II. Reference works

1

II. Reference works

1. A. G. Elliot, “Accessus ad Auctores: Twelfth-Century Introductions to Ovid”, Allegorica

5, 1980, 6-48.
2. A. de Rosalia, Il realismo di Ovidio, Palermo 1980.
3. V. Chadha (ed.), Mosaic. Journal of the comparative study of international literature, art

and ideas, 12.2: Special issue on the writings of Publius Ovidius Naso, New Delhi 1981.
Reviews: E. J. Kenney, CR 32, 1982, 276; A. Manzo, Aevum 56, 1982, 136.

4. M. G. Iodice di Martino, “Ovidio e la poesia”, RCCM 23, 1981, 63-108.
5. Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae, Zürich–München–Düsseldorf 1981-

2009. 
6. R. Martin, J. Gaillard, Les Genres littéraires à Rome, Paris 1981, 19902.
7. J. E. G. Zetzel, Latin Textual Criticism in Antiquity, New York 1981.

Recommended review: M. D. Reeve, CPh 80, 1985, 85-92. Other reviews: W. S. Anderson,
CW 75, 1982, 319; H. D. Jocelyn, Gnomon 55, 1983, 307-11; P. Walcot, G&R 30, 1983,
229; J. W. Halporn, CJ 79, 1984, 267-9; J. N. Grant, Phoenix 39, 1985, 86-8.

8. J. N. Adams, The Latin Sexual Vocabulary, Baltimore 1982.
Recommended reviews: A. Richlin, AJPh 105, 1984, 491-4; F. R. D. Goodyear, CR 35,
1985, 316-7; E. Montero Cartelle, Emerita 53, 1985, 370-2. Other reviews: R. Valenti
Pagnini, BStudLat 12, 1982, 287; A. D. Booth, Phoenix 37, 1983, 362-4; J. Hallett, LCM 8,
1983, 102-8; P. A. Johnston, EMC 27, 1983, 363-4; F. Lochner von Hüttenbach, AAHG 36,
1983, 130; E. Segal, CW 77, 1983, 132; G. Serbat, REL 61, 1983, 324-5; M. B. Skinner,
CW 77, 1983, 56; P. Walcot, G&R 30, 1983, 229; P. Flobert, RPh 58, 1984, 127; K.
Baldinger, ZRPh 101, 1985, 187-9; D. R. Shackleton Bailey, CPh 80, 1985, 83-5; F. M.
Fröhlke, Gymnasium 93, 1986, 207-8; J. Kepartová, Eirene 24, 1987, 106-7.

9. R. Chevallier, Colloque Présence d’Ovide, Paris 1982 (Caesarodunum 17 bis).
Review: R. Verdière, RBPh 62, 1984, 186-7.

10. W. R. Johnson, “Ovid”, in J. Luce (ed.), Ancient Writers. Greece and Rome, New York
1982, 783-806.

11. E. J. Kenney, W. V. Clausen (eds.), The Cambridge History of Classical Literature. II Latin

Literature, Cambridge 1982 (= Historia de la literatura clásica. II Literatura latina, versión
de E. Bombín, Madrid 1989).
Recommended reviews: R. G. M. Nisbet, JRS 73, 1983, 175-9; B. L. Hijmans, Mnemosyne

38, 1985, 222-8; A. Ramírez de Verger, EClas 89, 1985, 448-55; A. Setaioli, CPh 81, 1986,
173-9. Other reviews: A. J. Woodman, LCM 7, 1982, 102-8; W. S. Anderson, CompLit 34,
1984, 362-4; S. M. Goldberg, CJ 79, 1984, 368-71; W. Hering, DLZ 105, 1984, 126-9; M.
von Albrecht, Gnomon 56, 1984, 103-7; M. von Albrecht, Gymnasium 91, 1984, 547-8; A.
Wankenne, LEC 52, 1984, 86-7.
Review of the Spanish version: G. Laguna Mariscal, Habis 21, 1990, 269-72.

12. E. J. Kenney, “Ovid”, in E. J. Kenney, W. V. Clausen (eds.), The Cambridge History of

Classical Literature. II, Latin Literature, Cambridge 1982, 420-57.
13. E. J. Kenney, “Ovid. 4. The Metamorphoses”, in E. J. Kenney, W. V. Clausen (eds.), The

Cambridge History of Classical Literature, II Latin Literature, Cambridge 1982, 430-41.
14. G. Lieberg, Poeta creator: Studien zu einer Figur der antiken Dichtung, Amsterdam 1982.

Reviews: G. Giangrande, CL 2, 1982, 212-3; I. Du Quesnay, G&R 30, 1983, 91; P. Parroni,
RFIC 111, 1983, 342-5; W. Hering, DLZ 105, 1984, 349-52; J. Perret, RPh 58, 1984, 144-
6; D. Briquel, RBPh 63, 1985, 179; J. Granarolo, Latomus 44, 1985, 632-5; B. Kytzler,
Arcadia 22, 1987, 313-5.

15. D. Little, “Politics in Augustan poetry”, ANRW II 30.1, 1982, 254-370.

This is an Accepted Manuscript (AM) of: Pere Fàbregas Salis, "Reference works", Lustrum, Band 62 (2020), The "Metamorphoses" of Ovid : 35 years of research 1980-2014. Vol. 1, pp. 16-43, 
https://doi.org/10.13109/9783666352270.16



II. Reference works 
 

 

 

2

16. H. Zehnacker, “Ovide et la tragédie”, in α’ Πανελλήνιο Συμπόσιο Λατινικών Σπουδών. 

Θέμα: Λογοτεχνία και πολιτική στα χρόνια του Αυγούστου, Γιάννενα, 5-6 Νοέμβριου, Iannina 
1982, 181-94. 

17. E. Cizek, “Ovide et le goût littéraire de l’époque impériale”, BAGB 1983, 277-83. 
18. L. Duret, “Dans l’ombre des plus grands I: Poétes et prosateurs mal connus de l’époque 

augusteénne”, ANRW II 30.3, Berlin-New York 1983, 1447-560. 
19. A. La Penna, “Relativismo e sperimentalismo in Ovidio”, in G. Rosati, Narciso e 

Pigmalione. Illusione e spettacolo nelle Metamorfosi di Ovidio, con un saggio di A. La 
Penna, Firenze 1983, V-XXVIII. 

