IV.

Middle Period Works

In his middle period Ovid wrote the Metamorphoses, in 15 books. The work takes as its unifying theme the transformations recorded in mythology and legend from the creation of the world to the time of Roman emperor Julius Caesar, whose change into a celestial star marks the last of the series. Deservedly famous as a handbook of Greek mythology, it is composed in a witty and, at times, almost burlesque, or exaggerated spirit. The other work of the middle period is the Fasti, a poetic calendar describing the various Roman festivals and the legends connected with each. Of the projected 12 books, 1 for each month of the year, only the first 6 are extant.