II.

Life

He was born Publius Ovidius Naso into an equestrian family in Sulmo (now Sulmona), near Rome. Educated for the bar, he became highly proficient in the art of rhetoric, but his genius was essentially poetical, and he devoted most of his time and energy to writing verse. After inheriting his father's property, Ovid went to Athens to complete his education. He later travelled in Asia and Sicily with his friend the poet Aemilus Macer. By the age of 30, Ovid had been married three times and divorced twice. He probably also had a number of mistresses. The details of his affairs are recounted in the Amores, a series of poems telling of the stages of an affair with a woman named Corinna (probably a synthesis of various people rather than one woman). His private life was that of a care-free, well-to-do, and somewhat licentious man of letters. At Rome, where he resided until his 50th year, he was assiduously courted by the distinguished and fashionable society of the city, including Emperor Augustus. In ad 8, however, Ovid was banished to Tomis (now Constanţa, Romania). According to Ovid, one reason for his banishment was the publication of Ars amatoria, a poem on the art of making love which would have flown in the face of Augustus's attempted moral reforms. Since the poem had been in circulation for almost ten years it is probable that this was merely a pretext. A second reason, never disclosed by Ovid, may have been his knowledge of a scandal involving the emperor's daughter Julia. Ovid did not lose his citizenship and never gave up hope of repatriation, as revealed in the many poems written to his friends during his exile at Tomis, but his entreaties and those of his friends were futile. He died at Tomis, an honoured citizen of the town.