20. *W. Ginsberg, The Cast of Character: The Representation of Personality in Ancient and 

Medieval Literature, Toronto 1983. 
Reviews: E. T. Hansen, Modern Language Quarterly 44, 1983, 311-3; J. B. Friedman, The 

Journal of English and Germanic Philology 84, 1985, 411-5; R. W. Hanning, Speculum 60, 
1985, 404-6. 

21. C. R. Phillips, “Rethinking Augustan poetry”, Latomus 42, 1983, 780-818. 
22. J. E. G. Zetzel, “Recreating the Canon: Augustan Poetry and the Alexandrian Past”, CI 10, 

1983, 83-105. 
23. F. M. Ahl, “The Rider and the Horse: Politics and Power in Roman Poetry from Horace to 

Statius”, ANRW II 32.1, Berlin-New York 1984, 40-110. 
24. M. von Albrecht, H.-J. Glücklich, Interpretationen und Unterrichtsvorschläge zu Ovids 

Metamorphosen, Göttingen 1984; 19902; 20023 (Consilia 7). 
25. M. von Albrecht, H.-J. Glücklich, Ovid, Metamorphosen, Göttingen 1984; 19892; 19943; 

20014 (Exempla 7). 
26. J. Griffin, “Augustus and the Poets: Caesar qui cogere posset”, in F. Millar, E. Segal (eds.), 

Caesar Augustus: Seven Aspects, Oxford 1984, 189-218. 
27. G. B. Conte, Letteratura latina. Manuale storico dalle origini alla fine dell’impero romano, 

Firenze 1987; 19892; 19923 [multiple editions and reprints]. 
Reviews: E. Paratore, RCCM 30, 1988, 62-6; M. Dubuisson, AC 60, 1991, 385-6. 

28. G. Cavallo, P. Fedeli, A. Giardina (eds.), Lo spazio letterario di Roma antica, I. La 

produzione del testo, Roma 1989. 
Reviews: J. Gómez Pallarès, Faventia 12-13, 1990-1991, 466-8; A. Touwaide, Scriptorium 
46.2, 1992, 154. 

29. G. Cavallo, P. Fedeli, A. Giardina (eds.), Lo spazio letterario di Roma antica, II. La 

circolazione del testo, Roma 1989. 
Review: A. Touwaide, Scriptorium 46.2, 1992, 154. 

30. G. Cavallo, P. Fedeli, A. Giardina (eds.), Lo spazio letterario di Roma antica, III. La 

ricezione del testo, Roma 1989. 
Review: A. Touwaide, Scriptorium 46.2, 1992, 154-5. 

31. G. Cavallo, P. Fedeli, A. Giardina (eds.), Lo spazio letterario di Roma antica, IV. 
L’attualizzazione del testo, Roma 1991. 

32. M. Giebel, Ovid. Mit Selbstzeugnissen und Bilddokumenten, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1991 
(Rowohlts Monographien 460). 
Review: G. Wojaczek, DaSiU 42.3, 1995, 29-30. 

33. G. Papponetti (ed.), Ovidio poeta della memoria. Atti del Convegno Internazionale di Studi, 

Sulmona, 19-21 ottobre 1989, Roma 1991. 
Reviews: I. Di Iorio, A&R 36, 1991, 220-2; E. Pianezzola, Aufidus 15, 1991, 117-24; G. 
Eichberg, GIF 44, 1992, 115-18. 

34. C. Segal, Ovidio e la poesia del mito. Saggi sulle Metamorfosi, Vicenza 1991. 
Review: P. Pinotti, RFIC 124, 1996, 215-9. 

35. S. Döpp, Werke Ovids. Eine Einführung, München 1992 (DTV Wissenschaft 180/4587). 
Reviews: P. Esposito, BStudLat 25, 1995, 227-9; S. Viarre, Latomus 55, 1996, 467. 



II. Reference works 
 

 

 

3

36. P. White, Promised Verse. Poets in the Society of Augustan Rome, Cambridge (USA) 1993. 
Recommended reviews: D. C. Feeney, BMCR 1994.06.16; G. K. Galinsky, Vergilius 41, 
1995, 135-8; H. D. Jocelyn, RFIC 123, 1995, 507; A. La Penna, Maia 50, 1998, 527-38. 
Other reviews: A. M. Keith, EMC 38, 1994, 430-3; D. F. Kennedy, G&R 49, 1994, 228-9; 
T. A. Suits, NECN 22, 1995, 80-1; R. Jeffreys, Phoenix 49, 1995, 263-5; P. McKechnie, 
AUMLA 84, 1995, 124-5; C. R. Phillips, AHR 100, 1995, 501. 

37. M. von Albrecht, Geschichte der römischen Literatur: von Andronicus bis Boethius. Mit 

Berücksichtigung ihrer Bedeutung für die Neuzeit, Bern 1992; München 19942; Berlin-New 
York 20123. 
Reviews: A. Kohl, Anregung 39, 1993, 128-9; G. Polara, RFIC 121, 1993, 211-15; J. 
Hellegouarc’h, Gnomon 66, 1994, 496-9; S. Koster, AAHG 47, 1994, 269-71; P. Hardie, CR 
45, 1995, 57-9; R. Sühnel, Arcadia 30, 1995, 84-7; A. Kohl, Anregung 41, 1995, 124. 

38. G. Cavallo, P. Fedeli, A. Giardina (eds.), Lo spazio letterario di Roma antica, V. 
Cronologia e bibliografia della letteratura latina, Roma 1991. 
Review: J. Gómez Pallarès, Faventia 16.1, 1994, 115-16. 

39. A. J. Boyle (ed.), Roman Epic, London 1993. 
Reviews: J. Gaisser, BMCR 04.05.20; P.-J. Dehon, AC 63, 1994, 383-4; L. Deschamps, REA 

96, 1994, 603-5; L. Deschamps, REA 99, 1997, 229; R. Lesueur, Latomus 56, 1997, 674; J. 
Poucet, LEC 65, 1997, 178-9; M. Martin, Latomus 57, 1998, 163-7. 

40. H. Zehnacker, J.-C. Fredouille, Littérature latine, Paris 1993, 20013, 2005. 
Reviews: B. Gain, RHPhR 75, 1995, 232; B. Victor, LEC 65, 1997, 83-4; V. Zarini, REL 
83, 2005, 301-2. 

