{"id":527,"date":"2020-09-20T02:01:09","date_gmt":"2020-09-20T06:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/unromantest\/?post_type=chapter&p=527"},"modified":"2021-08-12T22:31:04","modified_gmt":"2021-08-13T02:31:04","slug":"ovid-and-exile","status":"web-only","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/unromantest\/chapter\/ovid-and-exile\/","title":{"raw":"Ovid and Exile","rendered":"Ovid and Exile"},"content":{"raw":"
OVID<\/strong><\/h5>\r\nPublius Ovidius Naso, more commonly known as [pb_glossary id=\"297\"]Ovid[\/pb_glossary], was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus Caesar in the early Roman empire. Born into a wealthy equestrian family, his father desired for him in his studies to focus on law and rhetoric; this would have no doubt come in handy later in the pursuit of an impressive political career as expected for Romans of Ovid\u2019s class and rank. Instead, Ovid set aside the minor public posts he did hold early in his life to become one of the most prominent Roman poets we know of today.\r\n\r\nMuch of Ovid\u2019s body of work deviated from the tradition of existing literature in Rome. For example, the narrative of Metamorphoses<\/em>\u2014considered to be Ovid\u2019s magnum opus\u2014follows a main theme of love and transformation; in contrast, Virgil\u2019s Aeneid<\/em> extolled Roman virtues such as piety, and featured a hero with whom the emperor could be identified with. Other prominent works by Ovid include Amores <\/em>and Ars Amatoria<\/em>, both of which touch upon controversial subjects that were considered to be morally corrupting to the reader; for example, he discusses extramarital affairs and explicit sexual acts.\r\n
THE EXILE OF OVID<\/strong><\/h5>\r\nIn 8 CE, Ovid was banished by the Emperor [pb_glossary id=\"69\"]Augustus[\/pb_glossary]. Ovid mentions two reasons for his banishment in Tristia<\/em> (one of the collections of poetic letters he wrote and addressed to family and friends in Rome during his exile): \u201ccarmen et error\u201d<\/em> \u2013 a poem and an error (Tristia <\/em>2.207). While we do not know for sure what this \u201cerror\u201d was, Ovid himself seems to indicate that the \u201cpoem\u201d in question is in fact Ars Amatoria<\/em>. During his reign, Emperor Augustus had passed and promoted legislation on ideas such as monogamy and family values, particularly the Julian Laws of 17-18 BCE. The topics on which much of Ovid\u2019s satirical work focused would have challenged and stood in opposition of the emperor\u2019s moral agenda; thus, at the height of his poetic career, Ovid was banished from the city of Rome. Because his official sentence was that of [pb_glossary id=\"889\"]relegation[\/pb_glossary], Ovid did not lose his citizenship and therefore kept the rights to his property and his marital status. The place of his exile, however, was punishment enough in itself. Tomis\u2014now modern-day Romania\u2014was a small town located on the coast of the Black Sea at the remote edge of the Roman empire. Its population consisted of mixed ethnicities including Greeks, Getics, and Indo-Europeans, all of whom did not speak Latin. With the sparsely populated Tomis\u2019 harsh climate and its being regularly subject to attacks from hostile local tribes, life here for Ovid was difficult in comparison to the populous city life he had known.[footnote]By the early first century CE, Rome\u2019s population had reached several million.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nThough he seemed to have come to terms with his predicament towards the end of his life, Ovid never ceased his pleas for forgiveness from the emperor of Rome. However, neither Augustus nor his successor, Tiberius, granted him his pardon. Ovid died in Tomis in 17\/18 CE.\r\n
TRISTIA<\/strong><\/h5>\r\nTristia <\/em>is one of two collections of poetic letters written by Ovid during his exile to his wife, family, and peers in Rome. In these poems, Ovid relates the details of his much-decreased standard of living and continued to plead his case to the emperor and his friends (Batty 1994, 88). Ovid\u2019s exile poetry is also where much of our understanding of his biographical details originate; in the following passage, Ovid describes his childhood and progression towards a career in the arts. Interestingly, \u00a0the nature of Ovid's career as a poet goes against the typical career path expected to be taken by the Roman male -- this makes his career somewhat unRoman.\r\n
We began our education at a tender age, and, through\r\n\r\nour father\u2019s care, went to men distinguished in the city\u2019s arts.\r\n\r\nMy brother tended towards oratory from his early years:\r\n\r\nhe was born to the harsh weapons of the noisy forum:\r\n\r\nbut even as a boy the heavenly rites delighted me,\r\n\r\nand the\u00a0Muse\u00a0was drawing me secretly to her work.\r\n\r\nMy father often said: \u2018Why follow useless studies?\u2019[footnote]Men of Ovid\u2019s equestrian birth would have been expected to pursue and obtain an impressive political career filled with law and rhetoric, not write flowery poetry as their main occupation (a surprising number of them seem to have done this on the side, including, of all people, Cicero, who wrote erotic poetry to his secretary, Tiro).[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nMaeonian Homer[footnote]Homer is the legendary oral poet to whom the\u00a0Iliad\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Odyssey\u00a0<\/em>is attributed. \u201cMaeonian\u201d is a reference either to his place of birth, or possibly the name of his father[\/footnote]\u00a0himself left no wealth behind.\u2019\r\n\r\nMoved by his words, and leaving\u00a0[pb_glossary id=\"1488\"]Helicon[\/pb_glossary]\u00a0alone,[footnote]By \u201cleaving Helicon\u201d behind, Ovid attempts to abandon poetry (but fails).[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nI tried to write words that were free of metre.\r\n\r\nBut verse came, of itself, in the right measures,\r\n\r\nand whatever I tried to write was poetry.\r\n\r\nMeanwhile, as the silent-footed years slipped by,\r\n\r\nmy brother and I assumed the freer adult\u00a0[pb_glossary id=\"1489\"]toga[\/pb_glossary]<\/em>:[footnote]Male Roman citizens assumed the toga virilis<\/em> at age 15, indicating a transition to adulthood[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nour shoulders carried the broad purple stripe,\r\n\r\nour studies remained what they were before.\r\n\r\nMy brother had just doubled his first ten years of life,\r\n\r\nwhen he died, and I went on, part of myself lost.\r\n\r\nStill, I achieved tender youth\u2019s first honours,\r\n\r\nsince at that time I was one of the\u00a0[pb_glossary id=\"1490\"]tresviri[\/pb_glossary]<\/em>.[footnote]Specifically, Ovid held the post of\u00a0tresviri capitales<\/em>, in which he had duties such as overseeing prisons and executions[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nThe [pb_glossary id=\"1493\"]Senate[\/pb_glossary] awaited me: I narrowed my purple stripe:[footnote]The\u00a0trabea\u00a0<\/em>toga, or perhaps the toga praetexta<\/em>, worn by men of Ovid\u2019s equestrian rank, was also white and also often with purple stripe. (See the section on [pb_glossary id=\"1489\"]toga[\/pb_glossary] for more information) [\/footnote]\r\n\r\nit would have been an effort too great for my powers.\r\n\r\nI\u2019d neither the strength of body, nor aptitude of mind\r\n\r\nfor that vocation, and I shunned ambition\u2019s cares,\r\n\r\nand the\u00a0Aonian[footnote]Though the exact location is uncertain, Aonia is typically associated with ancient Boetia (the region of Greece where [pb_glossary id=\"1488\"]Mount Helicon[\/pb_glossary], sacred to the Muses, is found). Therefore,\u00a0Aonian<\/em>\u00a0is often used interchangeably with\u00a0Heliconian<\/em>[\/footnote]\u00a0Muses urged me on to seek\r\n\r\nthat safe seclusion my tastes always loved.\r\n\r\nTristia<\/em> 4.10.1-40<\/blockquote>\r\nIn the following passage, Ovid describes his journey to Tomis, his place of exile. Much like [pb_glossary id=\"76\"]Cicero[\/pb_glossary], Ovid's dejection is apparent in his writings:\r\n
\r\n

