Almanac of Story Tellers: Ovid

  Every day brings a new story.  And each day contributes to the art of story telling -- in prose and poetry, in music, on the stage, on the screen, and, of course, in books. 

Today is the story of March 20th

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    It is the 79th day of the year, leaving 286 days remaining in 2022.

   

    On this date in 43 BCE, the Latin poet Publius Ovidius Naso, known simply as Ovid, was born in the Roman Republic, in what is now known as Sulmona, Italy.

    He is regarded as one of the best poets of antiquity, writing about love and sexuality in a verse that has been described as smooth and elegant. He was popular in his own time, and wrote even after he was banished from Rome.

    His works have inspired great writers through the centuries -- from Moudin in the court of Charlemagne to  Shakespeare, from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales to Cervantes' Don Quixote, from John Milton to Bob Dylan -- who used Ovid's words and images; his themes and his  rhythms.

    But his greatest achievement, one that has kept his name on the list of history's greatest writers, is Metamorphoses. 

    The epic poem is a recitation and interpretation of dozens of ancient tales from myths and legends that revolve around changes. It begins and ends with order coming from chaos -- from the creation myths to the reign of Caesar. It includes stories of the god and humans, particularly of their love and disobedience, when the gods and humans change into other forms, the first group voluntarily and the latter not, be it legendary or astrological creatures.

    But within those changes the poem explores the range of god and human emotions that come with those interactions, showing that both are essentialy the same. Indeed, as one writer put it, "by his genius for narrative and vivid description, Ovid gave scores of Greek legends, some of them little known before, their definitive form for subsequent generations."

    In an epilogue to the epic poem, Ovid writes that everything must change -- except, perhaps, his works. As the modern writer above proclaims, he may be right.

                Now stands my task accomplished, such a work

                As not the wrath of Jove, nor fire nor sword

                Nor the devouring ages can destroy.