Who is Ovid?

Publius Ovidius Naso (March 43 BC - AD 17) is one of the most influential Roman poets in all of antiquity. His most well known work, Metamorphoses, is arguably the most important collection of classical myths that has survived; it went on to be a staple of classical studies in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

Ovid was born into a wealthy, equestrian class family in the small town of Sulmona, Italy (Sulmo), which is central Italy and east of Rome. As a boy, he was sent to Rome to receive training in rhetoric and public speaking. 

Ovid differs from many classical authors of his time due to his unique style of writing. He is viewed as a relatively shallow writer in the sense that he never deeply addressed any societal or political issues in his works, rather he danced around the portrayal of a classy and materialistic Roman culture. 

He began his writing career with the publication of a five book collection of ellegies known as Amores. This work was an instant success and gained him the favor of the Roman public, however, his defining point as a poet came with the creation of Metamorphoses. Additionally, Ovid wrote a short autobiographical work, Tristia, and other pieces such as Heroides and Remedia Amoris.

Metamorphoses, one of the only finished epics in antiquity, is a fifteen book collection of vignettes detailing the transformations of mythological figures into plants and animals. This work contains witty and ironic tragedy caused by the two driving factors of love and sexuality. Although this piece does not perfectly fit into a particular genre of writing, it is widely accepted to be an epic due to its meter, dactylic hexameter.  

Despite being a prominent figure in the high class Roman social scene, Ovid was later exiled from Rome by Emperor Augustus. Some scholars believe that the reason for his exile was his didactic poem, Ars Amatoria. He was sent away to the Black Sea city of Tomis, where he lived until his death in AD 17.