I\u2019m forced to touch the wild left shore of [pb_glossary id=\"899\"]Pontus[\/pb_glossary][footnote]The Black Sea; Ovid uses this name to refer to the region in which Tomis was located. In Rome, the \u201cleft\u201d side was considered to be unfavourable and distrustful (in the original Latin, laevi\u2014the word used for \u201cleft\u201d\u2014can also be translated as unlucky)[\/footnote]:<\/p>\r\n

I complain my flight from my native land\u2019s[footnote]The city of Rome[\/footnote] too slow.<\/p>\r\n

I pray for the journey to be shorter,<\/p>\r\n

to see the people of\u00a0[pb_glossary id=\"901\"]Tomis[\/pb_glossary]\u00a0in their unknown world.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

If you[footnote]The \u201cyou\u201d Ovid addresses are the \u201cGods of the sea and sky\u201d (Tristia 1.2.1)[\/footnote]love me, hold back these breakers,<\/p>\r\n

and let your powers favour the ship:<\/p>\r\n

or if you hate me deeply, drive me to the land assigned,<\/p>\r\n

part of my\u00a0punishment\u00a0is in the place.[footnote]Indication that the location for Ovid\u2019s place of exile was chosen intentionally as a means of punishment; this is evident as the vast body of his following verses detail Ovid\u2019s unhappy days and displeasure of living in Tomis.[\/footnote]<\/p>\r\n

Drive my body on swiftly, winds \u2013 why linger here? \u2013<\/p>\r\n

Why do my sails desire\u00a0Italy\u2019s shores?<\/p>\r\n

Caesar does not want this. Why hold one he expels?[footnote]Here, Ovid alludes that Augustus Caesar himself ordered Ovid\u2019s exile.[\/footnote]<\/p>\r\n

Let the land of Pontus see my face.<\/p>\r\n

He orders it, I deserve it: nor do I think it pious<\/p>\r\n

or lawful to defend a guilt he condemns.<\/p>\r\n

Yet if mortal actions never deceive the gods,<\/p>\r\n

you know that crime was absent from my fault.[footnote]Ovid claims that there was no intent behind the crime he committed.[\/footnote]<\/p>\r\n

Ah, if you know it, if my error[footnote]One of the famous references to the \u201cerror\u201d that Ovid claims led to his expulsion from Rome. We do not exactly know what this error was.[\/footnote] has misled me,<\/p>\r\n

if my thought was foolish, but not wicked,<\/p>\r\n

if as the humblest may I\u2019ve favoured that House,<\/p>\r\n

if Augustus\u2019s [pb_glossary id=\"902\"]statutory law[\/pb_glossary][footnote]The law referred to here are almost certainly the Julian laws of 17-18 BCE, moral legislation in which Augustus limits marriage across social classes and punishes adultery with banishment (these laws were later exercised upon Augustus\u2019 own daughter and granddaughter). As he will go on to elaborate, Ovid believes that his work\u00a0Ars Amatoria\u00a0<\/em>(the \u201cArt of Love\u201d), which stood in direct opposition of Augustus\u2019 moral legislation, were a part of the reasons why he was exiled.[\/footnote] was enough for me,<\/p>\r\n

if I\u2019ve sung of the happy age with him as Leader,<\/p>\r\n

and offered incense for Caesar and the Caesars[footnote]Refers to Augustus Caesar and his ancestors (e.g. Julius Caesar); later, \u201cCaesar\u201d transitioned from its origin as a family name to a title that was adopted by most Roman Emperors[\/footnote] \u2013<\/p>\r\n