41. G. B. Conte, Latin literature: a history, transl. by J. B. Solodow, revised by D. P. Fowler, 
G. W. Most, Baltimore 1994. 
Recommended reviews: D. F. Kennedy, G&R 42, 1995, 83-5; R. F. Thomas, AJPh 118, 
1997, 471-5; P. J. Davis, Scholia 5, 1996, 142-5 (esp. 144). Other reviews: W. S. Anderson, 
CO, 72, 1995, 109-10; C. Martindale, LCM 19, 1994, 153-8; P. Tordeur, AC 64, 1995, 310-
11; M. Á. Rodríguez Madrigal, Emerita 65, 1997, 344. 

42. F. Cupaiuolo, Storia della letteratura latina: forme letterarie, autori e società, Napoli 1994. 
Reviews: J. Hellegouarc’h, REL 72, 1994, 284; M. C. de Castro, M. de Sousa Pimentel, 
Euphrosyne 23, 1995, 524-7; N. Scivoletto, GIF 48, 1996, 327-8; P. Tordeur, AC 65, 1996, 
315-16; R. Martin, Latomus 58, 1999, 681-2. 

43. P. Grimal, La littérature latine, Paris 1994. 
Reviews: P. Desy, AC 65, 1996, 313-14; I. Lana, RFIC 124, 1996, 339-43; R. Martin, 
Latomus 55, 1996, 667-70. 

44. M. von Albrecht, Storia della letteratura latina, trad. a cura di A. Setaioli, Torino 1995-
1996. 
Recommended review: P. Esposito, BStudLat 26, 1996, 651-4. Other reviews: G. Maselli, 
Aufidus 10 (29), 1996, 150-3.  

45. P. K. Galinsky, Augustan Culture. An Interpretative Introduction, Princeton 1996. 
Recommended reviews: T. Habinek, Vergilius 43, 1997, 156-60; A. Smith, BMCR 97.2.24; 
J. B. Solodow, BMCR 98.1.2; A. La Penna, Athenaeum 87, 1999, 330-40 (most 
recommended); P. Hardie, Gnomon 72, 2000, 49-53. Other reviews: T. R. Stevenson, 
Prudentia 28, 1996, 52-7; J. A. Crook, JRS 87, 1997, 287-8; E. Fantham, EMC 16, 1997, 
515-20; M. Jager, NECN 24, 1997, 115-17; A. P. Keaveney, G&R 44, 1997, 97-8; J. Gómez 
Pallarès, Faventia 19, 1997, 84-6; J.-M. André, Latomus 57, 1998, 930-2; J. Booth, CR 48, 
1998, 396-8; J. Henderson, Hermathena 164, 1998, 101-16 (review-article); F. Hinard, REG 

111, 1998, 354; L. A. Hughes, CO 75, 1998, 119-21; E. A. Schmidt, MH 55, 1998, 247; K. 
Wacker, Gymnasium 105, 1998, 79-81; R. J. Evans, Mnemosyne 52, 1999, 628-34; J. Filée, 
LEC 67, 1999, 119-20; P. Walcot, G&R 46, 1999, 117.  

46. C. Codoñer (ed.), Historia de la literatura latina, Madrid 1997. 



II. Reference works 
 

 

 

4

47. D. J. Coetzee, “Die prepon-beginsel in die Metamorphoses van Ovidius”, Akroterion 42, 

1997, 85-93. 
48. N. Holzberg, Ovid. Dichter und Werk, München 1997; 19982; 20053. 

Recommended reviews: E. J. Kenney, CR 48, 1998, 29-31; W. S. Anderson, AJPh 119, 
1998, 651-5; K. Galinsky, Gnomon 72, 2000, 213-16. Other reviews: J. Fabre-Serris, REL 
75, 1997, 331; B. W. Häuptli, MH 54, 1997, 247-8; J. H. Brouwers, Lampas 31, 1998, 268-
71; B. Czapla, Poetica 30, 1998, 224-7; A. Kohl, Anregung 44, 1998, 271; V. Manzini, 
Maia 50, 1998, 560; U. Rütten, DaSiU 45, 1998, 37-8; U. Schmitzer, Gymnasium 105, 1998, 
358-61; P. Tordeur, AC 67, 1998, 351; J. Den Boeft, Mnemosyne 52, 1999, 357-9; M. 
Fuhrmann, Klio 81, 1999, 547; B. Rochette, LEC 1999, 285; G. Dobesch, Tyche 15, 2000, 
216-27; S. Viarre, Latomus 59, 2000, 464-5. 

49. M. von Albrecht, A History of Roman Literature. Revised by G. Schmeling and by the 
author, Leiden-New York-Köln 1997. 
Recommended review: E. J. Kenney, BMCR 1998.2.04. Other reviews: R. G. Mayer, CR 
48, 1998, 206-7; P. Desy, AC 68, 1999, 389-90; S. Deléani, REAug 46, 2000, 279-80; L. 
Marchal, LEC 69, 2001, 317-18. 

50. M. von Albrecht, Historia de la literatura romana, versión castellana por D. Estefanía, A. 
Pociña Pérez, Barcelona 1997/1999. 
Reviews: C. Criado, Tempus 22, 1999, 87-9; J. Gómez Pallarès, Faventia 22.2, 2000, 151-
2; M. A. Sánchez Manzano, CFC(L) 18, 2000, 387-91; F. Moya, Myrtia 16, 2001, 369-73; 
J. Molina, Nova Tellus 21, 2003, 205-16. 

51. M. von Albrecht, Ιστορία της ρωμαϊκής λογοτεχνίας, Heraklion 1998. 
52. M. von Albrecht, “Ovidio”, in I. Lana, E. V. Maltese (eds.), Storia della civiltà letteraria 

greca e latina, Torino 1998, II, 757-74. 
53. P. Hardie, A. Barchiesi, S. Hinds (eds.), Ovidian Transformations: Essays on the 

Metamorphoses and its Reception, Cambridge 1999 (Cambridge Philological Society 
Suppl. 23) (= Transformaciones ovidianas: estudios sobre Metamorfosis y su recepción, 
coord. del proyecto de trad. Mª E. Steinberg, Buenos Aires 2009). 
Recommended review: N. Holzberg, CR 51, 2001, 256-8. Other reviews: J. Fabre-Serris, 
REL 77, 1999, 426-7; J. J. O’Hara, BCMR 2000.07.23; C. Montuschi, RFIC 129, 2001, 99-
109; S. M. Wheeler, JRS 91, 2001, 242-4; F. Schaffenrath, AAHG 55, 2002, 121-2; S. 
Viarre, Latomus 61, 2002, 489-90. 

