The Art of Love

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The Art of Love

by Ovid

THE LITERARY WORK

A didactic poem written in Latin in three books on the art of courtship and erotic love, set in Rome during the late first century bce; published around the first year bce.

SYNOPSIS

Ovid tutors young men and women on the arts of finding, courting, and keeping a lover.

Events in History at the Time of the Poem

The Poem in Focus

For More Information

Born at Sulmo in the Abruzzi (central Italy) in 43 bce, Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso) was the son of a wealthy family. Like most young men of his class, Ovid was educated in Rome, where he studied rhetoric under Arellius Fuscus and Porcius Latro; after completing his education, he toured the Greek lands. Although his family wished him to pursue a political career, Ovid soon abandoned public life to become a poet. With the help of an influential patron, Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus, Ovid quickly gained prominence as a writer, becoming the leading poet in Rome by 8 CE. Most of Ovid’s early work explores romantic and erotic themes. His Amores (”Loves,” c. 25 bce), for example, re-counts the poet’s seemingly autobiographical misadventures in love. Other works, composed between 15 bce and 2 CE, include Heroides (Heroines), a series of verse letters written by mythological heroines to their beloveds; Ars Amatoria (The Art of Love), a didactic poem concerning the arts of courtship and erotic intrigue; and the Remedia Amoris (“Remedies of Love”), a poem instructing readers how to end a love affair. In 8 CE, Emperor Augustus, offended by Ovid’s poetry and by some other transgression, exiled the poet to Tomis on the Black Sea (in modern Ro-mania). Ovid himself identified the causes of his offense, speaking of them vaguely as an error and a carmen (poem). While the error was an unspecified indiscretion that remains a mystery to this day, apparently the poem was The Art of Love. Ovid would continue to live in exile until his death in 17 CE. Before he was banished, the poet married three times and fathered a daughter, probably during his second marriage. Ovid’s third wife remained steadfast throughout his exile; scholarly texts speak of her devotion and the tender feelings between them. However much offense Emperor Augustus may have taken to The Art of Love, it quickly became and has long remained a favorite with readers, who celebrate the poem for its vivid scenes of life in imperial Rome as well as its witty treatment of amorous intrigue.

Events in History at the Time of the Poem

Sexual morality in Augustan Rome

Most of Ovid’s works were composed during the long reign of Rome’s first emperor, Augustus. He ruled from 27 bce to 14 CE, preferring the title “princeps” (first man) of Rome to emperor. Prosperous and relatively peaceful, the era, which followed on close to a century of civil wars, came to be known as the Pax Romana (Peace of Rome).

Besides providing a centralized government, restoring religion to prominence, administering a uniform system of law and justice throughout the expanding empire, and constructing numerous public works, Augustus attempted to reform public morality. Enriched by the wealth flowing in from various parts of the empire, Rome developed into a thriving, cosmopolitan city; however, Augustus felt that Rome’s very prosperity was contributing to moral laxity among its citizens. Adultery was common; divorce, easy to obtain; and the family had lost much of its coherence. Augustus sought to restore such virtues as sobriety, chastity, self-restraint, and piety, often associated with the Roman Republic. Augustus lived austerely and dressed modestly, and besides setting an example, implemented legislation for social and moral reform. By presenting himself as a strong moral force, Augustus gave legitimacy to his increasingly authoritarian rule.

In 18 bce Augustus introduced two important though highly unpopular laws, the Lex Julia de maritandis ordinibus and the Lex Julia de adulteriis coercendis. The first law encouraged larger families through the procreation of legitimate offspring and prohibited bachelors and widows unwilling to remarry from receiving legacies (this law was replaced in 9 CE by the milder Lex Papia Poppaea). The second law, the Lex Julia, sought to eliminate adultery (defined here as sexual intercourse between a married woman of freeborn status and a man not her husband) among the senatorial and equestrian (business) classes by imposing harsh penalties on the offenders. If found guilty, both parties were banished to separate islands for the rest of their lives; the man forfeited half his property, the woman a third of hers, as well as half her dowry. The law also permitted fathers to kill daughters and their partners in adultery; cuckolded husbands could kill the partners under certain circumstances and had to divorce their adulterous wives. Finally, the law divided all free women into two categories: matronae honestae, with whom all extramarital liaisons were illegal, and women in quas stuprum non committitur (an expression implying that they are too lowly to suffer from contamination). Including prostitutes, this second category was established for all women with whom extramarital liaisons were acceptable. A married man who had an affair with such a woman was not blamed or regarded as an adulterer, a concession that did little to mute the negative reaction both laws elicited. Romans generally greeted the two laws with disdain, which may have fuelled the popularity of Ovid’s poetry.