if such was my intent, spare me, gods!<\/p>\r\n

Tristia<\/em> 1.2.75-110<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

WHY WAS OVID IN EXILE<\/strong><\/h5>\r\nIn this passage, Ovid recounts his emotional actions towards his famous work, Metamorphoses<\/em>, in the face of his exile.\r\n
Leaving, mournful, I threw it[footnote]Referring to the\u00a0Metamorphoses<\/em>: here Ovid recounts that in the face of his exile, he threw the manuscript of magnum opus into the fire (luckily, it was not the only copy).[\/footnote] on the fire, myself,\r\n\r\nalong with so many other things of mine.\r\n\r\nAs\u00a0[pb_glossary id=\"905\"]Althaea[\/pb_glossary], they say, burning the brand, burned\r\n\r\nher son, and proved a better sister than a mother,[footnote]Althaea killed her son in revenge for her brothers[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nso I threw the innocent books, that had to die with me,\r\n\r\nmy vital parts, on the devouring pyre:\r\n\r\nbecause I detested the\u00a0[pb_glossary id=\"1090\"]Muses[\/pb_glossary], my accusers,[footnote]Because his poetry condemned him, he expresses temporary hatred for the Muses[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nor because the poem was rough and still unfinished.\r\n\r\nThe verses were not totally destroyed: they survive \u2013\r\n\r\nseveral copies of the writings, I think, were made \u2013\r\n\r\nNow I pray they live, and with industrious leisure\r\n\r\ndelight the reader, serve as a reminder of me.\r\n\r\nTristia <\/em>1.7.15-26<\/blockquote>\r\nOvid elaborates on the reasons behind his exile:\r\n
Though two charges,\u00a0carmen et error<\/em>, a poem and an error,[footnote]A poem and a mistake.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nruined me, I must be silent about the second fault:[footnote]We do not know exactly what this error was. However, there is usually a general consensus that the error was either sexual or political.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nI\u2019m not important enough to re-open your wound, Caesar,\r\n\r\nit\u2019s more than sufficient you should be troubled once.\r\n\r\nThe first, then: that\u00a0I\u2019m accused\u00a0of being a teacher\r\n\r\nof obscene adultery, by means of a vile poem.[footnote]It is widely believed that the poem (carmen<\/em>) he is referring to is his work Ars Amatoria (the Art of Love), which counsels the reader on how to maintain illicit relationships in Rome. As the work promoted positive views on topics such as sexual practices (whether within or outside of marriage) and extramarital affairs (e.g. obscene adultery), it was considered to be morally corrupting and would have been something that the more austere Augustus Caesar could not condone; as a result, many (including Ovid) believe that this poem is the reason that Ovid was exiled. As a part of his defense plea in following lines of poetry within the same book, Ovid cites many Greek and Roman poets preceding him who also approach topics similar to his work and yet are never reprimanded (Tristia\u00a0<\/em>2.361-470).[\/footnote]\r\n\r\n\u2026\r\n\r\nYet if, by chance, as I wish, you\u2019d had the time\r\n\r\nyou\u2019d have read nothing criminal in my \u2018Art\u2019.[footnote]Refers to\u00a0Ars Amatoria\u00a0<\/em>[The Art of Love][\/footnote]\r\n\r\nI confess the poem was written without a serious\r\n\r\nface,[footnote]Ovid claims the poems that have seemingly incriminated him were not written in a serious manner, and therefore should not have been taken so seriously[\/footnote] unworthy of being read by so great a prince:\r\n\r\nbut that doesn\u2019t render it contrary to established law,\r\n\r\nor destined to teach the daughters of Rome.\r\n\r\nAnd so you can\u2019t doubt whom I wrote it for,\r\n\r\none of the\u00a0three books\u00a0has these four lines:\r\n\r\n\u2018Far away from here, you badges of modesty,\r\n\r\nthe thin headband, the ankle-covering dress.[footnote]Proper Roman matrons were supposed to wear a fillet (typically a narrow headband of cloth) and the\u00a0stola<\/em>\u00a0(a full-length and restricting dress)[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nI sing\u00a0what is lawful<\/em>, permissible intrigue,\r\n\r\nand there\u2019ll be nothing sinful in my song.\u2019\r\n\r\nHaven\u2019t I rigidly excluded from this \u2018Art\u2019\r\n\r\nall whom the wife\u2019s headband and dress deny?[footnote]Here, Ovid claims that his work began by warning away virtuous and modest women; therefore, it should not have corrupted anyone who should not have been corrupted. In regard to \u201cheadband and dress\u201d, see the previous note.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nTristia <\/em>2.207-252<\/blockquote>\r\nIn the following passage, Ovid gives a hearty defence for his actions, and for the poem that caused his exile.\r\n
If I\u2019m allowed to present it in order, I\u2019ll show, below,\r\n\r\nthe mind can be harmed by every sort of poem.\r\n\r\nYet every book\u2019s not guilty because of it:\r\n\r\nnothing\u2019s useful, that can\u2019t also wound.\r\n\r\nWhat\u2019s more useful than fire? Yet whoever sets out\r\n\r\nto commit arson, arms his bold hands with fire.\r\n\r\nMedicine sometimes grants health, sometimes destroy it,\r\n\r\nshowing which plants are helpful, which do harm.\r\n\r\nThe robber and cautious traveller both wear a sword:\r\n\r\none for ambush, the other for defence.\r\n\r\nEloquence is learnt to plead just causes:\r\n\r\nit protects the guilty, crushes the innocent.[footnote]Ovid is perhaps arguing that, if it is fair that guilty people often go free, it means that they have defended themselves well - a skill put to good use, so their release is therefore justified.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nSo with verse, read with a virtuous mind\r\n\r\nit\u2019ll be established nothing of mine will harm.[footnote]Ovid reasserts that if one possessed a virtuous mind to begin with, they should not have been corrupted by his work.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\n\u2026\r\n\r\nAnything can corrupt a perverted mind:\r\n\r\neverything\u2019s harmless in its proper place.[footnote]In addition to previous footnotes in this section, please see the previous section on women's proper dress[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nThe first page of my \u2018Art\u2019, a book\u00a0written\u00a0only\r\n\r\nfor courtesans, warns noblewomen\u2019s hands away.[footnote]Ovid again asserts that his works were intended towards courtesans, not proper noblewomen[\/footnote]\r\n\r\n\u2026\r\n\r\nTristia <\/em>2.253-312<\/blockquote>\r\n
OVID AMONG THE UNROMANS<\/strong><\/h5>\r\nOvid describes his trials and tribulations in living among the extremely un-Roman behaving Getae in Tomis, amongst other populations. More significantly, his anguish is evident as he describes the deterioration in his ability to speak Latin; as a poet, language was his most important tool (Grebe 2010, 496).\r\n