54. W. Schubert (ed.), Ovid. Werk und Wirkung. Festgabe für Michael von Albrecht zum 65. 

Geburtstag, 2 vols., Frankfurt am Main 1999 (Studien zur klassischen Philologie 100). 
Reviews: C. R. Raschle, MH 57, 2000, 325; H. Hofmann, RPL 7, 2004, 193-6. 

55. M. von Albrecht, Roman Epic. An Interpretative Introduction, Leiden-Boston-Köln 1999. 
Recommended review: A. J. Boyle, Gnomon 73, 2001, 720-2. Other reviews: S. M. 
Goldberg, CW 93, 2000, 545-6; P. Hardie, JRS 91, 2001, 214; G. L. Schmeling, PSN 31, 
2001 (sine pagina). 

56. A. Perutelli, “Le Metamorfosi di Ovidio”, in A. Perutelli, La poesia epica latina. Dalle 

origine all’età dei Flavi, Roma 2000, 115-38. 
57. M. von Albrecht, Das Buch der Verwandlungen. Ovid-Interpretationen, Darmstadt 2000. 

Reviews: E. A. Schmidt, GGA 253, 2001, 166-96; C. Tsitsiou-Chelidoni, Hellenica 55, 
2005, 321-7. 

58. U. Schmitzer, Ovid, Hildesheim-Zürich-New York 2001 (Studienbücher Antike 7). 
Recommended reviews: J. A. Richmond, BMCR 2002.03.22; W. S. Anderson, Gnomon 76, 
2004, 366-9; M. Janka, Gymnasium 111, 2004, 580-3. Other reviews: C. Walde, MH 59, 
2002, 260-1; S. Viarre, Latomus 63, 2004, 1027; D. E. Hill, G&R 49, 2005, 245.  

59. B. W. Boyd (ed.), Brill’s Companion to Ovid, Leiden-Boston-Köln 2002. 
Recommended reviews: R. K. Gibson, BMCR 2003.01.34; N. Holzberg, JRS 93, 2003, 374-
6; S. H. Lindheim, Vergilius 49, 2003, 135-51. Other reviews: E. Tola, Argos 26, 2002, 



II. Reference works 
 

 

 

5

199-201; M. S. Cummings, Mouseion (Canada) 3, 2003, 57-73; S. J. Green, CR 53, 2003, 
365-7; W. S. Anderson, NECJ 32, 2005, 287-91; H. Casanova-Robin, Gaia 10, 2006, 301-
4. 

60. P. Hardie, Ovid’s Poetics of Illusion, Cambridge 2002. 
Recommended reviews: G. A. Jacobsen, BMCR 2002.11.20; C. A. Perkins, CB 79, 2003, 
152-6; R. Hexter, CR 54, 2004, 384-8; S. M. Wheeler, Vergilius 50, 2004, 205-15. Other 
reviews: J.-Y. Maleuvre, LEC 70, 2002, 419; C. Walde, MH 59, 2002, 261; J. Fabre-Serris, 
REL 80, 2002, 354-5; V. Cova, Athenaeum 91, 2003, 299-300; P. J. Davis, AJPh 124, 2003, 
485-9; G. De Santis, Ordia prima 2, 2003, 195-9; A. Feldherr, JRS 93, 2003, 373-4; R. T. 
Ganiban, NECJ 30, 2003, 173-5; P. Todeur, AC 72, 2003, 393-4; M. W. Janan, CW 97, 
2004, 216-17; J. Stanfiel, CO 81, 2003, 40-1; R. D. Brown, AHB 18, 2004, 197; J. 
Wildberger, Gnomon 76, 2004, 453-4; S. Viarre, Latomus 65, 2006, 230. 

61. P. Hardie (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Ovid, Cambridge-New York 2002 
(Cambridge Companions to Literature). 
Recommended reviews: N. Holzberg, JRS 93, 2003, 374-6; S. H. Lindheim, Vergilius 49, 
2003, 135-51; J. A. Farrell, BMCR 2004.12.21; P. E. Knox, Hermathena 176, 2004, 101-4. 
Other reviews: J. Fabre-Serris, REL 80, 2002, 354; B. Rochette, LEC 70, 2002, 418-9; L. 
Fulkerson, CO 80, 2003, 161-2; J. Aubrit, Ordia prima 2, 2003, 187-91; M. Brady, Classics 

Ireland 10, 2003, 78-82; M. S. Cummings, Mouseion (Canada) 3, 2003, 57-73; G. A. 
Daujotas, Argos 27, 2003, 172-6; P. J. Davis, AJPh 124, 2003, 485-9; F. Feraco, BStudLat 
33, 2003, 217-20; R. D. Marks, CML 23, 2003, 135-42; O. Salomies, Arctos 37, 2003, 262-
5; R. D. Brown, AHB 18, 2004, 196; J. Poucet, AC 73, 2004, 396-7; V. Hunink, Mnemosyne 
58, 2005, 299-302. 

62. G. B. Conte, Dějiny řimské literatury, D. Bartoňková (trad.), Praha 2003. 
Review: K. Petrovićová, SPFB(klas) 9, 2004, 177-8. 

63. F. Harzer, Ovid, Stuttgart 2002 (Sammlung Metzler 328). 
Review: U. Schmitzer, Gymnasium 110, 2003, 179-80. 

64. N. Holzberg, Ovid: The Poet and His Work, translated by G. M. Goshgarian, Ithaca-New 
York 2002. 
Recommended review: P. E. Knox, CPh 99, 2004, 275-8. Other reviews: R. Armstrong, 
BMCR 2002.11.21; C. A. Perkins, CB 79, 2003, 156-9. 

65. M. von Albrecht, История римской литературы, Перевод А.И. Любжина, Москва 2002. 
66. S. Daams, Epische und elegische Erzählung bei Ovid: Ars amatoria und Metamorphosen, 

München 2003 (Forum europäische Literatur 1). 
67. M. von Albrecht, A Római irodalom története, fordította Tar Ibolya, Budapest 2003-2004. 
68. M. von Albrecht, Ovid. Eine Einführung, Stuttgart 2003. 
69. S. J. Harrison (ed.), A Companion to Latin Literature, Oxford-Malden 2004 (Blackwell 

companions to literature and culture). 
Reviews: E. Hamer, BMCR 2006.04.19; P. A. Zissos, CR 56, 2006, 335-7; J. Gómez 
Pallarès, Ordia prima 6, 2007, 258-60; A. M. Morelli, RFIC 136, 2008, 242-7; L. Roman, 
Phoenix 62, 2008, 392-5. 

