What are the dates of the Metamorphoses and Ars Amatoria

-- David Hyman (dhyman@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu), December 08, 1997

Answers

All I can find is the fact that Ovid was born in the year 43 B.C., and supposedly wrote the "Loves", "Heroines", "The Art Of Love", "The Cure of Love", "On Make-up", "Medea" (lost), "Book of Sorrows", and "Letters from the Black Sea" somewhat in that order. After these, came the "Metamorphoses". So I would guess any time between 22 B.C. to 8 A.D. when he was exiled.

Just thought I'd take a stab at it, since there were no other guesses. If anyone knows of a more accurate date, let us know... Jacqueline

-- Jacqueline (jpyles@quik.com), January 02, 1998.

- Walther Kraus gives arguments for dating the Ars Amatoria' in 1 a Chr. or somewhat later, [but Sabbadini pleads for a publication-date after the Remedia Amoris']. - The Metamorphoses got their definitive shape when Ovid was in exile [i.e. after 8 AD] but Walther Kraus assumes that some copies of this work had found their way among his friends in Rome before his departure. Some scholars use this existence of a private' and an official' publication for an explanation of variations in the text. - Source: Michael v. Albrecht und Ernst Zinn [edd], Ovid, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt, 1968 - p.104 ff.

-- Ben Bijnsdorp (bbijns@xs4all.nl), February 04, 1998.