Ovid’s Eternal Verses: The Roman Poet of Love, Myth, and Exile

Ovid’s works range from the sweeping transformations of Metamorphoses to the playful seduction of Ars Amatoria and the mournful reflections of Tristia. His verses, both elegant and subversive, secured his place as one of Rome’s most celebrated yet controversial poets.

Yet, Ovid’s life was as dramatic as his poetry—marked by imperial favor, sudden disgrace, and a mysterious exile that has puzzled scholars for centuries. What was it about his poetry that resonated so deeply with his contemporaries and continues to inspire readers today?

The Poet Who Defied Time

Ovid ends his Metamorphoses with a bold proclamation of his poetic immortality:

"Which neither the wrath of Jupiter nor fire nor sword nor devouring time will be able to destroy."

Although his body would perish, his poetry, he asserts, would endure:

"Wherever Roman power extends over conquered lands, I will be read by the lips of the people, and—if there is any truth to the prophecies of poets—I will live for all ages through my fame."

Ovid's prediction has surpassed even his own expectations. While he imagined his literary fame persisting within the boundaries of the Roman Empire, his works have outlived both Rome’s political power and the Latin language itself. Today, his poetry is read worldwide, in places he never knew existed and in languages that did not yet exist in his time.

In recent decades, Ovid’s popularity has seen a resurgence, leading scholars to speak of a new aetas Ovidiana, a term first used by Ludwig Traube (a German medievalist and palaeographer, often regarded as one of the most important scholars in the study of Latin manuscripts from the Middle Ages, instrumental in advancing the field of medieval Latin philology and manuscript studies, particularly through his work on Carolingian script and textual transmission; he coined the term aetas Ovidiana to describe the 12th and 13th centuries, a period when Ovid’s works were widely studied, imitated, and incorporated into medieval education and literary culture, and his research contributed significantly to understanding how classical texts, including Ovid’s, were preserved and reshaped in the medieval world) – to describe the 12th and 13th centuries when Ovid was widely studied and imitated.

His influence is evident not only in academia, where his works remain central to Latin instruction, but also in popular culture. Notable examples include Ted Hughes’ Tales from Ovid (1997), Mary Zimmerman’s Broadway play Metamorphoses (2002), and a wave of modern novels inspired by his themes.

Ovid's enduring appeal stems from several factors. His verse, praised for its classical beauty, is accessible even to students new to Latin. His themes—love, myth, transformation—remain universally engaging, and his playful, witty style makes his poetry captivating.

Furthermore, his exile under mysterious circumstances continues to spark fascination and sympathy.

A statue of Ovidius, in the historic centre of Constanta, Romania. Credits: bdmundo, CC BY-SA 2.0

Perhaps most strikingly, Ovid resonates with modern readers because of his seemingly postmodern sensibilities. His works exhibit skepticism toward grand narratives, an interest in linguistic structures over objective reality, and an ironic, self-referential style—qualities that align with contemporary literature and media.

His prophecy of poetic immortality is a prime example of this playful self-awareness. Like a modern filmmaker who embeds references to earlier works, Ovid alludes to literary predecessors such as Horace, who claimed to have created a “work more durable than bronze”, and Ennius, who declared he would “fly, alive, through the lips of men.”

By echoing these claims, Ovid both participates in and subverts the tradition of poetic self-immortalization. Even more strikingly, his assertion— “I will be read by the lips of the people”—is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Every time a reader speaks his words, Ovid’s voice lives on. In this way, his poetry remains, as he foretold, beyond the reach of time.

A Poet in Three Phases

Publius Ovidius Naso was born in 43 BCE in Sulmo (modern Sulmona, Italy) and spent most of his adult life in Rome. In 8 CE, Emperor Augustus exiled him to Tomis (present-day Constanța, Romania), a remote town on the Black Sea, where he remained until his death in 17 or 18 CE. While further details of his life will be explored separately, these key dates provide a chronological framework for understanding his literary career.

Dating Ovid’s poetry is notoriously challenging.  Broadly speaking, his works can be categorized into three main phases:

1. The first spans approximately 25 years, from the mid-20s BCE to around 2 CE, during which he produced several poetry collections in elegiac meter, all centered around the theme of love.
2. The second phase, from 2 to 8 CE, saw Ovid working on his two longest poems: the epic Metamorphoses and the elegiac Fasti.
3. His final period consists of the poetry he composed in exile, including Tristia, Epistulae ex Ponto, and the curse poem Ibis, all written in elegiac meter.