If I look at the place,[footnote]The place in question is Tomis, the location of Ovid\u2019s exile.[\/footnote] the place is hateful,\r\n\r\nand nothing could be sadder on this earth,\r\n\r\nif at the people, they barely deserve the name,\r\n\r\nthey\u2019ve more cruel savagery in them than wolves.[footnote]Ovid considers his surrounding population to barely be people. Wolves were a traditional symbol of savagery in Rome, as well as being a symbol of Rome itself.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nThey fear no law: justice yields to force,\r\n\r\nand right is overturned by the sword\u2019s aggression.[footnote]Ovid claims that the people of Tomis do not follow the law; they value physical power (contrast this with Rome and the importance of laws and courts).[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nThey keep off the evils of cold with pelts\r\n\r\nand loose trousers,[footnote]Again, respectable Roman men would never wear pants\/trousers[\/footnote] shaggy faces hidden in long hair.[footnote]This appearance stands in stark contrast to the neat, well-groomed, and civilised Roman man who did not ever wear trousers.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nA few still retain vestiges of the Greek language,[footnote]Though Tomis was technically a Greek colony, it had long since lost the Greek culture (Batty 1994, 91)[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nthough even this the Getic pronunciation barbarises.[footnote]Of all the \u201cbarbaric\u201d tongues Ovid encountered, Getic is the one he mentions the most; there is the possibility that Ovid didn\u2019t exactly discern many differences between all the foreign tongues he encountered (Gehman 1915, 51)[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nThere\u2019s not a single one of the population who might\r\n\r\nchance to utter a few words of Latin while speaking.\r\n\r\nI<\/a>, the Roman poet \u2013 forgive me, [pb_glossary id=\"1090\"]Muses[\/pb_glossary]!\u2013\r\n\r\nam forced to speak [pb_glossary id=\"1496\"]Sarmatian[\/pb_glossary][footnote]The Sarmatians were another local nomadic tribe that passed by Tomis[\/footnote] for the most part.\r\n\r\nSee, I\u2019m ashamed to admit it, from long disuse,\r\n\r\nnow, the Latin words scarcely even occur to me.[footnote]Latin was (and still is) a difficult language. Being able to handle Latin was the marker of an educated Roman citizen. For a poet at the level on which Ovid stood, Latin would have been doubly important to his identity. Having to lower himself to a regional dialect in order to communicate and thus losing his handle on Latin would have been a devastating blow to the already miserable Ovid.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nI don\u2019t doubt there are more than a few barbarisms\r\n\r\nin this book: it\u2019s not the man\u2019s fault but this place.B[footnote]lames the location of Tomis for any instances of \u201cbarbarisms\u201d in his work[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nYet, lest I lose the use of the Italian language,\r\n\r\nand my own voice be muted in its native tongue,\r\n\r\nI speak to myself, using forgotten phrases,\r\n\r\nand retrace the ill-fated symbols of my studies.[footnote]Ovid turns to and continues to write his poetry in order to retain his ability to speak and write Latin.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nTristia<\/em> 5.7.43-68\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nI often search for a word, a name, a location,\r\n\r\nand there\u2019s no one I can ask, to be more certain.\r\n\r\nOften in trying to say something \u2013 shameful confession! \u2013\r\n\r\nwords fail me, and I\u2019ve forgotten how to speak.[footnote]Ovid admits that he is forgetting Latin.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nThracian\u00a0and\u00a0Scythian\u00a0tongues sound round me,\r\n\r\nand I think I could almost write in\u00a0Getic<\/a>\u00a0metres.\r\n\r\nBelieve me, I\u2019m afraid lest you read the words\r\n\r\nof\u00a0Pontus, in my writings, mixed with the Latin.[footnote]Here Ovid tells us that his Latin has been \u201ccorrupted\u201d with Getic and Sarmatian words (Grebe 2010, 496)[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nSo, whatever this book may be, think it worth your\r\n\r\nfavour and pardon, given the nature of my fate.\r\n\r\n(Tristia<\/em> 3.14.1-52)\r\n\r\n <\/blockquote>\r\n
Here too I recognise the threads spun at my birth,[footnote]Ancient Romans (and the Greeks before them) believed that a person\u2019s lifespan relied on their Threads of Life, which were spun, measured, and cut by deities often referred to as the Fates[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nthreads of a black fleece,[footnote]Perhaps alluding to the Golden Fleece, with \"black\" reference to the way that Jason originally obtained the Freece on his quest - with magic. Or, simply perhaps the fact that the Golden Fleece was found near the Black Sea.[\/footnote] twisted for me.\r\n\r\nTo say nothing of ambush, or the risks to my life,\r\n\r\nreal, but too serious for their reality to be believed,\r\n\r\nhow wretched to be living among\u00a0[pb_glossary id=\"1494\"]Bessi[\/pb_glossary]\u00a0\u00a0and\u00a0Getae,\r\n\r\na man who was always there on people\u2019s lips!\r\n\r\nHow wretched to defend my life, at gate and wall,\r\n\r\nscarcely protected by the strength of the place![footnote]As a town at the edge of an empire, Tomis was constantly under attack by raiders and passer-byers[\/footnote]\r\n\r\n\u2026\r\n\r\n(Tristia <\/em>4.1.49-71)<\/blockquote>\r\n \r\n\r\nWorks Cited\r\n\r\nBatty, R. M. 1994. \u201cOn Getic and Sarmatian Shores: Ovid\u2019s Account of the Danube Lands.\u201d Historia: Zeitschrift F\u00fcr Alte Geschichte<\/em> 43 (1): 88\u2013111.\r\n\r\nGehman, Henry S. 1915. \u201cOvid\u2019s Experience with Languages at Tomi.\u201d The Classical Journal<\/em> 11 (1): 50\u201355.\r\n\r\nGrebe, Sabine. 2010. \u201cWhy Did Ovid Associate His Exile with a Living Death?\u201d The Classical World<\/em> 103 (4): 491\u2013509.\r\n\r\nOvid.\u00a0Tristia. <\/em>Translated by A. S. Kline. Poetry in Translation, 2003.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nBibliography and Further Reading:\r\n\r\n\u201cGreek & Roman Mythology - Remythologizing.\u201d n.d. Accessed April 10, 2019. http:\/\/www.classics.upenn.edu\/myth\/php\/remyth\/index.php?page=ovid<\/a>.\r\n\r\nGreen, Peter. 1982. \u201cOvid in Tomis.\u201d Grand Street<\/em> 2 (1): 116\u201325.\r\n\r\n\u201cLatin Literature | Britannica.Com.\u201d n.d. Accessed April 10, 2019. https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/Latin-literature<\/a>.\r\n\r\n\u201cOvid | Roman Poet | Britannica.Com.\u201d n.d. Accessed March 11, 2019. https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Ovid-Roman-poet<\/a>.\r\n\r\nWiedemann, Thomas. 1975. \u201cThe Political Background to Ovid\u2019s Tristia 2.\u201d The Classical Quarterly<\/em> 25 (2): 264\u201371.\r\n
 <\/blockquote>","rendered":"
OVID<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Publius Ovidius Naso, more commonly known as Ovid<\/a>, was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus Caesar in the early Roman empire. Born into a wealthy equestrian family, his father desired for him in his studies to focus on law and rhetoric; this would have no doubt come in handy later in the pursuit of an impressive political career as expected for Romans of Ovid\u2019s class and rank. Instead, Ovid set aside the minor public posts he did hold early in his life to become one of the most prominent Roman poets we know of today.<\/p>\n

