The Crimes of Ovidius
Channel: Ius Romanum
Date: 2021-09-20

This video is a follow-up to my cooperation with Olly Woo (https://youtu.be/WhsokH3lLWE). After working on the video for Olly Woo's interpretation of the story of Daedalus and Icarus, I became interested in the legal mysteries of Ovid's life:
Publius Ovidius Naso, the famous Roman poet, was forced to leave Rome in AD 8 and spend the rest of his life in exile at Tomi (today: Constanța) on the coast of the Black Sea. Apparently, his exile was a punishment, but what was his crime? How was he convicted? This video answers some of the questions surrounding "The Crimes of Ovidius" and Ovid's exile. It also offers the opportunity to learn about the Roman criminal court system , trial by jury in the so-called quaestiones and the offences of adultery (adulterium) and high treason (maiestas).