Ovid
Roman poet exiled for a poem and a mistake.
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Publius Ovidius Naso, known in English as Ovid, was a Roman poet active under Emperor Augustus. He is considered one of the three canonical poets of Latin literature, alongside Virgil and Horace.
Criticism
The scholar Quintilian regarded him as the final major figure among the Latin love elegists. Ovid is best known for the Metamorphoses, a fifteen-book epic of mythological transformations written in dactylic hexameters, and for elegiac works like Ars Amatoria and Fasti. His poetry was widely imitated in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and it has had a lasting impact on Western art and literature.
Birth, early life, and marriage
Ovid was born on 20 March 43 BC in Sulmo, a town in the Apennine valley east of Rome, into an important equestrian family. He and his brother studied rhetoric in Rome under Arellius Fuscus and Porcius Latro, as their father wanted Ovid to pursue law. Seneca the Elder noted that Ovid leaned toward the emotional side of rhetoric rather than the argumentative. After his brother died at age twenty, Ovid abandoned law and traveled to Athens, Asia Minor, and Sicily.
He held minor public offices—including tresviri capitales, member of the Centumviral court, and decemviri litibus iudicandis—but resigned around 29–25 BC to focus on poetry, a decision his father apparently disapproved of. His first recitation occurred around age eighteen, about 25 BC. He belonged to the circle of patron Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus and was friendly with poets in Maecenas’s circle.
In his Tristia, Ovid mentions friendships with Macer, Propertius, Ponticus, and Bassus, and claims to have heard Horace recite. He barely met Virgil and Tibullus. He married three times, divorced twice by age thirty, and had one daughter and grandchildren. His last wife, connected to the influential Fabia family, helped him during his exile.
Literary success
For the first twenty-five years of his career, Ovid wrote elegiac poetry with erotic themes. His earliest surviving work is likely the Heroides, letters from mythological heroines to absent lovers, possibly published in 19 BC. The first edition of the Amores, a series of erotic poems to a lover named Corinna, was probably published in 16–15 BC; a revised three-book version appeared around 8–3 BC. Between these editions, he wrote the tragedy Medea, now lost.
Next came the Medicamina Faciei (a fragment on beauty treatments), then the Ars Amatoria, a three-book parody of didactic poetry on seduction, dated to AD 2 (Books 1–2 to 1 BC). Ovid may have referred to this work as the carmen that partly caused his exile. The Remedia Amoris followed the same year.
This body of erotic elegy placed him alongside Gallus, Tibullus, and Propertius, whom he considered his predecessors. By AD 8, he had completed the Metamorphoses, a hexameter epic cataloging transformations from the cosmos’s origin to Julius Caesar’s apotheosis. He also worked on the Fasti, a six-book elegiac poem on Roman festivals and astronomy, but exile interrupted it, and he likely abandoned it in Tomis. The double letters (16–21) of the Heroides may date from this period, though their authorship is debated.
Exile to Tomis
In AD 8, Ovid was banished to Tomis, on the Black Sea, by Augustus’s sole decree, without Senate or Roman involvement. He spent the last nine or ten years of his life there. Ovid attributed his exile to a carmen et error (“poem and a mistake”), but his vagueness has led to much scholarly speculation. He died in AD 17 or 18.
Lore & Background
Ovid was born in the Paelignian town of Sulmo to an important equestrian family. He was educated in rhetoric in Rome but renounced law after his brother's death, traveling to Athens, Asia Minor, and Sicily. He held minor public posts but resigned to pursue poetry, a decision his father apparently disapproved of.
Ovid's first recitation was around 25 BC, and he was part of the circle of Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus, befriending poets such as Propertius and claiming to have heard Horace recite. He married three times, had one daughter, and his last wife helped him during his exile. For the first 25 years of his literary career, Ovid wrote erotic elegiac poetry, including the Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria. By AD 8, he had completed the Metamorphoses, a hexameter epic cataloging mythological transformations, and was working on the Fasti, a poem on the Roman calendar.
In AD 8, Emperor Augustus banished Ovid to Tomis on the Black Sea, without Senate or judicial participation. Ovid attributed his exile to a carmen et error ('poem and a mistake'), but his reluctance to disclose specifics has led to much scholarly speculation. In exile, he wrote the Tristia and Epistulae ex Ponto, expressing his sadness and desolation, and learned Sarmatian and Getic.
Reader's Guide
Ovid's significance lies in his vast influence on Western art and literature, particularly through the Metamorphoses, which remains one of the most important sources of classical mythology. His poetry was much imitated during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, shaping later literary traditions.
The Ars Amatoria, a parody of didactic poetry, was cited by Ovid as the 'poem' that contributed to his banishment, reflecting tensions with Augustus's moral legislation. Ovid's exile poetry, especially the Tristia and Epistulae ex Ponto, provides a deeply personal account of isolation and longing, offering insight into the poet's life and the political climate of Augustan Rome. His legacy as a canonical Latin poet endures, with his works studied for their mythological richness, poetic innovation, and historical context.
Did You Know?
- The medieval texts that mention Ovid's exile offer no credible explanations, with statements seeming to be incorrect interpretations drawn from his works.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Ovid?
Ovid was a Roman poet born in 43 BC who became one of the three great canonical figures of Latin literature, standing alongside Virgil and Horace. He was active during Augustus's reign and is often remembered as the final major voice of the Latin love elegy tradition.
What are Ovid's most famous works?
His masterpiece is the Metamorphoses, a sweeping fifteen-book narrative tracing the world from creation through countless tales of divine transformation. He also wrote the Ars Amatoria, a playful guide to the art of seduction, and the Fasti, a month-by-month calendar of Roman festivals.
Why was Ovid exiled by Augustus?
The emperor banished him to the remote Black Sea colony of Tomis, citing a 'carmen et error' — a poem and a mistake — though Ovid himself never revealed what either one was. He spent his final years there composing the Tristia and Epistulae ex Ponto, pleading for recall to Rome.
What is the Metamorphoses actually about?
It is a continuous mythological epic built around the theme of physical transformation, weaving together Greek and Roman legends from the birth of the cosmos all the way to Julius Caesar's deification. The work links roughly two hundred and fifty separate stories into a single unbroken narrative.
How did Ovid's life end?
He remained in exile at Tomis (modern Constanța, Romania) until his death around AD 17 or 18, never receiving the pardon he desperately sought. His last surviving words, in a poem addressed to Augustus, ask that his name be remembered even after his body is buried in a foreign land.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Ovid (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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