Much of Ovid\u2019s body of work deviated from the tradition of existing literature in Rome. For example, the narrative of Metamorphoses<\/em>\u2014considered to be Ovid\u2019s magnum opus\u2014follows a main theme of love and transformation; in contrast, Virgil\u2019s Aeneid<\/em> extolled Roman virtues such as piety, and featured a hero with whom the emperor could be identified with. Other prominent works by Ovid include Amores <\/em>and Ars Amatoria<\/em>, both of which touch upon controversial subjects that were considered to be morally corrupting to the reader; for example, he discusses extramarital affairs and explicit sexual acts.<\/p>\n

THE EXILE OF OVID<\/strong><\/h5>\n

In 8 CE, Ovid was banished by the Emperor Augustus<\/a>. Ovid mentions two reasons for his banishment in Tristia<\/em> (one of the collections of poetic letters he wrote and addressed to family and friends in Rome during his exile): \u201ccarmen et error\u201d<\/em> \u2013 a poem and an error (Tristia <\/em>2.207). While we do not know for sure what this \u201cerror\u201d was, Ovid himself seems to indicate that the \u201cpoem\u201d in question is in fact Ars Amatoria<\/em>. During his reign, Emperor Augustus had passed and promoted legislation on ideas such as monogamy and family values, particularly the Julian Laws of 17-18 BCE. The topics on which much of Ovid\u2019s satirical work focused would have challenged and stood in opposition of the emperor\u2019s moral agenda; thus, at the height of his poetic career, Ovid was banished from the city of Rome. Because his official sentence was that of relegation<\/a>, Ovid did not lose his citizenship and therefore kept the rights to his property and his marital status. The place of his exile, however, was punishment enough in itself. Tomis\u2014now modern-day Romania\u2014was a small town located on the coast of the Black Sea at the remote edge of the Roman empire. Its population consisted of mixed ethnicities including Greeks, Getics, and Indo-Europeans, all of whom did not speak Latin. With the sparsely populated Tomis\u2019 harsh climate and its being regularly subject to attacks from hostile local tribes, life here for Ovid was difficult in comparison to the populous city life he had known.[1]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Though he seemed to have come to terms with his predicament towards the end of his life, Ovid never ceased his pleas for forgiveness from the emperor of Rome. However, neither Augustus nor his successor, Tiberius, granted him his pardon. Ovid died in Tomis in 17\/18 CE.<\/p>\n

TRISTIA<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Tristia <\/em>is one of two collections of poetic letters written by Ovid during his exile to his wife, family, and peers in Rome. In these poems, Ovid relates the details of his much-decreased standard of living and continued to plead his case to the emperor and his friends (Batty 1994, 88). Ovid\u2019s exile poetry is also where much of our understanding of his biographical details originate; in the following passage, Ovid describes his childhood and progression towards a career in the arts. Interestingly, \u00a0the nature of Ovid’s career as a poet goes against the typical career path expected to be taken by the Roman male — this makes his career somewhat unRoman.<\/p>\n

We began our education at a tender age, and, through<\/p>\n

our father\u2019s care, went to men distinguished in the city\u2019s arts.<\/p>\n

My brother tended towards oratory from his early years:<\/p>\n

he was born to the harsh weapons of the noisy forum:<\/p>\n

but even as a boy the heavenly rites delighted me,<\/p>\n

and the\u00a0Muse\u00a0was drawing me secretly to her work.<\/p>\n

My father often said: \u2018Why follow useless studies?\u2019[2]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Maeonian Homer[3]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0himself left no wealth behind.\u2019<\/p>\n

Moved by his words, and leaving\u00a0Helicon<\/a>\u00a0alone,[4]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

I tried to write words that were free of metre.<\/p>\n

But verse came, of itself, in the right measures,<\/p>\n

and whatever I tried to write was poetry.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, as the silent-footed years slipped by,<\/p>\n

my brother and I assumed the freer adult\u00a0toga<\/a><\/em>:[5]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

our shoulders carried the broad purple stripe,<\/p>\n

our studies remained what they were before.<\/p>\n

My brother had just doubled his first ten years of life,<\/p>\n

when he died, and I went on, part of myself lost.<\/p>\n

Still, I achieved tender youth\u2019s first honours,<\/p>\n

since at that time I was one of the\u00a0tresviri<\/em>.[6]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

The Senate<\/a> awaited me: I narrowed my purple stripe:[7]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

it would have been an effort too great for my powers.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d neither the strength of body, nor aptitude of mind<\/p>\n

for that vocation, and I shunned ambition\u2019s cares,<\/p>\n

and the\u00a0Aonian[8]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Muses urged me on to seek<\/p>\n

that safe seclusion my tastes always loved.<\/p>\n

Tristia<\/em> 4.10.1-40<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the following passage, Ovid describes his journey to Tomis, his place of exile. Much like Cicero<\/a>, Ovid’s dejection is apparent in his writings:<\/p>\n

\n

I\u2019m forced to touch the wild left shore of Pontus<\/a>[9]<\/sup><\/a>:<\/p>\n