Adultery was to prove a continual sore point with Augustus, especially in his own family. Al-though strictly reared as a child, his daughter Julia allegedly had several adulterous affairs as an adult, and in 2 bce, after her indiscretions came to light, Augustus banished her to the barren is-land of Pandateria. In 8 CE Julia’s daughter and namesake suffered the same fate; on their deaths, both women were denied burial in the royal tomb. The year of the younger Julia’s banishment, Ovid was also exiled from Rome, partly because his poetry seemed to encourage adultery by offering women advice on how to deceive their husbands.

Mere trices and prostibulae

A double standard dictated sexual behavior in imperial Rome. Middle-and upper-class women were expected to remain chaste, engaging in sexual intercourse only with their husbands. While men could be severely punished under the law for seducing innocent maidens or respectable matrons, they suffered no such penalty for conducting liaisons with prostitutes, women who provided sex for money. Romans classified prostitutes into two basic types: the meretrix, viewed as a courtesan or hetaira (companion), and the prostibula, seen as a common whore. The meretrix might enjoy an ongoing relationship with one or two men, whereas the prostibula catered to a larger, more varied, and generally poorer clientele. Addition-ally meretrices were registered with the state and often worked out of brothels while the unregistered prostibulae plied their trade at public venues. In The Art of Love Ovid creates a speaker who is a teacher of love. The speaker-teacher seems initially to be referring to meretrices when he offers advice to the poem’s male readers. In book 1 he warns off “respectable ladies” from his teachings, yet states that “[s]afe love, legitimate liaisons/Will be my theme. This poem breaks no taboos” (The Art of Love, 1.31, 33-34). The distinction between matrons and meretrices blurs in book 3, however, when Ovid’s speaker counsels bored wives on how to deceive their husbands and conduct discreet extramarital affairs.

In general, the Roman attitude towards prostitution was pragmatic: since the trade could not be eliminated, it was regulated. Solon, king of Athens, introduced the idea of state-controlled brothels in the sixth century CE; Romans likewise instituted state control of their brothels, known as lupanares (houses of she-wolves). Not until the emperor Augustus, however, were tight restrictions imposed on the behavior and privileges of prostitutes. During his tenure and after, Roman prostitutes could not veil their faces in public. Meretrices were forbidden from wearing shoes or putting their hair in ribbons in public, and they had to dye their hair red or yellow as a sign of their profession. The law prohibited prostitutes from owning property and from marrying men of the senatorial class, even if the women renounced their trade.

Imperial expansion

While The Art of Love concerns itself mainly with the details of private life, the poem occasionally refers to larger historical events, such as the growth of Rome’s empire. Expansion had accelerated during the first century bce, with the military campaigns of Augustus’s granduncle and predecessor, Julius Caesar. By 50 bce Caesar’s victories had extended Rome’s frontiers to the English Channel and the Rhine River in Germany.

As princeps, Augustus continued the process of expansion. However, he also wished to consolidate the existing provinces, a policy that involved extending some boundaries and abandoning others. Galatia (central Asia Minor) and Judaea were made Roman provinces in 25 bce and 6 CE, respectively; Spain was finally subju-gated to Roman authority; and to the north, the frontier was extended to the Danube. However, Rome abandoned further plans for eastward expansion in 20 CE, after negotiating a peace with the Parthian Empire (located in what is now eastern Iran), against which Rome had waged several previous military campaigns, in 20 bce. Under the terms of the agreement, Parthia acknowledged Rome’s protectorate over Armenia.