These phases, however, are not strictly separate. It is likely that Ovid began work on Metamorphoses and Fasti before 2 CE, and he is known to have revised Fasti while in exile. Additionally, some of his works have been lost, most notably his tragedy Medea, while others attributed to him are considered spurious by modern scholars. (Ovid, by Katharina Volk)

Ovid and Empire: Politics, Power, and Poetics in Augustan Rome

Ovid’s poetry is often examined through the lens of its relationship to Augustus, but this approach, oversimplifies its political dimensions. Unlike his predecessors—Virgil, Horace, and Propertius—who engaged with Rome’s transition from Republic to Empire, Ovid came of age under a stable principate and thus shaped his poetic concerns around imperial expansion and its cultural consequences.

His poetry is neither explicitly pro- nor anti-Augustan, but rather reflects the broader ideological shifts of his time, particularly how authority, identity, and empire were constructed through literature.

Love and Conquest: Imperial Themes in the Amores

Ovid’s Amores is not just an exploration of love but also a commentary on power and subjugation. The opening poem portrays the poet as a would-be epic writer conquered by Cupid’s arrows, which he describes as an “illegitimate extension of jurisdiction”—a metaphor for imperial expansion.

This submission is further dramatized in Amores 1.2, where Ovid imagines himself as a prisoner in Cupid’s triumph, carried as "spoils", paralleling Rome’s military parades. He appeals for clemency much like a conquered general would before Caesar, linking erotic submission to imperial conquest.

These metaphors extend into Amores 1.3, where Ovid’s pursuit of a lover is structured as an exchange akin to Rome’s extraction of resources from its provinces. The poet promises poetic immortality to his beloved— “we too will be sung throughout the world”—but the mythological examples he invokes, such as Io and Europa, highlight themes of abduction rather than mutual devotion. Ovid thus intertwines personal and political domination, subtly questioning the ethics of empire while embedding his poetry within its framework.

Later poems in the Amores continue this imperial imagery. In Amores 1.14, Ovid mocks his lover’s German wigs:

“Now Germany will send to you its captive hair, your appearance will be rescued thanks to the gift of a triumphed-over race”

Similarly, Amores 3.8 portrays a wealthy rival whose riches derive from wounds and bloodshed, linking financial success to Rome’s military campaigns:

“Look—a new rich man, his wealth won through wounds”.

These references to empire in seemingly personal poetry suggest that Ovid’s love elegy is not apolitical but deeply enmeshed in the structures of Augustan Rome.

Imperial Expansion and the Metamorphoses

The Metamorphoses is often described as a poem of ceaseless transformation, but this misrepresents its underlying logic. Ovid’s transformations are not reversible; once Daphne becomes a laurel, or Julius Caesar ascends to the heavens, their new forms are final.

As one scholar puts it, “The important thing in tales of evolution remains their ending.” This mirrors the ideological function of the Metamorphoses, which constructs a universal history culminating in Rome’s supremacy.

The council of the gods in Metamorphoses 1 subtly evokes the Roman Senate, with Jupiter presiding like Augustus. His justification for destroying humanity—

“Those demigods, those rustic presences, nymphs, fauns, and satyrs…should have some place to live in peace and safety”

—echoes Roman imperial rhetoric, where expansion is framed as protection for the vulnerable. Yet Jupiter’s actions also align with Rome’s foreign policy, in which entire populations were annihilated under the guise of security.

Moreover, Ovid’s narrative structure mimics the concept of translatio imperii (the transfer of empire). Moving from East to West, from Chaos to Cleopatra, the Metamorphoses legitimizes Rome’s dominance as the culmination of history. Its final lines proclaim both Ovid’s literary immortality and Rome’s global supremacy:

“My name will be indelible… where Roman power lies open because the lands have been conquered”

The phrase patet (to lie open) suggests not just expansion but unchallenged mastery. Rome’s empire, like Ovid’s poetry, is presented as both eternal and inevitable.

The Fasti and Cultural Imperialism

The Fasti, Ovid’s poetic calendar of Roman religious festivals, also reflects imperial ideology. While ostensibly focused on timekeeping, it weaves Augustan authority into its very structure. Ovid repeatedly claims he is "hailed" by the calendar to narrate events—“the occasion itself demands”, “now I am bidden” —aligning poetic duty with state ritual.

