Source edition
Ovid. P. Ovidius Naso, Volume 1: Amores, Epistulae, Medicamina faciei femineae, Ars amatoria, Remedia amoris. Ehwald, Rudolf; Merkel, Rudolph; editors. Leipzig: B. G. Teubner, 1907.
Source data
Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA (per Perseus's terms)
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This work is a practical didactic poem in elegiac couplets written by Ovid, guiding readers on how to find and retain love. Consisting of three books, the first two address a male audience, while the final book is directed toward women. In Book 1, the poet introduces suitable venues in Rome, such as theaters and circuses, and details the initial steps of courtship, utilizing various mythological examples. Book 2 advises men on how to preserve their hard-won love through attentiveness, submission, and bedroom intimacy. The focus shifts to women in Book 3, which offers concrete advice on personal grooming, social accomplishments like music and poetry, and the strategic use of jealousy and secrecy. Throughout the work, practical instruction is interwoven with myths, and the poem concludes with the author triumphantly proclaiming himself as the ultimate "teacher of love."
Contents
30 chunks
Cited by book.line
- §1.1-1.76
- §1.77-1.153
- §1.154-1.231
- §1.232-1.311
- §1.312-1.386
- §1.387-1.463
- §1.464-1.542
- §1.543-1.618
- §1.619-1.696
- §1.697-1.772
- §2.1-2.74
- §2.75-2.149
- §2.150-2.225
- §2.226-2.298
- §2.299-2.374
- §2.375-2.448
- §2.449-2.521
- §2.522-2.596
- §2.597-2.670
- §2.671-2.746
- §3.1-3.79
- §3.80-3.160
- §3.161-3.241
- §3.242-3.323
- §3.324-3.408
- §3.409-3.491
- §3.492-3.572
- §3.573-3.653
- §3.654-3.733
- §3.734-3.812