Around 1 bce Rome again became involved in Parthia’s affairs after a pro-Roman client king was expelled from Armenia with the Parthians’ assistance. Augustus dispatched his grandson and designated heir, Gaius Caesar, to settle the problem. Ovid’s speaker alludes to this incident in book 1 of The Art of Love, confidently

ROMAN ENTERTAINMENTS

Despite the new austerity of Augustus’s reign, the Romans frequented the many forms of available entertainment. Games involving dice were especially popular with Romans, including Augustus, who liked to gamble. But chariot racing was clearly the most exciting of the public entertainments in ancient Rome. The largest of eight racetracks around the city of Rome itself, the Circus Maximus held 250,000 spectators. The contests themselves featured four chariot-racing companies (Red, White, Blue, and Green), owned by businessmen, as are American football teams today. Other well-known venues for entertainment were the amphitheater, where gladiatoriatal their profession. The law prohibited prostitutes Gladiatoriatal games were held, and the theater, which staged come-dies, tragedies, and mimes (short burlesque skits), in Ovid’s poem, the speaker mentions all three locales as likely places to meet and pursue women. He is especially enthusiastic about the “spacious Circus,” which offers “chances galore” as well as opportunity for physical closeness, since men and women were not seated in separate sections (Ovid, The Art of Love, book 1, lines 135-136).

predicting a triumphant outcome for the young Caesar (The Art of Love, 1.177-228). Ironically, Gaius did not return victorious to Rome but died in 4 CE of a lingering wound suffered during a minor skirmish in Armenia. Ovid’s poetry engages with Rome’s military-minded culture, comparing determined lovers to warriors and love itself to a hard-fought military campaign: “Love is a species of warfare. Slack troopers, go elsewhere! / It takes more than cowards to guard / These standards. Night-duty in winter, long route-marches, every / Hardship, all forms of suffering: these await / The recruit who expects a soft option” (The Art of Love, 2.233-237).

The Poem in Focus

The contents

Composed in elegiac couplets, The Art of Love consists of three books, the first two ad-dressed to young men, the third to young women. The poem adopts a didactic yet humorous tone as it gives practical instructions on acquiring and

THE RAPE OF THE SABINE WOMEN

Throughout The Art of Love, Ovid’s speaker refers to various myths and Legends. The rape of the Sabine women is one of a series of tales surrounding Romulus, legendary founder of Rome and son of the war-god Mars. Suckled as infants by a she-wolf, Romulus and his twin brother, Remus, established the future city of Rome on the Palatine hill Romulus built walls around the city and slew Romulus for leaping over those walls, To people the city, Romulus offered asylum to all fugitives and then found them wives by inviting the Sabines, inhabitants of a neighboring town, to a festival The gesture was a ruse, for the newcomers abducted the Sabine women, who were then forced to marry their rapists. Although the Sabine men returned in arms to reclaim their women, the latter—now reconciled to their new husbands—brought hostilities to an end by placing themselves between the opposing forces. With characteristic irreverence, Ovid’s poem compares romantic assignations at the theater with the Sabine rapes ’The Palatine woods supplied a leafy backdrop (nature’s / Scenery untouched by art), / While the tiers of seats were plain turf, and the spectators shaded / Their shaggy heads with leaves’” (The Art of Lave, 1.105-108), The distress of the victims as they are carried off is almost comically rendered: “Some tore their hair, some just froze / Where they sat; some, dismayed, kept silence, others vainly / Yefled for Mamma; some wailed; some gaped … / … Ever since that day, by hallowed custom, / Our theatres have always held dangers for pretty girls” (The Art of Love, 1.122-124, 133-134).

keeping a lover. Although it seldom dwells on such philosophical issues as the nature of love itself, the poem sometimes draws on already well-known myths to illustrate points about erotic dalliance.

Book 1

The first book deals with finding and courting one’s chosen lady. Describing himself as “Love’s preceptor,” or teacher, the poem’s speaker offers to share his expertise in erotic dalliance with the young men of Rome (Art of Love, 1.17). After warning off respectable married ladies from his teachings, the speaker promises to help Ovid’s readers find, woo, win, and keep their ladies.