I complain my flight from my native land\u2019s[10]<\/sup><\/a> too slow.<\/p>\n

I pray for the journey to be shorter,<\/p>\n

to see the people of\u00a0Tomis<\/a>\u00a0in their unknown world.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you[11]<\/sup><\/a>love me, hold back these breakers,<\/p>\n

and let your powers favour the ship:<\/p>\n

or if you hate me deeply, drive me to the land assigned,<\/p>\n

part of my\u00a0punishment\u00a0is in the place.[12]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Drive my body on swiftly, winds \u2013 why linger here? \u2013<\/p>\n

Why do my sails desire\u00a0Italy\u2019s shores?<\/p>\n

Caesar does not want this. Why hold one he expels?[13]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Let the land of Pontus see my face.<\/p>\n

He orders it, I deserve it: nor do I think it pious<\/p>\n

or lawful to defend a guilt he condemns.<\/p>\n

Yet if mortal actions never deceive the gods,<\/p>\n

you know that crime was absent from my fault.[14]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Ah, if you know it, if my error[15]<\/sup><\/a> has misled me,<\/p>\n

if my thought was foolish, but not wicked,<\/p>\n

if as the humblest may I\u2019ve favoured that House,<\/p>\n

if Augustus\u2019s statutory law<\/a>[16]<\/sup><\/a> was enough for me,<\/p>\n

if I\u2019ve sung of the happy age with him as Leader,<\/p>\n

and offered incense for Caesar and the Caesars[17]<\/sup><\/a> \u2013<\/p>\n

if such was my intent, spare me, gods!<\/p>\n

Tristia<\/em> 1.2.75-110<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

WHY WAS OVID IN EXILE<\/strong><\/h5>\n

In this passage, Ovid recounts his emotional actions towards his famous work, Metamorphoses<\/em>, in the face of his exile.<\/p>\n

Leaving, mournful, I threw it[18]<\/sup><\/a> on the fire, myself,<\/p>\n

along with so many other things of mine.<\/p>\n

As\u00a0Althaea<\/a>, they say, burning the brand, burned<\/p>\n

her son, and proved a better sister than a mother,[19]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

so I threw the innocent books, that had to die with me,<\/p>\n

my vital parts, on the devouring pyre:<\/p>\n

because I detested the\u00a0Muses<\/a>, my accusers,[20]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

or because the poem was rough and still unfinished.<\/p>\n

The verses were not totally destroyed: they survive \u2013<\/p>\n

several copies of the writings, I think, were made \u2013<\/p>\n

Now I pray they live, and with industrious leisure<\/p>\n

delight the reader, serve as a reminder of me.<\/p>\n

Tristia <\/em>1.7.15-26<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ovid elaborates on the reasons behind his exile:<\/p>\n

Though two charges,\u00a0carmen et error<\/em>, a poem and an error,[21]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

ruined me, I must be silent about the second fault:[22]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not important enough to re-open your wound, Caesar,<\/p>\n

it\u2019s more than sufficient you should be troubled once.<\/p>\n

The first, then: that\u00a0I\u2019m accused\u00a0of being a teacher<\/p>\n

of obscene adultery, by means of a vile poem.[23]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

\u2026<\/p>\n

Yet if, by chance, as I wish, you\u2019d had the time<\/p>\n

you\u2019d have read nothing criminal in my \u2018Art\u2019.[24]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

I confess the poem was written without a serious<\/p>\n

face,[25]<\/sup><\/a> unworthy of being read by so great a prince:<\/p>\n

but that doesn\u2019t render it contrary to established law,<\/p>\n

or destined to teach the daughters of Rome.<\/p>\n

And so you can\u2019t doubt whom I wrote it for,<\/p>\n

one of the\u00a0three books\u00a0has these four lines:<\/p>\n

\u2018Far away from here, you badges of modesty,<\/p>\n

the thin headband, the ankle-covering dress.[26]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

I sing\u00a0what is lawful<\/em>, permissible intrigue,<\/p>\n

and there\u2019ll be nothing sinful in my song.\u2019<\/p>\n

Haven\u2019t I rigidly excluded from this \u2018Art\u2019<\/p>\n

all whom the wife\u2019s headband and dress deny?[27]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Tristia <\/em>2.207-252<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the following passage, Ovid gives a hearty defence for his actions, and for the poem that caused his exile.<\/p>\n

If I\u2019m allowed to present it in order, I\u2019ll show, below,<\/p>\n

the mind can be harmed by every sort of poem.<\/p>\n

Yet every book\u2019s not guilty because of it:<\/p>\n

nothing\u2019s useful, that can\u2019t also wound.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more useful than fire? Yet whoever sets out<\/p>\n

to commit arson, arms his bold hands with fire.<\/p>\n

Medicine sometimes grants health, sometimes destroy it,<\/p>\n

showing which plants are helpful, which do harm.<\/p>\n

The robber and cautious traveller both wear a sword:<\/p>\n

one for ambush, the other for defence.<\/p>\n

Eloquence is learnt to plead just causes:<\/p>\n

it protects the guilty, crushes the innocent.[28]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

So with verse, read with a virtuous mind<\/p>\n

it\u2019ll be established nothing of mine will harm.[29]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

\u2026<\/p>\n

Anything can corrupt a perverted mind:<\/p>\n

everything\u2019s harmless in its proper place.[30]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

The first page of my \u2018Art\u2019, a book\u00a0written\u00a0only<\/p>\n

for courtesans, warns noblewomen\u2019s hands away.[31]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

\u2026<\/p>\n

Tristia <\/em>2.253-312<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

OVID AMONG THE UNROMANS<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Ovid describes his trials and tribulations in living among the extremely un-Roman behaving Getae in Tomis, amongst other populations. More significantly, his anguish is evident as he describes the deterioration in his ability to speak Latin; as a poet, language was his most important tool (Grebe 2010, 496).<\/p>\n

If I look at the place,[32]<\/sup><\/a> the place is hateful,<\/p>\n

and nothing could be sadder on this earth,<\/p>\n

if at the people, they barely deserve the name,<\/p>\n

they\u2019ve more cruel savagery in them than wolves.[33]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

They fear no law: justice yields to force,<\/p>\n

and right is overturned by the sword\u2019s aggression.[34]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

They keep off the evils of cold with pelts<\/p>\n

and loose trousers,[35]<\/sup><\/a> shaggy faces hidden in long hair.[36]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