He contrasts Romulus, a figure of violence, with Numa, the lawgiver, subtly positioning Augustus as the ideal ruler who consolidates and sanctifies power rather than simply seizing it.

Moreover, the Fasti does not begin in March, the traditional start of the Roman military year, but in January, aligning with the political calendar. This decision shifts focus from military conquest to cultural hegemony, reinforcing Augustus’ vision of Rome’s destiny not just as a military power but as a civilizing force.

Exile and the Body as a Political Symbol

Ovid’s exile poetry transforms imperial themes into personal suffering. His banishment forced him to confront the reality of Rome’s periphery, which he had previously only imagined. The poet describes himself in a barren land where his creativity is stifled:

“I plant my seed in sterile soil,
Tilling a dry shore with a sterile plough.”

Even his books, sent from exile, are like sickly children “contaminated by their surroundings.” Ovid, once the celebrant of Rome’s triumphs, now experiences subjugation firsthand. His final poem presents him as a defeated gladiator:

“I no longer have room for blows.”

The poet who once described love as conquest now finds himself conquered, his suffering mirroring the fate of those subdued by Rome. Yet even in despair, Ovid claims literary immortality, ensuring that his voice—like Rome’s empire—will persist. (Ovid and empire, by Thomas

An Expert Analysis of Ovid’s Most Famous Poems and Styles

Katharina Volk, in her extensive work recorded in the book “Ovid”, expertly analyses the poet’s different styles and expressions. Ovid’s love poetry is diverse in both form and tone, ranging from playful and subversive to instructive and philosophical.

Ovid’s Love Poetry

His Amores, Heroides, Ars Amatoria, Remedia Amoris, and Medicamina Faciei Femineae represent different facets of his exploration of love, desire, and relationships, often blending traditional Roman elegy with his own unique wit and narrative innovation.

The Amores is a collection of elegiac love poems in three books, centered on the poet’s fictional relationship with a woman named Corinna. Originally composed in five books, Ovid later revised and condensed the work into its final form, humorously suggesting that the shorter edition would be less exhausting for readers.

Dating the Amores remains difficult, but references to historical events suggest that Ovid worked on the collection intermittently over a span of nearly 25 years. As the last great work of Roman love elegy, the Amores not only adheres to genre conventions—depicting the poet-lover’s emotional struggles, jealousy, and romantic exploits—but also playfully deconstructs them, emphasizing the artificiality of the elegiac world.

Ovid expands the genre’s scope by including less romantic themes such as impotence and abortion, setting the stage for his more experimental approaches to love poetry.

In the Heroides, Ovid innovates by adopting the voices of mythological women—such as Penelope, Dido, and Medea—who write lamenting letters to their absent or unfaithful lovers. These fictional epistles, composed in elegiac meter, explore themes of longing, betrayal, and resilience from a female perspective.

The collection includes fifteen single letters and six paired exchanges between mythological lovers, possibly inspired by the now-lost responses written by Ovid’s friend Sabinus. While some letters, including one attributed to the poet Sappho, have been questioned in terms of authenticity, the Heroides remains a fascinating exercise in literary role-playing and psychological depth.

A fragmentary work, Medicamina Faciei Femineae marks Ovid’s transition into didactic poetry. Written in elegiac couplets rather than the usual hexameter of instructional works, the poem offers a blend of beauty advice and poetic wit.

Its surviving lines celebrate cultus—both as physical refinement and as a broader cultural sophistication—before launching into recipes for skin treatments and facial creams. The poem predates Ars Amatoria and aligns with Ovid’s playful engagement with didactic traditions.

Perhaps Ovid’s most infamous work, Ars Amatoria is a three-book didactic poem that teaches the art of love. The first two books provide guidance for Roman men on how to find, seduce, and maintain relationships with women, offering practical advice on everything from pick-up locations to gift-giving and letter-writing.

The third book, written for women, instructs them on how to present themselves and win over men while subtly equipping them with strategies for maintaining control. Ovid’s work humorously challenges traditional Roman morals by treating love as a skill to be mastered rather than a divine force or personal fate.

