Book description
Ovid (c. 43 BC - AD 17), a daring, original and passionate poet,
has been an enduring influence on later poets. Amores is the work that
first made Ovid famous, and infamous. A scandal in its day, and
probably in part responsible for Ovid's banishment from Rome, Amores
lays bare the intrigues and appetites of high society in the imperial
capital at the time of Caesar Augustus. Clandestine sex, orgies and
entertainments, fashion and violence, are among the subjects Ovid
explores: the surface dazzle and hidden depths, secret liaisons and
their public postures. This new translation by Tom Bishop closely
follows the movement and metre of Ovid's verse, rendering his world of
love, licentiousness and conspiracy so as to catch Ovid's raciness.
His introduction sets the work in historical context.