To choose a potential mistress, says the speaker, men need not travel far, as Rome is full of beautiful women. The speaker goes on to name various temples, the law court, the theaters, and the races as ideal places to meet women. He de-votes particular attention to the last two venues, recalling how theaters have always held dangers for pretty girls, since the rape of the Sabine women, and describing how the races increase chances for physical contact with women: “[Y]ou’ll sit / Right beside your mistress, without let or hindrance, / So be sure to press against her whenever you can— / An easy task: the seating-divisions restrict her, / Regulations facilitate con-tact” (The Art of Love, 1.138-142). Men will thus have many opportunities to ingratiate themselves with women. Additionally, public shows, spectacles, and triumphs can unite prospective couples in celebration; Ovid’s speaker anticipates just such an occasion should Rome’s latest military campaign against Parthia succeed. In peace-time, on the other hand, banquets and seaside resorts are likely places for romance.

To attract one’s female of choice, says Ovid’s speaker, a man just has to be confident and persistent. All women desire love and passion, he argues, just as men do. To further one’s suit, it is wise to win over the lady’s maid, who can carry letters back and forth or report on her mistress’s moods. The speaker-teacher raises the possibility of the male lover seducing the maid as well as her mistress, but considers the gambit too risky, unless the man also finds the maid appealing. In this case, one should seduce the mistress before the maid.

A wooing lover should write many letters to his beloved, says the speaker, and they should be full of entreaties and flattery. Moreover, a lover should persist in his attentions until he wears down his lady’s resistance, taking advantage of every opportunity to be in her company. He must enhance his own attractiveness by practicing good personal hygiene and dressing becomingly.

Ovid’s speaker mentions the usefulness of wine in softening the mood and providing opportunities to speak more freely to one’s beloved. Tears and pallor may likewise stir a lady’s pity, while stolen kisses and embraces may excite her ardor. However, a man must not praise his beloved too freely before his male friends, lest they become rivals and pursue the lady themselves. Finally, Ovid’s speaker reminds readers that all women are unique: “To capture a thou-sand hearts demands / A thousand devices” (The Art of Love, 1.756-757). In other words, the wise man adapts, changing his methods of courtship to suit each quarry.

Book 2

The second book deals with keeping a mistress, which Ovid’s speaker regards as no less important than winning one: “To guard a conquest’s / As tricky as making it. There was luck in the chase, / But this task will call for skill” (The Art of Love, 2.13-15). The speaker advises readers against trying charms, spells, and drugs to accomplish their goal: these methods are useless, dangerous, and potentially harmful to the beloved.

Just being handsome will not do the trick either, because looks fade. Therefore, a man should cultivate his mind and spirit as well as his body: “Then build an enduring mind, add that to your beauty; / It alone will last till the flames / Consume you” (The Art of Love, 2.119-121). Ovid’s speaker suggests that the lover practice such virtues as tolerance, tact, and gentleness; he should also adapt his moods to fit those of his mistress. A lover should never quarrel with his mistress, not least because reconciliation might require purchasing expensive gifts. He should let her win at games, perform various mundane tasks for her, and show himself attentive to her every need. When a mistress falls ill, the lover should constantly attend her to show his solicitude for her health. However, he should not prescribe noxious medicines and re-strict her diet, but leave prospective rivals to make these mistakes.

Love requires nourishment and careful attention to thrive, cautions the speaker-teacher. The lover must make himself indispensable to his mistress’s comfort: “Habit’s the key, spare no pains till that’s achieved. / Let her always see you around, always hear you talking / Show her your face night and day” (The Art of Love, 2.345-348). However, the lover should also know when to absent himself for brief periods so that she misses him. Ovid’s speaker cites several mythical relationships, such as that of Odysseus and Penelope, to show that absence can make the heart grow fonder (see the Odyssey, also in Classical Literature and Its Times).

Discretion is also important. If a man has several mistresses, he must take care that none finds out about the others, unless he deliberately wishes to arouse jealousy. If a mistress suspects a lover’s infidelity, he should deny his guilt and placate her with ardent lovemaking. Ovid’s speaker contends that the heart requires “a sharp stimulus,” such as jealousy or anxiety, to keep love alive (The Art of Love, 2.444).

The speaker-teacher claims that the god Apollo visited him and informed him that men must know their own strengths and weaknesses to succeed as lovers. Agreeing with Apollo, Ovid’s speaker promises that, with the aid of his poem, intelligent lovers will usually triumph, but warns that not every love affair will bring complete satisfaction. A man must be prepared for disappointments; it is more prudent to tolerate a rival than to confront or expose him. A lover should not conduct himself like a jealous husband.

