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Read the introduction to this translation. Some of the references to modernculture have dated since 1957, but it is still interesting and useful. WhatHumphries does not make clear is that these originally rather frivolous poems hada momentous influence on later European civilization. It was not only Chaucer whoread Ovid\'s love poetry; every educated person with the slightest interest in thesubject did so. Unfortunately much of his humor was lost on Medievalinterpreters, and they often discussed his ideas over-seriously in the contextwhich came to be known as \"courtly love\"--a concept which would havebeen alien--and ridiculous--to Ovid. His beloved was typically a pretty butordinary courtesan, not a noble lady in a tower. He makes it clear repeatedlythat for him love (read \"sex\") is a game much like poker, demandinggreat powers of strategy and deception, but not the very foundation of lifeitself. The continuing fame of these poems was owed partly to his authorship of amuch greater work, the Metamorphoses, by far the most importantsource for Greco-Roman mythology for later Europeans. His Tristiarecount his lonely banishment away from Rome at the end of his life. It issometimes suggested that the puritanical Emperor Augustus exiled him because hewas offended by Ovid\'s love poetry, but this is uncertain.
If his voice seems amazingly contemporary it is because of his \"modern\"cynicism and frank pleasure in sex for its own sake. Some readers find himoffensive, but in a familiar way: there are plenty of men around today who thinkjust like him. What can take the edge of the offense is his self-deprecatinghumor. Note the many passages in which he is clearly making fun of himself. Whatis definitely not contemporary about Ovid is his love for mythological allusion.The modern reader may feel frustrated by these \"interruptions\" whichwere read fluently as decorative touches in his own time by an audience extremelyfamiliar with the myths to which he alludes. Feel free to skim through thesepassages, but you may find that the following notes add a lot to yourunderstanding of these writings by explaining the various allusions. He returnsto some stories over and over again. Rather than constantly repeat the sameexplanations, I have created links so that you may look up figures discussedearlier. Remember that after following a link you need to click the \"back\" buttonto return to the spot where you were reading. In these notes the Roman names aregenerally used, i.e. \"Ulysses\" rather than \"Odysseus,\"\"Jupiter\" rather than \"Zeus.\"
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