70. K. Galinsky (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Augustus, Cambridge 2005. 
Recommended reviews: M. Toher, CR 57, 2007, 472-4; F. J. Vervaet, AC 76, 2007, 546-9. 
Other reviews: L. L. Brice, BMCR 2006.7.26; B. Eden, CB 82, 2006, 146-7; E. J. Schnabel, 
TJ 27, 2006, 329-30; M. K. Jaeger, AHB 21, 2007, 150-2; D. O’Rourke, Classics Ireland 

14, 2007, 107-10; S. Thakur, JRA 20, 2007, 439-43; C. Wendt, HistLit 5, 2007, 9-11; S. 
Papaïoannou, Ordia prima 7, 2008, 207-23; K. Sandberg, Arctos 43, 2009, 261-4. 

71. C. E. Newlands, “Ovid”, in J. M. Foley (ed.), A Companion to Ancient Epic. Malden-Oxford 
2005, 476-91 (Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World). 
Reviews: J. Boulogne, LEC 73, 2005, 260-1; E. Barker, JHS 127, 2007, 155-6; S. Dalley, 
JAS 17, 2007, 188-9; R. Facundo Espino, Minerva 20, 2007, 225-30; D. E. Gay, Fabula 48, 



II. Reference works 
 

 

 

6

2007, 340-3; F. Létoublon, RPh 81, 2007, 399-400; A. J. R. Syson, BMCR 2007.09.41; N. 
Wasserman, SCI 26, 2007, 216-18; E. Theodorakopoulos, CR 59, 2009, 8-10; C. Saerens, 
Latomus 69, 2010, 516-19. 

72. U. Schmitzer, Ovidio. Trad. it. e un saggio di M. Bonvicini, Bologna 2005. 
Reviews: F. Corsaro, Orpheus 27, 2006, 279-83; A. De Vivo, BStudLat 36, 2006, 290-1; S. 
M. Manzella, Vichiana 8, 2006, 308-17; D. Ghira, Maia 60, 2008, 139-40. 

73. P. E. Knox (ed.), Oxford Readings in Ovid, Oxford 2006 (Oxford Reading in Classical 
Studies). 
Reviews: A. Borgo, A&R 1, 2007, 169-73; F. Casaceli, BStudLat 37, 2007, 722-38; G. C. 
Lacki, BMCR 2007.09.19; P. J. Davis, CR 58, 2008, 132-3. 

74. *B. Milewska-Waźbińska, J. Domański (eds.), Owidiusz: twórczość, recepcja, legenda. 

Referaty wygłoszone podczas międzynarodowej konferencji z okazji Setnego 

Jubileuszowego Zjazdu Polskiego Towarzystwa Filologicznego. Warszawa 16-18 września 

2004, Warszawa 2006. 
75. *G. Papponetti (ed.), Ovidio fra Roma e Tomis. Atti del convegno internazionale di studi: 

Sulmona 13-15 giugno 2003, Sulmona 2006. 
Reviews: F. Ficca, BStudLat 36, 2006, 627-32; S. Ferrando, Maia 60, 2008, 137-8. 

76. M. Janka, U. Schmitzer, H. Seng (eds.), Ovid. Werk – Kultur – Wirkung, Darmstadt 2007. 
Reviews: R. Glei, Forum Classicum 52, 2009, 156-9; S. Viarre, Latomus 70, 2011, 1176. 

77. I. Jouteur (ed.), La théâtralité de l’œuvre ovidienne, Paris 2009. 
Reviews: A. Deremetz, Latomus 71, 2012, 1230-2; F. Klein, REL 90, 2012, 386-9. 

78. P. E. Knox (ed.), A Companion to Ovid, Oxford-Malden 2009 (Blackwell Companions to 
the Ancient World). 
Recommended review: A. Ramírez de Verger, BMCR 2009.11.32. Other reviews: J. 
Ingleheart, CR 60, 2010, 449-51; P. Tordeur, AC 80, 2011, 312; K. S. Myers, CJ 106, 2011, 
495-8. 

79. P. Parroni (ed.), Lo spazio letterario di Roma antica, VI. I testi: 1. La poesia, Roma 2009. 
Reviews: A. Balbo, Aufidus 25 (74-5), 2011, 163-6; A. Canobbio, Athenaeum 100, 2012, 
723-6; P. Paolucci, Paideia 67, 2012, 727-42; R. Ruggiero, Belfagor 67, 2012, 234-6; G. 
Salanitro, Sileno 38, 2012, 377-8; S. Monda, Eikasmos 26, 2015, 490-2. 

80. A. Feldherr, Playing gods: Ovid’s «Metamorphoses» and the politics of fiction, Princeton 
2010. 
Reviews: P. J. Davis, BMCR 2010.12; L. M. Fratantuono, CPh 106, 2011, 175-9; S. Myers, 
NECJ 38, 2011, 299-301; P. Chaudhuri, CR 62, 2012, 160-1; C. Kossaifi, REL 90, 2012, 
384-6; L. Jansen, JRS 102, 2012, 384-5; G. Liveley, Phoenix 66, 2012, 198-201. 

81. R. Heinze, Il racconto elegiaco di Ovidio. Trad. italiana di C. Travan; con una premessa di 
F. Serpa; ed. a cura di S. Ravalico, Trieste 2010 (Dicti studiosus: classici della filologia in 
traduzione 1). 
Reviews: J. A. Bellido Díaz, ExClass 14, 2010, 375-8; B. Larosa, BMCR 2010.10.43; S. 
Viarre, REL 89, 2011, 371; D. Ghira, Maia 64, 2012, 410-12; A. Arena, Latomus 72, 2013, 
1149-51. 

82. M. Labate, Passato remoto: età mitiche e identità augustea in Ovidio, Pisa-Roma, 2010 
(Biblioteca di Materiali e discussioni per l’analisi dei testi classici 21). 
Reviews: C. Battistella BMCR 2010.12.42; K. S. Myers, CR 62, 2012, 158-9. 

