been immeasurable. Of all the poets of ancient Rome, Ovid, particularly through the epic

Metamorphoses

(

Transformations

) — the richest, most imaginative and comprehensive collection of classical myth to come down to us from the ancient world — has had arguably the greatest impact on the art and literature of medieval, Renaissance and modern Europe.

Ovid was born on 20th March 43 BCE in Sulmo (now Sulmona, Italy), a small

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3384 words

Citation: Green, Mandy. "Ovid". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 January 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5078, accessed 22 November 2024.]