Reemphasizing the importance of discretion, the speaker-teacher advises against bragging of one’s romantic conquests to other men. A lover should protect his mistress’s reputation, even if she has been involved in various scandals. He should furthermore refrain from criticizing his lady’s physical imperfections, instead using her “virtues to camouflage each fault” (The Art of Love, 2.662). A lady’s age is another sensitive topic that the lover should avoid discussing. But if one’s mistress is older, the lover can benefit from her wider experience. Mature women, who tend to be more enthusiastic and enduring, often make better lovers.

Ovid’s speaker concludes the second book with a detailed discussion of the proper love-making techniques. A lover should take the time to discover what positions and caresses his mistress prefers. Ideally both partners will experience equal satisfaction in lovemaking. Declaring himself the expert at “the love-game,” a master teacher, the speaker exhorts young men to ascribe their erotic triumphs to his guidance: “And when you’ve brought down your / Amazon, write on the trophy Ovid was my guide” (The Art of Love, 2.739, 743-744). The next book, the speaker promises, will offer similar advice to young ladies.

Book 3

In the third book of The Art of Love, Ovid’s speaker argues that in the interests of fairness, he must share his expertise with young ladies. He even claims that Venus, goddess of love, visited him with this demand: “Two books you’ve written instructing / Men in the game; high time the opposite sex/Got benefit from your counsels” (The Art of Love, 3.47-49).

The speaker-teacher begins by advising girls to make the most of their youth, to experience erotic love before they grow too old and undesirable to attract men. On the subject of appearances, he says ladies should work to preserve their beauty. The speaker offers detailed advice on hygiene, cosmetics, and fashion. Few women are gifted with extraordinary beauty; however, every woman can make the most of her looks with the proper hairstyle and clothing, insists the speaker-teacher. Ladies should not, he adds, let men observe their beautification rituals, lest the men find the process unattractive.

PROCRIS AND CEPHALUS

I n Metamorphoses, Ovid creates his version of the myth of Procris and Cephalus. The newlyweds are very much in love when the goddess Dawn spies Cephalus hunting one day and falls in love with him. After trying in vain to win him over, an enraged Dawn tells Cephalus that he will one day regret ever being with Procris, This accusation plants doubt in Cephalus, who then begins to question the faithfulness of his wife. Cephalus returns to Athens in disguise and attempts to seduce his own wife. Although firmly rebuffing his many attempts at seduction, Procris finally starts to waver, at which point Cephalus throws off his disguise in anger and accuses her of being a shameful traitor, Horrified, Procris flees to the mountains to worship and follow the goddess Diana, Cephalus feels remorse at tricking his wife and, deeply missing her, begs for her forgiveness. Procris does so and returns to him, giving him two gifts that were given to her by Diana: a magical spear that always hits its mark and a hunting dog who runs with incredible speed. Eventually Procris grows suspicious of Cephalus after hearing rumors of his infidelity and follows him hunting one day, hiding in the bushes. Cephalus hears rustling leaves and, imagining that he has heard an animal, throws the magical spear into the bushes, killing his beloved Procris. It is only just before she dies that Cephalus convinces her of the falsehood of the rumors. Procris has jumped to conclusions and paid for it with her life.

Ovid’s speaker suggests that ladies figure out ways to conceal physical imperfections. A short girl should be seen reclining, so as not to draw attention to her height. A girl with bad teeth ought not to smile too broadly or laugh too openly. As a rule, girls would be well advised to study how to walk, talk, and laugh gracefully but without appearing affected. Those who have the talent should practice singing, dancing, composing poetry, or playing a musical instrument. Ovid’s speaker recommends that girls study some literature, so they can converse intelligently on the subject. If a girl plays competitive games, she should exercise self-control whether she wins or loses.

To attract a lover, a woman needs to make frequent appearances at public venues. Let her take heed in these public places, however. She should be on her guard against men who appear too smooth and glib in their attentions, and against those who have notorious reputations as womanizers. Did a prospective lover write her a letter? Then she must read it carefully and not yield too quickly to his entreaties. Her reply should be elegant, and, for her own protection, she should have one of her servants write the actual letter.

