II.

Life

Ovid was born Publius Ovidius Naso into a family of the equestrian, or middle, class in Sulmo (now Sulmona), near Rome. Educated to practice law, he became highly proficient in the art of rhetoric, but his genius was essentially poetical, and he devoted most of his time and energy to writing verse. After inheriting his father's property, Ovid went to Athens to complete his education. He later traveled in Asia and Sicily with his friend Aemilius Macer, a Roman poet. By the age of 30, Ovid had been married three times and divorced twice, and he may have carried on an intimate relationship with the woman whom he celebrated in his poetry as Corinna. His private life was that of an exuberant, wealthy, and somewhat licentious man of letters. At Rome, where he lived until he was 50 years of age, he was often courted by the distinguished, and fashionable society of the city, including Emperor Augustus. In ad 8, Ovid was banished to Tomi, in the Roman province of Dacia (now Constanţa, Romania). According to Ovid, one reason for his banishment was the publication of Ars Amatoria, a poem on the art of love. More probably the poem, which had been in circulation for almost ten years, served merely as an excuse to expel him. A second reason, alluded to but never disclosed by Ovid, may have been his knowledge of a scandal involving the emperor's daughter, Julia. Ovid did not lose his citizenship and never gave up hope of returning to Rome, as revealed in the many poems written to his friends during his exile at Tomi, but his requests and those of his friends were unsuccessful. Ovid died at Tomi, an honored citizen of the town.