The Metamorphoses of Ovid

Ovid’s Metamorphoses is a masterful exploration of transformation, weaving together a vast tapestry of mythological and human tales that span the origins of the world to the deification of Julius Caesar. Written in elegant Latin hexameter, the poem stands as both a monumental work of storytelling and a comprehensive study in literary artifice. Across its fifteen books, Ovid captures the essence of change in all its forms, presenting gods, mortals, and nature as interconnected forces subject to perpetual metamorphosis. This narrative, filled with wit, paradox, and evocative imagery, is also a compendium of the cultural and philosophical beliefs of the Graeco-Roman world, making it a cornerstone of classical literature.

In translation, Metamorphoses continues to challenge and inspire. Translators have long grappled with the dual task of preserving Ovid’s poetic form and rendering his complex narrative accessible to contemporary readers. While the heroic couplet remains a favored medium, capturing the rhythm and authority of the original, translators also strive to convey the poem's vivid tension and stylistic intricacies. A.E.Watt's modern rendition, for example, seeks to balance fidelity to Ovid’s vision with a clarity and immediacy that resonate with today’s audience. This enduring work, at once an epic of myth and a celebration of storytelling, remains a vibrant bridge between the ancient and modern worlds, inviting readers to explore the timeless themes of transformation and creativity.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1954.