83. R. B. Patrick, Groves in Ovid’s «Metamorphoses»: domesticity, wildness and 

transformation, Ph. D. Dissertation, Gainesville 2010. 
84. H. Vial, La métamorphose dans les Métamorphoses d’Ovide: étude sur l’art de la variation, 

Paris 2010 (Collection d’études anciennes. Série latine 70). 
Recommended reviews: S. Stucchi, Latomus 71, 2012, 215-19; G. Rosati, Gnomon 86, 
2014, 311-14. Other reviews: C. Noacco, BMCR 2010.11.24; S. Ballestra-Puech, AC 80, 



II. Reference works 
 

 

 

7

2011, 312-14; S. Viarre, REL 89, 2011, 374-8; F. Ripoll, Pallas 88, 2012, 248-50; I. 
Gildenhard, CR 63, 2013, 434-6; N. Simões Rodrigues, Euphrosyne 42, 2014, 305-6. 

85. *A. Videau, La poétique d’Ovide, de l’élégie à l’épopée des «Métamorphoses»: essai sur 

un style dans l’histoire, Paris 2010 (Rome et ses renaissances). 
Reviews: P. Chaudhuri, AJPh 133, 2012, 528-31; F. Delarue, REL 90, 2012, 389-91; É. 
Coutelle, Latomus 72, 2013, 582-5. 

86. K. Volk, Ovid, Chichester-Malden 2010 (Blackwell introductions to the classical world). 
Reviews: C. Kossaifi, REL 89, 2011, 369-71; P. B. Katz, NECJ 39, 2012, 71-3; D. Krasne, 
BMCR 2012.02.09; M. C. Pasco-Pranger, CR 62, 2012, 502-4. 

87. *A. De Vivo, Frammenti di discorsi ovidiani, Napoli 2011 (Studi latini 77). 
Reviews: I. Jouteur, REL 89, 2011, 378-9; A. Borgo, Vichiana 14, 2012, 273-7; F. Giordano, 
A&R 6, 2012, 240-2; B. Larosa, Athenaeum 102, 2014, 629-33; G. Patti, RPL 15, 2012, 
214-6. 

88. R. Moreno Soldevila (ed.), Diccionario de motivos amatorios en la literatura latina (Siglos 

III a. C.-II d. C.), Huelva 2011 (ExClass, Anejo 2). 
Reviews: F. Cairns, BMCR 2011.12.27; M. Martínez Hernández, CFC(G) 22, 2012, 231-3; 
R. Dimundo, Latomus 73, 2014, 267-9; S. L. James, Gnomon 86, 2014, 654-5. 

89. Mª C. Álvarez, R. Mª Iglesias (eds.), Y el mito se hizo poesía, Madrid 2012. 
Reviews: M. C. García Fuentes, CFC(L) 33, 2013, 209-14; J. González Vázquez, FlorIlib 
24, 2013, 301-4; G. Lopetegui Semperena, Veleia 30, 2013, 351-5; F. Socas, EClas 144, 
2013, 121-7; J. L. Arcaz Pozo, Minerva 27, 2014, 294-7; M. von Albrecht, Myrtia 29, 2014, 
457-60. 

90. P. L. Gatti, N. Mindt (eds.), «Undique mutabant atque undique mutabantur»: Beiträge zur 

augusteischen Literatur und ihren Transformationen, Göttingen 2012 (Vertumnus 8). 
Reviews: C. Zgoll BMCR 2013 (3); C. Laudani, BStudLat 45, 2015, 306-9. 

91. *M. von Albrecht, Grosse römische Autoren: Texte und Themen. 2, Horaz, Vergil und seine 

Nachfolger, Heidelberg 2013 (Heidelberger Studienhefte zur Altertumswissenschaft). 
Reviews: R. Gordesiani, Phasis 16, 2013, 427-31; A. Podossinov, Aristeas 8, 2013, 199-
206; F. Weitz, GFA 16, 2013, 1403-7; B. Dunsch, Gymnasium 121, 2014, 610-12; G. 
Lernout, BMCR 2014.05.59; D. Schmitz, Forum Classicum 1, 2014, 84-8; A. Setaioli, 
Prometheus 41, 2015, 291-5; F. Winter, Ianus 36, 2015, 88-9; B. Rochette, Latomus 75, 
2016, 541-4. 

92. *M. von Albrecht, Grosse römische Autoren: Texte und Themen. 3, Von Lukrez und Catull 

zu Ovid, Heidelberg 2013 (Heidelberger Studienhefte zur Altertumswissenschaft). 
Same reviews of 91. 

93. P. Laurens, Histoire critique de la littérature latine: de Virgile à Huysmans, Paris 2014. 
Reviews: S. Audano, BMCR 2014.11.45; G. Flamerie de Lachapelle, REA 116, 2014, 402-
3; C. Langlois-Pezeret, BiblH&R 76, 2014, 341-3; R. Martin, René, REL 92, 2014, 358-60; 
G. Rosati, RPh 88, 2014, 216-17. 

94. *M. von Albrecht, Ovids «Metamorphosen»: Texte, Themen, Illustrationen, Heidelberg 
2014 (Heidelberger Studienhefte zur Altertumswissenschaft). 
Reviews: M. Capponi, MH 72, 2015, 227-8; J.-M. Claassen BMCR 2015.06.37; C. 
Schwameis, Ianus 37, 2016, 92; S. Albert, Vox Latina 50.198, 2014, 622-3. 

95. M. von Albrecht, Ovidio: Una introducción, trad. del alemán de A. Mauriz, revisada por F. 
Moya del Baño y M. von Albrecht, bibliografía ovidiana en España por E. Gallego Moya, 
Murcia 2014  
Reviews: J. Cantó Llorca, CFC(L) 36, 2016, 353-5; J. A. Estévez Sola, Minerva 29, 2016, 
356-8; R. Guarino Ortega, Myrtia 31, 2016, 436-7; C. Macías, AnMal Electrónica 40, 2016, 
179-97; M. E. Sala, REC 43, 2016, 261-5. 

96. F. Citti, L. Pasetti, D. Pellacani (eds.), Metamorfosi tra scienza e letteratura, Firenze 2014 
(Biblioteca Nuncius. Studi e testi 73). 



II. Reference works 
 

 

 

8

97. M. von Albrecht, La littérature latine de Livius Andronicus à Boèce et sa permanence dans 

les lettres européennes, Louvain 2014. 
98. L. Rivero, Mª C. Álvarez, R. Mª Iglesias, J. A. Estévez (eds.), Viuam! Estudios sobre la 

obra de Ovidio – Studies on Ovid’s poetry, Huelva-Murcia 2018 (Huelva Classical 
Monographs 10 – Exemplaria Classica Supplements). 

