The Erotic Poems (Penguin Classics)

I see it as this: everyone should have some writers or books to constantly go back to, and re-read as time goes on, this Dryden translation of Ovid is such a masterpiece that I go back to it as much as I can.

The poetry here is racy, beautiful, funny, and provocative. The translations are well done (who am I to judge?), preserving the original intent and meaning, but the notes tend a little on the prudish side. While the notes are invaluable for a serious student (me), and especially since some translations of Ovid's Amores have no notes, this editor leaves out some pertinent information about Caesar Augustus, and family, who ruled at the time of publication, and whom Ovid addresses occasionally in his works. Also, the translator admittedly prefers the Metamorphoses, seemingly because it is gentler and more mature, so I am left wondering whether this colored his translation of the Amores--it's racy, but is it as racy as the original?

Human nature has not changed as much as one would believe. Although this book is old I enjoyed reading at least the first part, leaving the other two for another time. The ideas are interesting and there are quire a few I agree with. Of course this is an interesting look at what people two thousand years ago were looking for.

Ovid was banished into exile for writing "Art of Love", which is included in this book. It's a sort of versified manual for getting girls and getting "laid" (or to put it more delicately, love-making), full of witty and wise insight. These long poems will stir up romantic feelings inside you. Very worth it. Recommended to readers of Sappho.David Rehakauthor of "Poems From My Bleeding Heart"

I also give this book 5 stars but for a different reason than the first two reviewers. I do not have a grounding in ancient literature, but, I do have an interest in ancient Rome. Ovid's reputation is that of a sexual rebel in a free wheeling society. Not so on both counts. Ovid used sex and mythology to constantly ridicule Rome's conservative first emperor and his society. But, the literature itself could never convey that to this 20th Century man. Without a better backgound in ancient literature all I could get were some of the sexual references and little else. That's where Peter Green's notes (and the 5 stars) come in. Green parses every important sentence to explain both the translation from Latin and the nuance Ovid was creating. If you don't already have a good appreciation of life in first century Rome, Ovid's writings and Green's notes will explain a lot.