Ovid BLACKWELL INTRODUCTIONS TO THE CLASSICAL WORLD This series will provide concise introductions to classical culture in the broadest sense. Written by the most distinguished scholars in the fi eld, these books survey key authors, periods and topics for students and scholars alike. Published Greek Tragedy Nancy Sorkin Rabinowitz Roman Satire Daniel Hooley Ancient History Charles W. Hedrick, Jr. Homer, second edition Barry B. Powell Classical Literature Richard Rutherford Ancient Rhetoric and Oratory Thomas Habinek Ancient Epic Katherine Callen King Catullus Julia Haig Gaisser Virgil R. Alden Smith Ovid Katharina Volk In Preparation Roman Historiography Andreas Mehl, translated by Hans - Friedrich Mueller Ovid Katharina Volk A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication This edition fi rst published 2010 © Katharina Volk 2010 Blackwell Publishing was acquired by John Wiley & Sons in February 2007. Blackwell’s publishing program has been merged with Wiley’s global Scientifi c, Technical, and Medical business to form Wiley-Blackwell. Registered Offi ce John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, United Kingdom Editorial Offi ces 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK For details of our global editorial offi ces, for customer services, and for information about how to apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell. The right of Katharina Volk to be identifi ed as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. 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If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Volk, Katharina, 1969– Ovid / Katharina Volk. p. cm. – (Blackwell introductions to the classical world) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4051-3642-6 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Ovid, 43 B.C.-17 or 18 A.D.– Criticism and interpretation. 2. Ovid, 43 B.C.-17 or 18 A.D.–Appreciation. 3. Epistolary poetry, Latin–History and criticism. 4. Didactic poetry, Latin–History and criticism. 5. Elegiac poetry, Latin–History and criticism. 6. Mythology, Classical, in literature. I. Title. PA6537.V65 2010 871'.01–dc22 2010016272 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Set in 10.5/13 pt Galliard by Toppan Best-set Premedia Limited Printed in Malaysia 1 2010 To Christine Contents List of Figures viii Preface ix Abbreviations for Ovid’s Works xi Introduction 1 1 Work 6 2 Life 20 3 Elegy 35 4 Myth 50 5 Art 65 6 Women 81 7 Rome 95 8 Reception 110 Further Reading 128 Notes 141 Ovidian Passages Cited 142 Index 145 Figures 1 Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Apollo and Daphne (Galleria Borghese, Rome). Photo: Soprintendenza Speciale per il Patrimonio Storico, Artistico ed Etnoantropologico e per il Polo Museale della Citt à di Roma. Reproduced by permission. 117 2 Antonio Allegri da Correggio, Jupiter and Io (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna). Photo: Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna. Reproduced by permission. 119 3 Titian (Tiziano Vecellio), Diana and Actaeon (National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh). Purchased jointly by the National Galleries of Scotland and the National Gallery, London, with the aid of the Scottish Government, the National Heritage Memorial Fund, The Monument Trust, The Art Fund, and through public appeal, 2009. Photo: National Galleries of Scotland. Reproduced by permission. 121 Preface When I was an undergraduate and budding Latin major at the University of Munich, my friend Christine and I would meet up in the afternoon at my apartment and read the Metamorphoses . Fortifi ed by many pots of tea and provisions from the nearby Konditorei , we slowly made our way through Ovid’ s Latin, moving from the creation of the world to the crime and punishment of Lycaon, the cinematic cataclysm of the fl ood, Apollo ’ s unsuccessful pursuit of Daphne, Io ’ s bovine metamorphosis, and beyond. We were deeply fascinated by what we read – not only the uncanny tales themselves but also the poet ’ s beautiful and clever turns of phrase – and not a little excited by our own ability to understand and relate so well to something that had been written in a dead language so many centuries before. Reading Ovid is a joy, and I hope that this book will communicate some of my own love for the poet, enabling readers from