Introductions to Ovid 

In recent years, numerous general introductions to Ovid have been published, almost all of 

them in German. On the one hand, there are the scholarly monographs of Döpp (35), Holzberg 

(48) and von Albrecht (68). On the other, the educational and informative books by Giebel (32), 

Schmitzer (58, 72) and Harzer (63). I will start by briefly reviewing the second group. 

Marion Giebel (32) published a basic introduction to Ovid, conceived, I think, simply as an 

invitation to read. In the first chapter (7-14), she examines the different conditions that 

encouraged the development of elegy in Augustan Rome. She also briefly addresses Ovid’s 

predecessors. After this, Giebel summarily analyses the am. (15-22), the Med. (16-7), and the 

Heroides (17-28) as explorations of female psychology. The author draws links between ars 

(29-44) and the political-social context of the time. Afterwards, she dedicates considerable 

space to presenting the controversial poetic programme of met. (45-52), and to summarising 

and discussing some stories which are significant from this point of view (53-95). Finally, she 

briefly examines fast. (96-101), the poetry of exile (102-25), and offers some hints on the 

reception of Ovid (126-33). The book is illustrated with images from different periods. 

The work by Ulrich Schmitzer (58) consists of a basic review of Ovid’s biography (chapter 

1 and part of 6, dedicated to exile), and especially of his poetic production. The book is 

organised chronologically and combines an overall vision with an analysis of specific aspects, 

considering most of the key issues in Ovidian studies. Chapter 3 is dedicated to met.: Schmitzer 

addresses aspects such as the structure of the work, the compromise between carmen perpetuum 

and carmen deductum, its main themes, and possible anti-Augustan ideology. As examples, he 

analyses the episodes of Callisto (2.401-530), Scylla (8.6-151), Hyacinthus (10.162-219) and 

Vertumnus and Pomona (14.623-771). 

The Italian edition of the book (72) also includes an essay by Mariella Bonvicini, who 

attempts to show the contrast between poetry and rhetoric in Ovid’s work, especially in the 

exile poetry. 

Friedmann Harzer’s short book (63) is designed for students of modern literature who are 

not trained in the classics, to provide basic information about the author, his work, and 

especially its influence and reception, above all in modern times (ix). Although the book is 



II. Reference works 
 

 

 

9

mostly based on contemporary literary criticism (such as gender studies), Harzer also addresses 

well-known issues from Ovidian studies. In the introductory chapter, the author offers a brief 

overview (1-6) of Ovid’s life, and the chronological framework of his poetic production (6-9), 

and gives some broad ideas about its reception (9-16). After this, he examines Ovid’s main 

works: the opera amatoria (19-66); met. (67-106), commenting on several specific myths; fast. 

(106-12) and lastly epist., trist. and Pont. (113-31), which are included under the epigraph 

“Versepistolographie”. Ample space is allocated to the individual reception of each of these 

works. 

Turning to more specialised studies, Siegmar Döpp (35) moves slightly away from the 

traditional format of general introductions. He does not attempt to offer an overall vision of the 

poet’s works, but rather focuses attention on the interpretation of individual passages in an 

attempt to explain their structure, how they fit into the literary genre, and their relation with 

literary models. However, as an introduction, Döpp includes some pages examining Ovid’s 

biography which are based, perhaps excessively, on the autobiography of trist. 4.10 (9-28). As 

regards met. (117-54), the author explores Ovid’s relation to his sources. Specifically, he 

mentions Nicander of Colophon (119-20), Parthenius of Nicaea (120), the Ornithogonia 

attributed to Boios, and Aemilius Macer (120), and the programmatic differences between them 

and Ovid (123-8). He also mentions the relevance of aetiology and the different types of 

transformation used to represent human nature (121-3), as well as the poet’s relation with 

Augustus (129-30). Finally, he analyses the episodes of Pygmalion (10.238-97) in 131-42, and 

Phaethon (1.747-2.400) in 142-54. 

Some years later, Niklas Holzberg (48) published a successful general introduction to Ovid 

of some 200 pages, which has been reedited several times, translated into English (64), and has 

received several reviews. Although the book is aimed at a wide audience, it is essential reading 

for specialists, since Holzberg’s views are always entertaining and stimulating, although not 

always conventional or entirely coherent concerning the evidence (for example, the idea that 

Medea never existed, the excessive search for pentads and structures in the works, etc.). 

Broadly, Holzberg understands the genre and the elegiac conventions (“das elegische System”) 

as the motif which Ovid never abandoned throughout his entire poetic production, and which 

was adapted to the stories that he wanted to tell (for example, in the elegies of exile, Augustus 

performs the role of dura puella). Additionally, Holzberg identifies the “Seelenmalerei” (157) 

as one of the key elements of Ovid’s success. The author correctly stresses Ovid’s position of 

doctus poeta in the literary sphere, but also in the political one (see the epigraph “Ovid – ein 

Dichter zwischen den Texten”: 13-20). At the same time, he also emphasises that Ovid’s work 



II. Reference works 
 

 

 

10

should always be taken as fiction. The section dedicated to met. (123-58) should be read 

alongside a monograph (Ovids Metamorphosen, München 2007) by the same author. 

The introduction by Michael von Albrecht (68) offers a clear, concise and in-depth review 

of Ovid’s poetic and biographical journey, focusing on the works one at a time. For each one 

he makes observations about its contents, structure, literary models, genres, language and style, 

and literary resources, among other aspects. Additionally, he dedicates a chapter to the poet’s 

influence and reception. 

The Spanish edition (95) also features a “bibliografía ovidiana en España” (362-453) by 

Elena Gallego Moya and an “índice onomástico y conceptual” (455-75) prepared by the 

translator Antonio Mauriz Martínez. 

During the period examined, only one general introduction to Ovid was published originally 

in a language other than German (although the author is German). Katharina Volk’s book (86) 

is designed for a broad and non-specialist audience, but she brings together within it some of 

the latest trends in Ovidian criticism, while also offering her own vision. The book is not 

organised by works, but by themes. In the first two chapters, Volk presents Ovid’s poetic 

production in chronological order (6-19), along with what we know about the poet’s life (20-

34). In the following chapter, she examines the elegiac genre and its transformation from am. 

to trist. and Pont. (35-49). The fourth chapter, which is almost entirely dedicated to met., 

explores the poet’s use of myth (50-3), the work’s epic character, intertextuality (53-6), and 

Ovid’s skill as a narrator (56-64). In the next four chapters, specific topics are examined: the 

ars or imitation of reality (65-6, 71-80), the use of rhetoric (67-70), the treatment of women 

(81-94), how the poet presents the city of Rome (95-109), and some aspects of the work’s 

posterior reception (110-27). 

