Ovid and Me

I must admit that before I read Ovid's Metamorphosis last year I was under the misconceived notion that Ovid was just trying to provide to the Romans what Homer provided to the Greeks, and that Homer most certainly did it better. And when I read the unabridged version for my Mythology class at that cursed University of Montana place, I still felt that way. The book was dense and terribly hard to read and we were required to read it in the entirety. However, having now read the abridged version written by Ted Hughes I certainly do not feel this way anymore. My own story I was required to read for class was so enjoyable it enticed me to read even more. And though I am familiar with many of the Ovid stories, (I've taken more mythology/humanities classes than I care to count) I am enjoying reading and hearing the stories I have not read.

Anyway, having come to really enjoy the book I decided I should cut the author some slack and as Dr. Sexson asked I researched a bit about his life. Ovid was born to a wealthy family and his parents had aspirations for him to become a politician but Ovid instead decided on a life of writing poetry. Ovid's work shows the lives of Romans and also shows us a past that is very much still in our present. As the examples in class explained today Jerry Springer had nothing on Ovid. Ovid was exiled in the later stages of life and refused to comment on it except to say he "saw something he should not have seen" much like his story of Actaeon where the hunter spies on bathing beauties and subsequently turned into a stag. What are the chances of the event in the story happening in Ovid's real life? Say it with me, one in three. Anyway, not much happens in Ovid's exile and he dies in later years. I've come to recognize that Ovid is certainly not just a hackneyed version of Homer and contributed much to literature and his influence can certainly be seen in later works. So I must say, I am very glad we had the chance to read this.