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Average rating4.4
Ovid's magnificent panorama of the Greek and Roman myths-presented by a noted poet, scholar, and critic. Prized through the ages for its splendor and its savage, sophisticated wit, The Metamorphoses is a masterpiece of Western culture-the first attempt to link all the Greek myths, before and after Homer, in a cohesive whole, to the Roman myths of Ovid's day. Horace Gregory, in this modern translation, turns his own poetic gifts toward a deft reconstruction of Ovid's ancient themes, using contemporary idiom to bring to today's reader all the ageless drama and psychological truths vividly intact.
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“The better part of me will be borne forever beyond the high stars, and my name will never die. Wherever Rome extends its power over the conquered world I will be on men's lips, and if a sacred poet has any power to prophesy the truth,
throughout the ages I will live on in fame.”
Ovid wasn't wrong! Some 2,000 years after he wrote that, I enjoyed this epic poem.
I will say, I think this book should be read after reading The Iliad, The Odyssey, and The Aeneid - you'll gain a much deeper appreciation for Metamorphoses by doing so.
Surprise, you're a bird
weird reward, ace punishment
better than a tree.