The speaker-teacher moves on to the way women interact with men. Besides caring for their looks, women should cultivate a pleasant demeanor. It is important not to appear ill-tempered or overly disdainful; rather, a woman should smile and be charming to the men she wishes to encourage. Let her cultivate and value each man for his individual talents and be especially generous towards poets, who can make women immortal in their verses. Women should be aware of the different advantages offered by youthful and mature lovers: the former is more passionate; the latter, more lasting.

Once involved in a romance, a woman must be coy. Her lover should believe that he has rivals who might interrupt their dalliance, for this will make their own affair more titillating. If a married woman wishes to take a lover, she should learn such wily tricks as sending letters with disappearing ink, administering sleeping potions to her husband or guardian, and bribing those appointed to watch over her movements.

Just as Ovid’s speaker advised men not to speak of their mistresses to their friends, he offers similar counsel to women. Speaking of their lovers invites trouble. In counseling women, he cautions them to beware of potential rivals in the form of acquaintances and pretty maidservants. Let men believe they are desired and loved. Remain calm even if one hears that one’s lover might have another mistress. Ovid’s speaker uses the myth of Procris and Cephalus to illustrate his point about the dangers of jumping to conclusions.

If attending a party, a woman should arrive late, in order to make a graceful entrance. Her manners, once there, ought to conform to certain standards. She should eat daintily and not stuff herself; likewise, she should not drink to excess, partly because a drunken woman is a disgusting sight, partly because revelers might take advantage of a female who has drunk herself into a stupor.

In the closing section of the third book, Ovid’s speaker again discusses the techniques of lovemaking. There are various positions a woman can assume in the bedroom to show her body to best advantage. Ideally a woman should experience the same pleasure as a man in love-making, but if she fails to climax, she should feign ecstasy. Having imparted these final instructions, the speaker-teacher concludes with a flourish, “so now let my girl-disciples / Inscribe their trophies: Ovid was my guide” (The Art of Love, 3.811-812).

The Roman body

One striking feature of The Art of Love is Ovid’s emphasis on the importance of physical hygiene. While his speaker also recommends that readers cultivate their minds, he continually exhorts them to pay close attention to their appearance. He advises young men: “Keep pleasantly clean, take exercise, work up an outdoor / Tan; make quite sure that your toga fits / And doesn’t show spots … / Keep your nails pared, and dirt-free; / Don’t let those long hairs sprout / In your nostrils, make sure your breath is never offensive” (The Art of Love, 1.513-515, 519-521). Ovid’s speaker offers similar counsel to young women: “True beauty’s a gift of/The gods, few can boast they possess it—and most / Of you, my dears, don’t. Hard work will improve the picture: / Neglect your looks, and they’ll go to pot, even though / You’re a second Venus” (The Art of Love, 3.103-107).

The advice of Ovid’s speaker, designed to help readers attract lovers, may seem frivolous initially, but his admonishments are rooted in a major concern of Roman society: the control and care of the physical body. A Roman citizen consisted of a name and a body, upon which his fellow citizens based their assessment of his character and abilities. From birth, the physical body had to be contained, its crudest functions mastered, and its movements carefully schooled. Roman nurses were advised on how to mold the shape of an infant’s body, by swaddling and massage. Correct control over one’s body was expected of a good citizen, when he took his place in public life.

The clothing in which the body was attired became important as well, because clothing was one feature that separated humans from animals. Although Roman art frequently depicted nude male figures, Roman citizens were supposed to keep their genitals covered in public: “The body that the citizen put on display should be clothed, scrubbed, and under control. Nature—that is, anything to do with procreation or defecation—had to be concealed” (Dupont, p. 240). Citizens were expected to bathe, keep their hair and beard trimmed, exercise, and eat properly—in short, to follow advice very like that offered by Ovid’s speaker in The Art of Love. Dupont explains,

If a man let himself go, abandoning this minimum of cultus [bodily care], he became repugnant, despicable, sordid, bestial, and savage. He became a stinking tramp and could no longer regard himself as a citizen or a man. In Roman eyes, there was no such thing as a “natural man.” To repeat the old adage: it was natural for a man to be part of a culture; if he rejected that culture, he was no longer himself.
(Dupont, pp. 240-241)

Sources and literary context

In The Art of Love, Ovid drew upon his own experiences—social and romantic—in contemporary Rome. His de-tailed descriptions of the temples, colonnades, piazzas, theaters, and streets brought the city alive for his readers. Although many question whether Ovid intended The Art of Love as serious or humorous instruction, there is little reason to question his truthfulness as a social ob-server or as an enthusiastic participant in the game of love. Certainly it is on the basis of such observation and/or experience that he offers such copious advice.

