Simply Latin brings you the full Latin text of all fifteen books of Ovid's Metamorphoses. In this classic of Roman literature, Ovid describes a history of time from creation to the deification of Julius Caesar using the metaphor of Greek myth.

Presents a selection from Metamorphoses, designed for those who have completed an introductory Latin course.

The epic poem by one of the canonical poets of Latin literature: “A self-conscious tour de force of poetic ingenuity” (Apollo). Through a panoply of the most famous Roman myths, Metamorphoses tells the story of the creation of the world. It is one of the most inspirational works in Western culture, stirring the imagination of such artists and writers as Mantegna, Botticelli, Titian, Velázquez, Shakespeare, and Salmon Rushdie. “It is astonishing for its sheer compendiousness. Running ab origine mundi right up to the time of Julius Caesar, Ovid’s epic weaves around 250 different myths together into a single ‘unbroken song.’ No other classical text comes close. To medieval readers it looked like ‘nothing less than the Bible and theology of the pagans’—the master key to all their culture and knowledge. . . . [Ovid’s] epic is always pushing at the boundaries of what can and cannot be told; pushing his way into new methods of unfolding old tales. In its quest to do this, Ovid’s narration weaves back and forth through mythic time, nesting tales within tales, and tellers of tales within tellers of tales, to the level where a given story might be occurring within as many as five sets of other stories.” —Apollo “Ovid had the power to illuminate disturbing aspects of our contemporary culture. . . . In the same year that he was exiled, Ovid began the Metamorphoses, whose teeming chaos evokes the uncertain, shape-shifting mood of a country—a world—that is reimagining its sexual mores.” —The New Yorker

Ovid is a poet to enjoy, declares William S. Anderson in his introduction to this textbook. And Anderson’s skillful introduction and enlightening textual commentary will indeed make it a joy to use. In these books Ovid begins to leave the conflict between men and the gods to concentrate on the relations among human beings. Subjects of the stories include Arachne and Niobe; Tereus, Procne, and Philomela; Medea and Jason; Orpheus and Eurydice; and many others, familiar and unfamiliar. For students of Latin-and teachers, too-they provide an interesting experience. In his introduction the editor discusses Ovid’s career, the reputation of the Metamorphoses during Ovid’s time and after, and the various manuscripts that exist or have been known to exist. He describes the general plan of the poem, its main theme, and the problem of its tone. Technical matters, such as style and meter, are also considered. In notes the editor summarizes the story being told before proceeding to the line-by-line textual comments.

Through Mandelbaum's poetic artistry, this gloriously entertaining achievement of literature-classical myths filtered through the worldly and far from reverent sensibility of the Roman poet Ovid-is revealed anew. " An] extraordinary translation...brilliant" (Booklist). With an Introduction by the Translator.

This extract from Ovid's 'Theban History' recounts the confrontation of Pentheus, king of Thebes, with his divine cousin, Bacchus, the god of wine. Notwithstanding the warnings of the seer Tiresias and the cautionary tale of a character Acoetes (perhaps Bacchus in disguise), who tells of how the god once transformed a group of blasphemous sailors into dolphins, Pentheus refuses to acknowledge the divinity of Bacchus or allow his worship at Thebes. Enraged, yet curious to witness the orgiastic rites of the nascent cult, Pentheus conceals himself in a grove on Mt. Cithaeron near the locus of the ceremonies. But in the course of the rites he is spotted by the female participants who rush upon him in a delusional frenzy, his mother and sisters in the vanguard, and tear him limb from limb.The episode abounds in themes of abiding interest, not least the clash between the authoritarian personality of Pentheus, who embodies 'law and order', masculine prowess, and the martial ethos of his city, and Bacchus, a somewhat effeminate god of orgiastic excess, who revels in the delusional and the deceptive, the transgression of boundaries, and the blurring of gender distinctions.This course book offers a wide-ranging introduction, the original Latin text, study aids with vocabulary, and an extensive commentary. Designed to stretch and stimulate readers, Gildenhard and Zissos's incisive commentary will be of particular interest to students of Latin at AS and undergraduate level. It extends beyond detailed linguistic analysis to encourage critical engagement with Ovid's poetry and discussion of the most recent scholarly thought. This work was published by Saint Philip Street Press pursuant to a Creative Commons license permitting commercial use. All rights not granted by the work's license are retained by the author or authors.

This book contains selections from Apuleius' famous and entertaining novel, The Metamorphoses, aimed at intermediate Latin students.

Ovid's Metamorphosesis a weaving-together of classical myths, extending in time from the creation of the world to the death of Julius Caesar. This volume provides the Latin text of the first five books of the poem and the most detailed commentary available in English of these books.

Using an introduction to mythology by the master storyteller Ovid himself, the authors have prepared a unique teaching tool designed to achieve proficiency at Latin in one year at the college level, two years at the high school or intermediate level. The volume provides students with imaginative, connected reading, beginning with introductory prose versions of Ovid's simple myth tales and progressing to the rich poetry of Ovidian Latin (with appropriate teaching aids) within forty lessons. The grammatical approach is traditional, but the central emphasis is on reading. In each chapter the reading appears first, followed by the vocabulary, the grammar, exercises, and etymology relating to the vocabulary. The exercises begin with a group of questions in Latin (based on the reading), to be answered in Latin. Each tale is preceded by a brief discussion in English of the story and its mythological significance. The myths retold by Ovid and the attractive format are conceived to impel the student into acquiring the skill to read the author in the original language. For additional complimentary materials on this topic, please see Latin Via Ovid Audio materials (available via downloadable flash drive and cassette tapes) by Norma Goldman and Jacob E. Nyenhuis and the accompanying text Practice, Practice: A Latin Via Ovid Workbook by Norma Goldman and Michael Rossi.