Unit VI: Augustan Rome 44 B.C - A.D. 14
This week I have given you a fairly short reading from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, in hopes that we can dig into it a little bit: it’s only about five pages on my printer. The translation is a bit old and stodgy, but not as old and stodgy as the Dryden translation that was the alternative. Try to see through to the story, and to ask yourself:
- What is Ovid doing here?
- What is the ecphrasis (relatively short) doing, and how does it compare with the others you have seen?
- Does Ovid have a message? A point? Or is he just telling a series of good yarns?
Depicted here: a mediaeval statue of Ovid. Image courtesy VRoma.
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