A few still retain vestiges of the Greek language,[37]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

though even this the Getic pronunciation barbarises.[38]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

There\u2019s not a single one of the population who might<\/p>\n

chance to utter a few words of Latin while speaking.<\/p>\n

I<\/a>, the Roman poet \u2013 forgive me, Muses<\/a>!\u2013<\/p>\n

am forced to speak Sarmatian<\/a>[39]<\/sup><\/a> for the most part.<\/p>\n

See, I\u2019m ashamed to admit it, from long disuse,<\/p>\n

now, the Latin words scarcely even occur to me.[40]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t doubt there are more than a few barbarisms<\/p>\n

in this book: it\u2019s not the man\u2019s fault but this place.B[41]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Yet, lest I lose the use of the Italian language,<\/p>\n

and my own voice be muted in its native tongue,<\/p>\n

I speak to myself, using forgotten phrases,<\/p>\n

and retrace the ill-fated symbols of my studies.[42]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Tristia<\/em> 5.7.43-68<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I often search for a word, a name, a location,<\/p>\n

and there\u2019s no one I can ask, to be more certain.<\/p>\n

Often in trying to say something \u2013 shameful confession! \u2013<\/p>\n

words fail me, and I\u2019ve forgotten how to speak.[43]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Thracian\u00a0and\u00a0Scythian\u00a0tongues sound round me,<\/p>\n

and I think I could almost write in\u00a0Getic<\/a>\u00a0metres.<\/p>\n

Believe me, I\u2019m afraid lest you read the words<\/p>\n

of\u00a0Pontus, in my writings, mixed with the Latin.[44]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

So, whatever this book may be, think it worth your<\/p>\n

favour and pardon, given the nature of my fate.<\/p>\n

(Tristia<\/em> 3.14.1-52)<\/p>\n

 <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here too I recognise the threads spun at my birth,[45]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

threads of a black fleece,[46]<\/sup><\/a> twisted for me.<\/p>\n

To say nothing of ambush, or the risks to my life,<\/p>\n

real, but too serious for their reality to be believed,<\/p>\n

how wretched to be living among\u00a0Bessi<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0and\u00a0Getae,<\/p>\n

a man who was always there on people\u2019s lips!<\/p>\n

How wretched to defend my life, at gate and wall,<\/p>\n

scarcely protected by the strength of the place![47]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

\u2026<\/p>\n

(Tristia <\/em>4.1.49-71)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

Works Cited<\/p>\n

Batty, R. M. 1994. \u201cOn Getic and Sarmatian Shores: Ovid\u2019s Account of the Danube Lands.\u201d Historia: Zeitschrift F\u00fcr Alte Geschichte<\/em> 43 (1): 88\u2013111.<\/p>\n

Gehman, Henry S. 1915. \u201cOvid\u2019s Experience with Languages at Tomi.\u201d The Classical Journal<\/em> 11 (1): 50\u201355.<\/p>\n

Grebe, Sabine. 2010. \u201cWhy Did Ovid Associate His Exile with a Living Death?\u201d The Classical World<\/em> 103 (4): 491\u2013509.<\/p>\n

Ovid.\u00a0Tristia. <\/em>Translated by A. S. Kline. Poetry in Translation, 2003.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bibliography and Further Reading:<\/p>\n

\u201cGreek & Roman Mythology – Remythologizing.\u201d n.d. Accessed April 10, 2019. http:\/\/www.classics.upenn.edu\/myth\/php\/remyth\/index.php?page=ovid<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Green, Peter. 1982. \u201cOvid in Tomis.\u201d Grand Street<\/em> 2 (1): 116\u201325.<\/p>\n

\u201cLatin Literature | Britannica.Com.\u201d n.d. Accessed April 10, 2019. https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/Latin-literature<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cOvid | Roman Poet | Britannica.Com.\u201d n.d. Accessed March 11, 2019. https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Ovid-Roman-poet<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Wiedemann, Thomas. 1975. \u201cThe Political Background to Ovid\u2019s Tristia 2.\u201d The Classical Quarterly<\/em> 25 (2): 264\u201371.<\/p>\n

