Who (Re)told The Myths?

Ovid and Metamorphoses

Dear Classical Wisdom Reader, 

I’ve just spent the last hour talking to Stephen Fry, the famed actor and comedian about mythology… it was a blast. His knowledge, both in breadth and depth, was impressive! It was fascinating discussing just how understanding myths can be so illuminating in our here and now... especially with regards to technology. I will share that discussion with you as soon as it’s ready. 

In the meantime, please enjoy today’s members in depth article on one of the original men who retold the great myths. Described as both the most ambitious project taken on the history of world literature as well as one of the most influential, Ovid’s Metamorphoses defies categorization. 

But who was the mastermind behind this masterpiece? And why was it so unique... both then and now? Read below to find out! 

Members, you can also enjoy our Metamorphoses Ebook and read such classic tales as the story of Perseus, the woeful tale of Orpheus, and the creation of the universe itself below today’s article. 

All the best,

Anya Leonard

Founder and Director

Classical Wisdom

 P.S. Why do you think Mythology is so important to study? What element of it is so critical to understanding human nature and current events? Comment below and continue the great conversation…

The Mastermind and the Masterpiece

by Ben Potter

Ovid’s magnum opus was possibly the most ambitious project ever undertaken in the (then relatively young) history of world literature. Written between 2-8AD, this mythological masterpiece became a rival to that instant classic of the Augustan age, Virgil’s Aeneid. 

Not only was it even longer than Virgil’s epic, but thematically and stylistically it went above and beyond the scope of anything the Aeneid had managed. To use this as a critique of Virgil would be quite unfair. He’d written his epic to stand as a Latin language rival to the Greek works of Homer, as well as to divinely sanction Rome’s supremacy as the world superpower and, by association, cover the emperor and his family in glory; Ovid had neither of these aims.