Metamorphoses

by Ovid

Metamorphoses by Ovid, presented in this Penguin Classics hardcover edition, is a foundational work of Western literature. This epic poem is a brilliant collection of myths that explore themes of transformation, love, power, and fate. Through over 250 stories spanning gods, mortals, and mythical creatures, Ovid tells of dramatic and often tragic transformations, such as Daphne turning into a laurel tree or Narcissus becoming entranced by his own reflection. The narrative style combines wit, wisdom, and poetic elegance, making it a timeless exploration of the human experience. This deluxe edition brings Ovid’s masterpiece to life for contemporary readers, preserving the richness of the original Latin text alongside a modern translation.

Paperback

Published August 1, 2004

About the author

Publius Ovidius Naso (20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horatius, with whom he is often ranked as one of the three canonical poets of Latin literature. The Imperial scholar Quintilian considered him the last of the Latin love elegists. Although Ovid enjoyed enormous popularity during his lifetime, the emperor Augustus exiled him to Tomis, the capital of the newly-organised province of Moesia, on the Black Sea, where he remained for the last nine or ten years of his life. Ovid himself attributed his banishment to a "poem and a mistake", but his reluctance to disclose specifics has resulted in much speculation among scholars.
Ovid is most famous for the Metamorphoses, a continuous mythological narrative in fifteen books written in dactylic hexameters. He is also known for works in elegiac couplets such as Ars Amatoria ("The Art of Love") and Fasti. His poetry was much imitated during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and greatly influenced Western art and literature. The Metamorphoses remains one of the most important sources of classical mythology today.

Reviews

[Laura T]

Liked Hughes’ translations so much more but nice to have a fuller understanding

[Kayla Crockett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I genuinely loved this, although approximately half of my reading experience consisted of me staring at the page thinking, “Ovid… WHAT THE HELL?” 😂

For something written roughly 2,000 years ago, Metamorphoses is WILD.

Gods. Mythology. Revenge. Jealousy. Murder. People being turned into trees, cows, flowers, birds, rocks, and basically anything else Ovid could think of. Apollo absolutely refusing to take a hint. Jupiter causing problems for literally everyone. And every time I thought surely things couldn't get any more unhinged, Ovid essentially said, “Hold my wine.”

But underneath all the chaos, I was genuinely fascinated by it. There is something incredible about reading stories that people were reading nearly two thousand years ago and realizing how much of our modern storytelling, literature, art, language, and understanding of mythology grew from these stories.

It also made me think a lot about human nature. Strip away the gods and transformations, and people apparently haven't changed nearly as much as we'd like to think. Love, jealousy, power, obsession, grief, revenge, ego, desire...we've been writing about the same human mess for thousands of years.

And apparently I enjoyed thinking about it so much that after reading Ovid before a nap, my brain invented an entire university called Strickland University where I was going to study human nature, historical documentation, and which pieces of what we've been told about the past are actually true.

So...thanks for that too, Ovid. 😂

Beautiful, horrifying, fascinating, occasionally ridiculous, and far more entertaining than I expected an approximately 2,000-year-old book to be.

Five stars.

Would read ancient Roman chaos again. 💀📚

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an American, my education was thin on Greek and Roman classics. I chose this book because my classics book club was reading it and I just read some Greek myths with my students. I did not expect this to be my favorite book so far this year. Funny, elegant, touching. The translation is poetic and well reviewed. I read it slowly and was surprised to find myself at the end. It was a reading adventure. All I can say is it was one of those times of unexpected joy. I loved this as a summer read, enjoying the magic of summer and being immersed in the magic of classic myth.

[The Literary Jedi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compared with Stephanie McCarter and Horace Gregory translations

[Dan Hawthorne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend anything by The Block Bard books! The introductions by Mac Andres offer an incredible insight into what is otherwise a specialized school of classicism.

To encourage open discussion regarding the cause and effect of such classics, I believe all deserve a chance to immerse themselves in the great thinkers of our history. And as well all that can; should.

Metamorphoses: by Ovid:
Mac Andres