 <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

  1. By the early first century CE, Rome\u2019s population had reached several million. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  2. Men of Ovid\u2019s equestrian birth would have been expected to pursue and obtain an impressive political career filled with law and rhetoric, not write flowery poetry as their main occupation (a surprising number of them seem to have done this on the side, including, of all people, Cicero, who wrote erotic poetry to his secretary, Tiro). ↵<\/a><\/li>
  3. Homer is the legendary oral poet to whom the\u00a0Iliad\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Odyssey\u00a0<\/em>is attributed. \u201cMaeonian\u201d is a reference either to his place of birth, or possibly the name of his father ↵<\/a><\/li>
  4. By \u201cleaving Helicon\u201d behind, Ovid attempts to abandon poetry (but fails). ↵<\/a><\/li>
  5. Male Roman citizens assumed the toga virilis<\/em> at age 15, indicating a transition to adulthood ↵<\/a><\/li>
  6. Specifically, Ovid held the post of\u00a0tresviri capitales<\/em>, in which he had duties such as overseeing prisons and executions ↵<\/a><\/li>
  7. The\u00a0trabea\u00a0<\/em>toga, or perhaps the toga praetexta<\/em>, worn by men of Ovid\u2019s equestrian rank, was also white and also often with purple stripe. (See the section on [pb_glossary id=\"1489\"]toga[\/pb_glossary] for more information) ↵<\/a><\/li>
  8. Though the exact location is uncertain, Aonia is typically associated with ancient Boetia (the region of Greece where [pb_glossary id=\"1488\"]Mount Helicon[\/pb_glossary], sacred to the Muses, is found). Therefore,\u00a0Aonian<\/em>\u00a0is often used interchangeably with\u00a0Heliconian<\/em> ↵<\/a><\/li>
  9. The Black Sea; Ovid uses this name to refer to the region in which Tomis was located. In Rome, the \u201cleft\u201d side was considered to be unfavourable and distrustful (in the original Latin, laevi\u2014the word used for \u201cleft\u201d\u2014can also be translated as unlucky) ↵<\/a><\/li>
  10. The city of Rome ↵<\/a><\/li>
  11. The \u201cyou\u201d Ovid addresses are the \u201cGods of the sea and sky\u201d (Tristia 1.2.1) ↵<\/a><\/li>
  12. Indication that the location for Ovid\u2019s place of exile was chosen intentionally as a means of punishment; this is evident as the vast body of his following verses detail Ovid\u2019s unhappy days and displeasure of living in Tomis. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  13. Here, Ovid alludes that Augustus Caesar himself ordered Ovid\u2019s exile. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  14. Ovid claims that there was no intent behind the crime he committed. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  15. One of the famous references to the \u201cerror\u201d that Ovid claims led to his expulsion from Rome. We do not exactly know what this error was. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  16. The law referred to here are almost certainly the Julian laws of 17-18 BCE, moral legislation in which Augustus limits marriage across social classes and punishes adultery with banishment (these laws were later exercised upon Augustus\u2019 own daughter and granddaughter). As he will go on to elaborate, Ovid believes that his work\u00a0Ars Amatoria\u00a0<\/em>(the \u201cArt of Love\u201d), which stood in direct opposition of Augustus\u2019 moral legislation, were a part of the reasons why he was exiled. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  17. Refers to Augustus Caesar and his ancestors (e.g. Julius Caesar); later, \u201cCaesar\u201d transitioned from its origin as a family name to a title that was adopted by most Roman Emperors ↵<\/a><\/li>
  18. Referring to the\u00a0Metamorphoses<\/em>: here Ovid recounts that in the face of his exile, he threw the manuscript of magnum opus into the fire (luckily, it was not the only copy). ↵<\/a><\/li>
  19. Althaea killed her son in revenge for her brothers ↵<\/a><\/li>
  20. Because his poetry condemned him, he expresses temporary hatred for the Muses ↵<\/a><\/li>
  21. A poem and a mistake. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  22. We do not know exactly what this error was. However, there is usually a general consensus that the error was either sexual or political. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  23. It is widely believed that the poem (carmen<\/em>) he is referring to is his work Ars Amatoria (the Art of Love), which counsels the reader on how to maintain illicit relationships in Rome. As the work promoted positive views on topics such as sexual practices (whether within or outside of marriage) and extramarital affairs (e.g. obscene adultery), it was considered to be morally corrupting and would have been something that the more austere Augustus Caesar could not condone; as a result, many (including Ovid) believe that this poem is the reason that Ovid was exiled. As a part of his defense plea in following lines of poetry within the same book, Ovid cites many Greek and Roman poets preceding him who also approach topics similar to his work and yet are never reprimanded (Tristia\u00a0<\/em>2.361-470). ↵<\/a><\/li>
  24. Refers to\u00a0Ars Amatoria\u00a0<\/em>[The Art of Love] ↵<\/a><\/li>
  25. Ovid claims the poems that have seemingly incriminated him were not written in a serious manner, and therefore should not have been taken so seriously ↵<\/a><\/li>
  26. Proper Roman matrons were supposed to wear a fillet (typically a narrow headband of cloth) and the\u00a0stola<\/em>\u00a0(a full-length and restricting dress) ↵<\/a><\/li>
  27. Here, Ovid claims that his work began by warning away virtuous and modest women; therefore, it should not have corrupted anyone who should not have been corrupted. In regard to \u201cheadband and dress\u201d, see the previous note. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  28. Ovid is perhaps arguing that, if it is fair that guilty people often go free, it means that they have defended themselves well - a skill put to good use, so their release is therefore justified. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  29. Ovid reasserts that if one possessed a virtuous mind to begin with, they should not have been corrupted by his work. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  30. In addition to previous footnotes in this section, please see the previous section on women's proper dress ↵<\/a><\/li>
  31. Ovid again asserts that his works were intended towards courtesans, not proper noblewomen ↵<\/a><\/li>
  32. The place in question is Tomis, the location of Ovid\u2019s exile. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  33. Ovid considers his surrounding population to barely be people. Wolves were a traditional symbol of savagery in Rome, as well as being a symbol of Rome itself. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  34. Ovid claims that the people of Tomis do not follow the law; they value physical power (contrast this with Rome and the importance of laws and courts). ↵<\/a><\/li>
  35. Again, respectable Roman men would never wear pants\/trousers ↵<\/a><\/li>
  36. This appearance stands in stark contrast to the neat, well-groomed, and civilised Roman man who did not ever wear trousers. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  37. Though Tomis was technically a Greek colony, it had long since lost the Greek culture (Batty 1994, 91) ↵<\/a><\/li>
  38. Of all the \u201cbarbaric\u201d tongues Ovid encountered, Getic is the one he mentions the most; there is the possibility that Ovid didn\u2019t exactly discern many differences between all the foreign tongues he encountered (Gehman 1915, 51) ↵<\/a><\/li>
  39. The Sarmatians were another local nomadic tribe that passed by Tomis ↵<\/a><\/li>
  40. Latin was (and still is) a difficult language. Being able to handle Latin was the marker of an educated Roman citizen. For a poet at the level on which Ovid stood, Latin would have been doubly important to his identity. Having to lower himself to a regional dialect in order to communicate and thus losing his handle on Latin would have been a devastating blow to the already miserable Ovid. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  41. lames the location of Tomis for any instances of \u201cbarbarisms\u201d in his work ↵<\/a><\/li>
  42. Ovid turns to and continues to write his poetry in order to retain his ability to speak and write Latin. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  43. Ovid admits that he is forgetting Latin. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  44. Here Ovid tells us that his Latin has been \u201ccorrupted\u201d with Getic and Sarmatian words (Grebe 2010, 496) ↵<\/a><\/li>
  45. Ancient Romans (and the Greeks before them) believed that a person\u2019s lifespan relied on their Threads of Life, which were spun, measured, and cut by deities often referred to as the Fates ↵<\/a><\/li>
  46. Perhaps alluding to the Golden Fleece, with \"black\" reference to the way that Jason originally obtained the Freece on his quest - with magic. Or, simply perhaps the fact that the Golden Fleece was found near the Black Sea. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  47. As a town at the edge of an empire, Tomis was constantly under attack by raiders and passer-byers ↵<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>
    definition<\/span>