Publius Ovidius Naso

**Publius Ovidius Naso**. better known as **Ovid** in the English-speaking world, was an Ancient Roman poet. He was born on March 20, 43 BC in Sulmona, then called _Sulmo_. People today  do not know when he died. It was probably either 17 AD or 18 AD. He died in Tomis, which is modern-day Constanţa in Romania.

With Virgil and Horace he is considered among the three great poets of Latin literature. Ovid usually wrote in verses. Ovid was the most widely read classical author in medieval times and the Renaissance.

### Works by Ovid (with approximate dates of publication)

- _Amores_ ("The Loves"), five books, published 10 BC and revised into three books ca. 1 AD.
- _Metamorphoses_, ("Transformations"), 15 books. Published ca. AD 8.
- _Medicamina Faciei Feminae_ ("Women's Facial Cosmetics"), also known as _The Art of Beauty_, 100 lines surviving. Published ca. 5 BC.
- _Remedia Amoris_ ("The Cure for Love"), 1 book. Published 5 BC.
- _Heroides_ ("The Heroines"), also known as _Epistulae Heroidum_ ("Letters of Heroines"), 21 letters. Letters 1–5 published 5 BC; letters 16–21 were composed ca. AD 4–8.
- _Ars Amatoria_ ("The Art of Love"), three books. First two books published 2 BC, the third somewhat later.
- _Fasti_ ("The Festivals"), 6 books extant which cover the first 6 months of the year, providing unique information on the Roman calendar. Finished by AD 8, possibly published in AD 15.
- _Ibis_, a single poem. Written ca. 9 AD.
- _Tristia_ ("Sorrows"), five books. Published 10 AD.
- _Epistulae ex Ponto_ ("Letters from the Black Sea"), four books. Published 10 AD.

### Lost works, or works by other poets

- _Consolatio ad Liviam_ ("Consolation to Livia")
- _Halieutica_ ("On Fishing") — generally considered spurious, a poem that some have identified with the otherwise lost poem of the same name written by Ovid.
- _Medea_, a lost tragedy about Medea
- _Nux_ ("The Walnut Tree")
- A volume of poems in Getic, the language of Dacia where Ovid lived in exile, not extant (and possibly fictional).

## Other websites

- University of Virginia, "Ovid Illustrated: The Renaissance Reception of Ovid in Image and Text"
- **Latin and English translation**
    - Perseus/Tufts: P. Ovidius Naso _Amores_, _Ars Amatoria_, _Heroides_ (on this site called _Epistulae_), _Metamorphoses_, _Remedia Amoris_. Enhanced brower. Not downloadable.
    - Sacred Texts Archive: Ovid  _Amores_, _Ars Amatoria_, _Medicamina Faciei Femineae_, _Metamorphoses_, _Remedia Amoris_.
    - The Metamorphoses of Publius Ovidius Naso ; elucidated by an analysis and explanation of the fables, together with English notes, historical, mythological and critical, and illustrated by pictorial embellishments: with a dictionary, giving the meaning of all the words with critical exactness. By Nathan Covington Brooks. Publisher: New York, A. S. Barnes & co.; Cincinnati, H. W. Derby & co., 1857 _(a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF  format)_
- **Original Latin only**
    - Latin Library: Ovid _Amores_, _Ars Amatoria_, _Epistulae ex Ponto_, _Fasti_, _Heroides_, _Ibis_, _Metamorphoses_, _Remedia Amoris_, _Tristia_.
    - Gutenberg Project: Fasti  With introduction and extensive notes in English by Thomas Keightley. Plain text version.
    - Works by Ovid
- **English translation only**
    - New translations by A. S. Kline _Amores_, _Ars Amatoria_, _Epistulae ex Ponto_, _Fasti_, _Heroides_, _Ibis_, _Medicamina Faciei Femineae_, _Metamorphoses_, _Remedia Amoris_, _Tristia_ with enhanced browsing facility, downloadable in HTML, PDF, or MS Word DOC formats. Site also includes wide _selection_ of works by other authors.
    - Two translations from Ovid's _Amores_ by Jon Corelis.
    - English translations of Ovid's _Amores_ with introductory essay and notes by Jon Corelis
    - Some English translations of Ovid by famous literary figures
- **Commentary**
    - Perseus/Tufts: Commentary on the _Heroides_ of Ovid

## Infobox (writer)

- **name**: Ovid
- **image**: Latin Poet Ovid.jpg
- **caption**: The Roman poet Ovid from an engraving.
- **birth date**: March 20, 43 BC
- **birth place**: Sulmo
- **death date**: 17 AD
- **death place**: Tomis
- **occupation**: Poet