Ars Amatoria is one of the few Ovidian works with precise historical references, dating it to 2–1 BCE. It was controversial in its time and likely contributed to Ovid’s later exile, as its irreverent approach to relationships clashed with Augustus’ moral reforms.

In Remedia Amoris, Ovid takes an unexpected turn, offering guidance on how to overcome love rather than pursue it. He presents himself as a physician treating the “disease” of love, advising the afflicted to avoid emotional entanglements, seek distractions, and, if necessary, end relationships cleanly.

While humorous, the poem’s practical wisdom aligns with philosophical ideas on emotional self-control. Written around 2 CE, Remedia Amoris serves as a fitting conclusion to Ovid’s exploration of love, reversing the teachings of Ars Amatoria and reinforcing the poet’s ability to playfully subvert expectations.

Ovid’s Long Poems: Myth, History, and the Art of Transformation

Ovid’s Metamorphoses marks a dramatic shift from his earlier love elegies, presenting instead a grand, 15-book epic in hexameter. As he declares in the proem, the poem’s theme is “shapes changed into new bodies”, tracing transformations from the creation of the world to his own time:

“From the first beginning of the world to my own times.”

Drawing on Greek sources such as Nicander’s Heteroioumena, Ovid’s work surpasses previous catalogues of transformations, incorporating around 250 myths and weaving them into a continuous narrative. Structurally, the Metamorphoses moves through three major thematic sections: the exploits of gods, the adventures of heroes, and the deeds of mortals.

Ovid’s challenge lay in linking so many individual tales into a coherent whole, a feat he accomplished through skillful transitions, varying narrative lengths, and embedding stories within stories. While not every episode involves a literal metamorphosis, transformation remains the poem’s central theme.

In many cases, the change reflects a character’s true nature—such as Lycaon’s transformation into a wolf—demonstrating Ovid’s idea that metamorphosis is “but metaphor turned real.” The final speech of Pythagoras in Book 15 encapsulates this theme, emphasizing the world’s continuous flux:

“Nothing retains its shape.”

Deeply intertextual, Metamorphoses engages with a broad range of literary predecessors, from Homeric epic and Greek tragedy to Hellenistic poetry. Ovid also reinterprets Virgil’s Aeneid, producing what some scholars consider an "anti-Virgilian" epic. Despite Ovid’s claim in exile that he had burned his unfinished manuscript, he wryly acknowledges,

“I guess it existed in numerous copies.”

This tongue-in-cheek remark mirrors Virgil’s legendary desire to destroy the Aeneid, aligning Ovid with Rome’s greatest epic poet. Regardless of any final revisions in exile, the Metamorphoses survives as one of antiquity’s most influential texts, shaping literature, art, and mythology for centuries.

The Fasti, Ovid’s poetic exploration of the Roman calendar, differs significantly from Metamorphoses in both style and scope. Written in elegiac meter rather than epic hexameter, it was intended as a twelve-book work, one book per month, but only six books—January through June—survive. Unlike the Metamorphoses, which appears complete, the missing half of the Fasti may never have existed. Although Ovid claimed in exile that he had written twelve books:

“I wrote twelve books of this work,”

There is no evidence of the second half’s survival, leading scholars to debate whether it was lost or simply never completed. Revisions made during Ovid’s exile are evident, particularly in Book 4, where he explicitly references his banishment:

“How far away from Sulmo I am.”

Originally dedicated to Augustus, the poem’s proem was later altered to address Germanicus, reflecting the changed political landscape after Augustus’ death in 14 CE. The Fasti follows a month-by-month structure, discussing Roman religious festivals, historical anniversaries, and astronomical events. Some days receive only brief mentions, while others prompt lengthy mythological or historical narratives.

Inspired by Callimachus' Aetia, which explored the origins of Greek customs, Ovid adopts a similar approach, positioning himself as an inquisitive poet investigating Rome’s sacred traditions. He engages with a variety of sources, from gods and Muses to everyday Romans, yet often presents conflicting explanations, highlighting the ambiguity of historical and religious origins.

Ovid’s wit is particularly evident in the proems to Books 5 and 6, where he humorously depicts the Muses arguing over the etymology of May and goddesses nearly coming to blows over the meaning of June. In this way, the Fasti is more than a poetic calendar—it is a meditation on the nature of knowledge, tradition, and poetic inquiry. Despite its incomplete state, the work remains a vital source for understanding Roman religious and civic life in the early imperial period.