many different backgrounds and with many different interests to gain a a better under- standing and appreciation of his works. To keep the discussion accessible, I quote only sparingly from the original Latin and have instead provided English translations, all of them my own. These lack all poetic aspiration and are intended simply to convey the text ’ s literal meaning. Since my discussion is not primarily directed at an audience of scholars but at a wider readership, I have not documented critical opinion on each and every point of discussion, as I would have done in a more narrowly academic publication. This does not mean, however, that I have not been greatly infl uenced by the work of many colleagues. My debts will be obvious to those familiar with the literature; in addition, I list in the chapter “ Further Reading ” a large number of publications on Ovid that I recommend, as well as titles that have been especially important in shaping my own views. In writing this book, I have furthermore profi ted from the expertise and ideas of Caleb Dance, Elaine Fantham, Marco Fantuzzi, Christine x PREFACE Hehle, Monica Hellstr ö m, Bob Kaster, Donald Mastronarde, Brigitte and Peter Volk, Craig Williams, and the anonymous referees for Wiley - Blackwell. Gareth Williams kindly read the entire manuscript and offered numerous suggestions for improvement. My heartfelt thanks go to them all. Of course, all remaining errors are my own. I would also like to express my gratitude to the editorial team at Wiley- Blackwell, especially Al Bertrand and Sophie Gibson for suggesting to me the idea for this book in the fi rst place and Haze Humbert and Galen Smith for assisting me in seeing it to completion. I am further indebted to the Soprintendenza Speciale per il Patrimonio Storico, Artistico ed Etnoantropologico e per il Polo Museale della Citt à di Roma, the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh, and the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna for supplying me with the photographs of three works of art discussed in chapter 8 and to the Stanwood Cockey Lodge Foundation for fi nancial support in the acquisition of these images. The American Academy in Rome provided me with a congenial setting for three weeks during the fi nal stages of the project. Mille grazie fi rst and foremost to Carmela Franklin, the Director, as well as to everyone for the hospitality, intellectual stimulation, and legendary food. This book is dedicated to Christine, in fond memory of our Ovidian afternoons. Katharina Volk New York Abbreviations for Ovid ’ s Works Am. Amores ( “ Loves ” ) Ars Ars amatoria ( “ Art of Love ” ) Fast. Fasti ( “ The Roman Calendar ” ) Her. Heroides ( “ Heroines ” ) Med. Medicamina faciei femineae ( “ Cosmetics for the Female Face ” ) Met. Metamorphoses ( “ Transformations ” ) Pont. Epistulae ex Ponto ( “ Letters from the Black Sea ” ) Rem. Remedia amoris ( “ Remedies for Love ” ) Tr. Tristia ( “ Sad Poems ” ) Introduction Ovid ’s Fame At the end of his Metamorphoses , the Roman poet Ovid proudly declares that he has fashioned a work “ which neither the wrath of Jupiter nor fi re nor sword nor devouring time will be able to destroy ” (15.871 – 2). Even though one day his body will die, his poetry will live on: Wherever Roman power extends over conquered lands, I will be read by the lips of the people, and – if there is any truth to the prophecies of poets – I will live for all ages through my fame. (877 – 9) Ovid died nearly 2,000 years ago, but his prediction has been fulfi lled beyond the poet ’ s imagination. In the passage quoted, Ovid merely hopes that his literary reputation will reach as far as the political power of Rome. But the Roman empire has long since collapsed and Latin has ceased to be a world language – and yet Ovid ’ s works are still being read, including in parts of the world that Ovid did not know existed and in languages that were not yet spoken when he wrote his verse. If the poet ’ s fame has thus indeed endured through all ages, it appears recently to have received a particular boost. In the past thirty years or so, Ovid has become so popular that it is often claimed that we live in a new aetas Ovidiana (“ Ovidian age,” a term originally coined by the medieval- ist Ludwig Traube to refer to the 12th and 13th centuries, a period when Ovid was much studied and imitated 1 ).