Happy 2,000th Anniversary, Ovid!

And to mark the occasion, the Irish Times publishes an essay by poet Nessa O'Mahony about the anthology that she recently co-edited with Paul Munden, Metamorphic: 21st Century Poets Respond to Ovid. O'Mahoney has adored Ovid's poetry since childhood. "Fast forward to 2017 when once again change seemed to be the watchword on everyone’s lips" she remarks. From there: 

Commentators speak of transformed political landscapes; there are regular accounts of blurred boundaries, whether between fact and fakery, or various gender identities. Public discourse is increasingly polarised and we don’t have to look too far for our marauding gods and satyrs, our gorgons with the ability to turn people into stone with a single stare.

So when I read an online article that 2017 was also the 2,000th anniversary of the Roman Poet, Ovid, I paid particular notice. In AD 17 (or possibly 18), Publius Ovidius Naso, to give him his full name, died in exile in the Black Sea port of Tomis (now Constanta in Romania). His sin had been to offend the emperor, Augustus Caesar, for verses that may have alluded to the scandal-riven Imperial Court, and from which he was dismissed in AD 8. The grief-stricken poet burnt his manuscripts, including the work that he would become most famous for. Luckily for us, his friends had earlier received copies of Metamorphoses, and they ensured its survival.

Learn more at the Irish Times.