OVID

Ovid: translation

(Publius Ovidius Naso; 43 BCE-17/18 CE)

Roman mythographer whose writings became major sources of inspiration to artists and patrons. His greatest masterpiece is theMetamorphoses, an account of the cosmos from its formation until Ovid's day that includes myths in which figures are metamorphosized in one form or another. HisArs Amatoriaoffers advice on the art of love, while hisFastirelates the Roman festivals in a mythological context. Popular in his lifetime, Ovid was highly praised by Emperor Augustus, yet in 8 CE, Augustus banished Ovid for unknown causes, and the poet ended his days in the port of Tomis on the Black Sea, now part of Romania.