Introducing Ovid’s Metamorphoses
When Virgil died in 19 BCE, the Aeneid became an instant classic, and even before his death references had been made to it in the works of other authors. In some ways it may have seemed impossible to write epic now – how could you follow up Virgil? The up and coming poet, Publius Ovidius Naso was working on quite a different form of poetry, and composed his love poems, the Amores around the time of Virgil’s death. Even in a different genre, Ovid cannot help but be aware of the Aeneid’s presence; but when he did come to write his own epic poem, he chose to give us an alternative to the traditional, monolithic narrative. The Metamorphoses deconstructs epic poetry and is a brilliantly daring composition in its own right.
Copyright 2014 Rhiannon Evans / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.
Epics of Rome
This subject explores Ancient Roman epic poetry, the literary genre which deals with grand mythical narratives involving heroes, gods, war, and love affairs.
Epic was the most prestigious literary form in the ancient world. Roman poets adapted and developed Greek epic, particularly influenced by the Homeric Iliad and Odyssey. Roman epics similarly deal with divine and heroic material, but Roman poets also weave contemporary and topical themes into the mythical subject matter.
The primary text for this subject is Ovid's Metamorphoses, which tells many comic tales of the gods in love and encounters between heroes and monsters through a series of transformations.
Epics which influenced Ovid will also be studied, such as the Greek epics of Homer, the early Roman epics of Naevius and Ennius, and Virgil's Aeneid, which was the most significant influence on Ovid. We shall also consider Ovid as a major influence upon Western artists and writers, from Shakespeare to David Malouf.
Where can you listen?