Ovid in Exile: Lament, Longing, and Curses from the Black Sea

Although written at different points during Ovid’s exile, the Tristia and Epistulae ex Ponto share a common tone and theme, making them best understood together. The Tristia, composed in the early years of exile, consists of five books, while Epistulae ex Ponto, initially published as three books, was later expanded to a fourth book, likely released posthumously.

The poems are elegiac in form and largely address friends, family, and influential figures in Rome, pleading for support and intervention. In the Tristia, Ovid refrains from naming his addressees, presumably to protect them, but in the Epistulae ex Ponto, he abandons this caution, making the letters more personal and direct.

A central theme in both works is Ovid’s personal account of his exile—his journey from Rome to Tomis and his suffering in a land he portrays as desolate, barbaric, and devoid of culture. He cryptically attributes his banishment to “a poem and a mistake,” identifying the Ars Amatoria as the offending poem but remaining vague about the error.

Scholars continue to debate the true reason behind his exile. Ovid’s depiction of Tomis is one of extreme hardship—an unforgiving climate, constant threats from barbarian tribes, and an utter lack of Roman sophistication. However, scholars have pointed out that ancient Tomis, a Greek colony of Miletus, was likely more civilized than Ovid describes.

His exaggerated misery serves both poetic and practical purposes: his goal was to elicit sympathy and, ideally, secure a recall from Augustus.

The painting of Eugène Delacroix depicting Ovid at the Scythes, during his exile in the Parthian steppes. Credits: The AMICA Library, Public domain

Longing for Rome, Ovid vividly reconstructs its topography and major events, such as military triumphs, in his poetry. His strongest emotional ties remain with his wife, who stayed in Rome to protect his interests. He praises her devotion while lamenting their separation and the failure of her efforts to have his exile overturned.

Poetry itself is a major theme of Ovid’s exile works. Though his writing led to his downfall, he cannot abandon it, finding solace in verse even as he claims his poetry has changed:

“Since the author is sad, his verse is as well.”

Removed from the cultural heart of Rome, without access to libraries or a learned audience, he fears his Latin may deteriorate, symbolizing his sense of cultural alienation. This anxiety culminates in Epistulae ex Ponto 4.13, where he declares that he has composed a poem in Getic:

“I have written in the language of my fellow Tomitans.”

For centuries, readers accepted Ovid’s claim that his poetry had declined, leading to the exile poems’ diminished reputation. Modern scholars, however, recognize that the Tristia and Epistulae ex Ponto are as carefully crafted as his earlier works, creating a powerful and stylized narrative of his exile. In the absence of other historical sources, Ovid’s version remains the definitive account of his tragic final years.

Among Ovid’s exile poetry, Ibis stands apart as a fiercely personal and enigmatic work. Written before 12 CE, this 642-line elegiac curse poem is addressed to an unnamed former friend who, according to Ovid, turned against him in Rome, slandering him and seeking personal gain from his misfortune.

The identity of "Ibis" remains uncertain, leading some scholars to suggest that the figure is an invented, symbolic enemy rather than a real person. Ovid openly acknowledges his inspiration for the poem, referring to a lost work by Callimachus of the same title:

“Obscure stories” (historiae caecae, 55)

The name Ibis itself derives from a bird associated with filth and impurity, fitting the poet’s bitter denunciation of his adversary. The poem unfolds in two sections: a broad curse (1–248) followed by an extended catalog of mythical punishments (249–642), in which Ovid condemns Ibis to suffer the fates of legendary figures. One of the more comprehensible examples is his wish that Ibis share the fate of Pentheus, torn apart by his own family:

“Or, rent apart, may you be scattered in the woods by the hands of your family members, just as at Thebes the snake’s grandson was scattered.”

A relentless display of poetic ingenuity, Ibis is a rhetorical and literary tour de force, sustained through Ovid’s unbroken wrath. The poem closes with a warning that unless Ibis changes his ways, even greater curses will follow.

While the Tristia and Epistulae ex Ponto offer a melancholic self-portrait of a poet in exile, Ibis showcases Ovid in a different light—unforgiving, vengeful, and wielding his poetic talent as a weapon. Together, these works provide a rich and multifaceted account of his final years, ensuring that even in despair, Ovid remained a master of his craft.