LatinLesson 4 of 4 in the course Latin literature

Ovid: Poetry, Exile, and Literary Reception

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

Publius Ovidius Naso was born on 20 March 43 BC in Sulmo, in central Italy, to an equestrian family. He received an education in rhetoric in Rome, as his father hoped he would pursue a legal career. Ovid was drawn instead to poetry. After holding several minor public offices, he resigned and devoted himself to writing.

Ovid entered literary circles that included the patron Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus. He knew or admired poets such as Propertius and Tibullus and reported hearing Horace recite. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, and is commonly grouped with them as one of the three canonical poets of Latin literature.

All flashcards

Who was Ovid?
Publius Ovidius Naso was a Roman poet of the Augustan age, famous for works including *Metamorphoses* and *Ars Amatoria*.
What was Ovid’s birthplace?
He was born in Sulmo, a town in the Apennine region of central Italy.
What is meant by *carmen et error*?
It means “a poem and a mistake,” Ovid’s deliberately vague description of the reason for his banishment.
Where was Ovid exiled?
Augustus banished him to Tomis, on the Black Sea, where Ovid spent the last years of his life.
When did Ovid die?
He died at Tomis in AD 17 or 18.

Quiz questions

  1. What formal features characterize Ovid’s *Metamorphoses*?Answer: A continuous fifteen-book narrative in dactylic hexameters
  2. What form do the poems of Ovid’s *Heroides* take?Answer: Elegiac letters spoken by mythological women separated from lovers
  3. How does the audience change across the three books of *Ars Amatoria*?Answer: The first two address men, while the third offers instruction to women
  4. Which months are covered by the surviving books of Ovid’s *Fasti*?Answer: January through June
  5. What kind of poem is Ovid’s *Ibis*?Answer: An elaborate curse poem aimed at an unnamed enemy

Based on the Wikipedia article Ovid, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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