As a work, The Art of Love has been described as a practical handbook and even as a satire. However, it is most often interpreted as a parody of didactic literature. Intended to instruct and enlighten, didactic works featured a speaker who often presented himself as an authority upon the chosen subject, who commanded his audience to heed his words, and who shaped his argument in orderly fashion. Serious didactic works that Ovid would have known include Hesiod’s Works and Days (c. eighth century bce), Lucretius’s On the Nature of the Universe (c. 55 bce) and Virgil’s Georgics (29 bce). While the earlier poems dealt, respectively, with the virtues of honest work, Epicurean philosophy, and the homely details of a farmer’s life, The Art of Love explored the racier topic of seduction, purporting to treat it with the utmost seriousness. The incongruous pairing of the frivolous subject with the sober tone made The Art of Love a particularly devastating parody. Ovid’s style was as distinctive as his choice of subject: while most didactic works, like epics, were composed in hexameters, The Art of Love was composed in elegiac couplets, linking it more closely to Ovid’s earlier Amores, a poem detailing the poet’s affair with a woman named Corinna.

Impact

Having recently banished his daughter Julia from Rome for promiscuity, Augustus may have taken personal offense at the themes of Ovid’s poem. At his command, The Art of Love was banned from all of Rome’s libraries. It appears to have been popular with its intended audience (cultured, upper-class Romans), but Ovid soon distanced himself from the poem. While in exile, he composed Tristia (Sorrows), a series of poems lamenting his banishment and pleading for the mitigation of his sentence. He meanwhile attempted to disassociate himself from The Art of Love, which he felt had ruined him. Ovid argued that the poem had been no more than a frivolous trifle, intended to amuse. Far from encouraging adultery, he continued, the poem warned off married women from participating in the game of love, and he avoided pursuing them himself. His appeals fell upon deaf ears, however; neither Augustus nor his successor, Tiberius, permitted Ovid to return to Rome. Still Ovid remained a favorite with the empire’s readers. Graffiti containing quotations from his verses was found scrawled upon walls in Pompeii during the first century CE, an unusual testimony to his popularity.

Responses to The Art of Love have varied through the ages. When considering the work, Heloise, a twelfth-century nun and scholar, described its author as “that master of sensuality and shame” (Heloise in Mack, p. 83). The poet Francesco Petrarch, writing during the Italian Renaissance, harshly condemned the “dirty” mind that had produced The Art of Love, calling the author “lascivious, lecherous, and altogether mulierous [sic]” (Petrarch in Mack, p. 83). But others embraced the poem: during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, The Art of Love gave rise to allegories, morals, works on the pursuit of sexual love, and, “to Ovid’s probable chagrin had he been alive,” to works on spiritual love (Myerowitz, pp. 17-18).

Polarized responses to The Art of Love persisted into the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The critic J. W. MacKail, writing in 1895, called it “perhaps the most immoral poem ever written” (MacKail in Myerowitz, p. 20). Lord Macaulay designated The Art of Love “Ovid’s best,” although he also noted that Ovid reduces love to “mere sexual appetite” (Macaulay in Myerowitz, p. 190, 2n). More recent critical commentaries have focused less upon Ovid’s im-morality and more upon the poem itself. A. S. Hollis called The Art of Love “the gayest and wittiest among Ovid’s love poems” (Hollis in Myerowitz, p. 21). Finally, Sara Mack, in her 1988 study of Ovid, contends that modern readers should find the poet more accessible and entertaining than ever:

We need not be put off … or irrelevantly titillated by his occasional sexual explicitness and his typical sexual suggestiveness. And Ovid should appeal enormously to the generation that has fought to make equal rights a reality. No one but Ovid would have written two thousand years ago that sexual satisfaction should be equal for both partners, that sex was no good if the woman acquiesced because it was her duty.
(Mack, p. 4)

—Pamela S. Loy