The Roman poet Ovid is known for his cheeky wit and clever lines of poetry. After a traditional Roman education both in Rome and in Greece, Ovid turned to writing poetry and became an established and successful poet by the time he was in his twenties. However, despite receiving at least one commission from the Emperor Octavian, most of Ovid's work conflicted with the social and moral program that Octavian was promoting. For reasons not fully understood today, in 8 CE, Ovid was exiled from Rome to Tomis, a remote outpost on the Black Sea, where he tragically died 9 years later. His most famous work, the Metamorphoses, is the source of many Roman and Greek myths that come down to us today, including the favorites Pyramus and Thisbe and Icarus and Daedalus.
Historian Bernadine Corrigan introduces Ovid for the National Gallery (London)
Introduction to the Metamorphoses - Llewelyn Morgan (Oxford Univ.)