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The Metamorphoses of Ovid | 
 enlarge | Authors: Ovid, Allen Mandelbaum
Publisher: Harvest/HBJ Book
Category: Book
List Price: $20.00
Buy Used: $6.99
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Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 13429
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 576
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6 x 1.6
ISBN: 0156001268
Dewey Decimal Number: 873.01
EAN: 9780156001267
ASIN: 0156001268
Publication Date: April 1995
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
Publius Ovidius Naso, whom we know as Ovid, was already established as a writer when The Metamorphoses was published in A.D. 8, when he was 52 years old. It had taken him a decade to compose his great poem, during which time he published little, but the Roman world was still abuzz with excitement over his richly erotic Art of Love. So, unfortunately, was the court of Augustus Caesar, and the emperor banished the poet to what is now Romania. Augustus may have taken exception to the poet's turn to the impolite realm of the body--or he may have objected to a rumored affair between Ovid and the emperor's nymphomaniacal daughter Julia, who figures so prominently in Robert Graves's Claudius novels. The poet who had declared Rome to be his only home could have found no worse punishment than exile, but no amount of pleading could sway Augustus, and Ovid died on the shores of the Black Sea a decade later. Full of veiled political and historical references, The Metamorphoses lived on to become a permanent fixture in the canon of European literature. In Allen Mandelbaum's hands, it lives on for a new generation.
Product Description
Through Mandelbaums poetic artistry, this gloriously entertaining achievement of literature-classical myths filtered through the worldly and far from reverent sensibility of the Roman poet Ovid-is revealed anew. [An] extraordinary translation...brilliant (Booklist). With an Introduction by the Translator.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...
 Well Done, Attractive Volume March 4, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Lovely cover, pleasant font type, fabulous translation, plenty of space in the margins.
Few will criticize the translation. Some readers may complain about Mandelbaum's lack of footnotes and introductory essay. Mandelbaum doesn't provide footnotes; he only gives what Ovid gives. If there were notes, the volume would be too bulky. It's already 550+ pages, and the translator does offer closing remarks (much more tasteful and appropriate than an introductory essay). I think the space in the margins is more important than editor's/translator's footnotes; that way, if a question arises, the reader can do his own research and annotate his copy beside the text for himself.
Excellent Translation February 15, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This translation really captures the humor of the poem-I got it for college english and have really enjoyed the read.
Excellent translation, but no annotations June 26, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Mandelbaum's translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses is the best I have seen so far. It is a very accurate and original rendition of the poem, while also being very readable. This is my most highly recommended edition of Ovid's Metamorphoses because of its highly readable, enjoyable verse translation. Mandelbaum, who won the National Book Reward for his classic verse translation of Virgil's Aeneid, displays his unmatched skill and heart at translating Latin classics in this edition of Ovid's poem.
My only complaint about this book is that the book does not have any footnotes or table of contents whatsoever. The book has to be navigated by looking at the top margins.
I personally do not recommend the Oxford and Penguin editions of this book, as they are not as close to the original Latin, and the rhetorical quality is also not as good. Focus Classical Library's edition of
Ovid's Metamorphoses is very highly annotated with indispendable footnotes, outlines, headings, and index, but unfortunately its translation complicated is not as readable as Mandelbaum's.
For serious mythology learners who want an accurate, original rendition of the poem, I would recommend getting both this book and Mandelbaum's translation. Because of the Focus Classical Library edition's indispensable annotations and more literal translation (which includes all of the proper names Ovid uses in his original poem) and outline, serious readers might want to also buy that one in addition to the Mandelbaum translation.
Overall, this is THE edition of Ovid's Metamorphoses that you should get, whether you are a new reader or longtime classicist. This vivid, accurate, readable, page-turning book is truly a modern masterpiece.
 Good Mythology and a Strong Translation June 18, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Most mythology I have read has been in a prose format. Reading Ovid was a bit of a challenge but I found this translation much cleaner then several of the others I tried to read.
If you think by reading one mythology text you have already encountered everything you needed to know, you are of course wrong, I found new characters, new stories that I am weaving into my own writing.
I highly recommend this translation.
Everything a book should be January 14, 2006
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Sumptuous, gorgeous. From the creation of the world to the birth of Julius Caesar. If only the Bible was written as well or made as much sense. And how thrilling to discover Shakespeare stealing wholesale from it: eg. Titania's "Nine men's morris" comes from Medea. One of the great reading experiences of a lifetime. And this translation sings and stuns and entertains. Buy it. And give it to all your friends. If you love them and fear for their souls.
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