Last but not least, one could also regard two papers by Johnson (10) and La Penna (19) as 

concise introductions to Ovid. 

W. R. Johnson’s brief chapter (10) examines Ovid’s biography (784-5), the poet’s relation 

with the emperor (785-8), and his main works (788-804). More generally, the author attempts 

to dispel some prejudices which undermined the poet’s popularity during part of the 20th 

century. In addition, Johnson points out that one of the merits of Ovidian poetry is finding ways 

to successfully portray the human personality with all its vulnerabilities, and its relation with 

others and society (esp. 804-5); met. is also analysed (797-803) from this perspective. 

Following on from Gianpiero Rosati’s unforgettable analysis of the myths of Narcissus and 

Pygmalion, Antonio La Penna (19) offers an essay in which he examines Ovid’s main works, 

and reflects on some general aspects of Ovidian poetry. The author examines different 



II. Reference works 
 

 

 

11

procedures that allow the poet to show the varied nature of human life, and to relativise our 

experience, mainly through “la banalizzazione del pathos”, “lo svuotamento ironico del 

pathos”, lusus, and an elaborate play of contrasts. As far as met. are concerned (xviii-xxiii), I 

would like to highlight La Penna’s statement that no structural analysis of the work will ever 

completely dispel the idea that it is a group of dissimilar stories thrown together (xviii-xx). 

As usual, all these introductions do not address, or do so in a merely tangential way, 

questions relative to the text and its transmission. 

Joint interpretations 

As a complement to the introductions above, the books by Hardie (60), Feldherr (80), 

Labate (82), Patrick (83), Vial (84) and Videau (85) attempt to offer a joint reading or 

interpretation of the Ovidian corpus, or part of it, usually following a Leitmotiv or a specific 

aspect of his poetry. 

Philip Hardie (60) argues persuasively that the motif which presides over the varied Ovidian 

corpus (although, in practice, he only takes into consideration am., epist., met., trist. and Pont.) 

is the tension between presence and absence – or rather, the evocation of mental images or 

“illusions of presence” (φαντασίαι) – of beings and objects which are, in reality, absent. The 

desire to materialise these absences, which are normally unattainable, takes a fundamental role 

in the articulation of such illusions (the basic theoretical structure comes largely from M. 

Krieger, Poetic Presence and Illusion, Baltimore-London 1979, but Hardie constantly resorts 

to modern literary criticism, psychoanalysis and philosophical thinking, especially Lacan). 

Hardie develops his thesis within a complex and somewhat scattered web of ten chapters with 

a more or less chronological review of Ovid’s works. Throughout the book, general analyses 

alternate with further examinations, more focused on details. In the case of met., the reader will 

find pages dedicated almost exclusively, always from the perspective of ‘poetic illusion’, to the 

study of the stories of Apollo and Daphne (45-50), Orpheus along with Apollo and Hyacinthus 

(63-70), Narcissus (143-172), Pygmalion (173-226), Tereus and Philomela (259-272), and 

Ceyx and Alcyone (272-82), as well as the poet’s epilogue (91-7). Chapter 7 (“Absent presences 

of language”) is devoted to studying the linguistic facets that permit the creation of “illusions 

of presence”. Additionally, throughout the entire work, Ovid’s relationship with his 

predecessors is also addressed (notably Lucretius, Gallus, Virgil and Propertius), as is the 

reception of Ovidian poetry from the Renaissance to present day. 



II. Reference works 
 

 

 

12

Andrew Feldherr (80) advances a political reading of the met. and, more specifically, of the 

aspects which Ovid’s audience could interpret in a political, civic, dramatic, social or religious 

sense. The material has, for the most part, been published previously (ix). The first chapter (15-

59) addresses the fictionality of the text and the concept of metamorphosis, which is not 

considered stable; in the second (60-122), the author examines identity, in terms of artistic 

representation; the third (125-59) analyses the episodes of Lycaon and Pythagoras in relation 

to sacrificial ritual; in the fourth, (160-98) Feldherr studies Ovidian fiction and public 

spectacles; the fifth (199-239) analyses the episode of Philomela, the gladiatorial games, and 

the absence of divinities; in the sixth (243-92), he focuses on Pygmalion and the Roman 

experience of contemplating art; and, finally, the seventh (293-341) looks at Niobe and Perseus, 

and the public images of Augustus. The book includes an index locorum (365-72) as well as a 

general index (373-7). 

Mario Labate (82) dedicates a monographic volume to Ovid’s epic work (previously he 

produced another similar book about the poet’s love elegy: L’arte di farsi amare: modelli 

culturali e progetto didascalico nell’elegia ovidiana, Pisa 1984). Some chapters had been 

previously published as independent papers. Labate explores Ovid’s narrative strategies as 

opposed to the epic genre and mythical tradition of the past, and shows how the narrator 

manages to appropriate this tradition and present a coherent epic discourse that is also critical 

of his own time. The first section (“Strategie epiche ovidiane”, 13-126), subdivided into 10 

chapters, examines the Ovidian treatment of epic models, and Greek heroes and battles. In the 

second section (“Le molte verità del poeta maestro”, 137-56), Labate studies cosmogony and 

the myth of the ages in met. 1 in relation to preceding models and Augustan politics. The third 

section (“L’identità culturale augustea nei Fasti”, 157-242) examines the union between Greek 

myth and popular Roman religion in fast., and how this allowed the extension of the Roman 

identity from the urbs to the orbis. 

The thesis of Robert Patrick (83) maintains that one of Ovid’s objectives of the met. was to 

explore identity and the human psyche. To do this, one of the most typical techniques was to 

bring together the civilised, domesticated human being with the untamed (9): wild divinities, 

human instincts, extreme passions etc. The author understands that this confrontation has a 

function analogous to the sacred groves or luci of ancient landscapes, and for this reason he 

calls this confrontation the “grove-dynamic”. Chapters 3-5 (52-207) form, in this way, a linear 

interpretation of the poem and the sacred groves that appear in it. 

The dense book by Hélène Vial (84), which also started out as a doctoral thesis, addresses 

the theme of transformation as the thematic and conceptual, as well as formal and linguistic, 



II. Reference works 
 

 

 

13

nucleus of the met. She explores Ovid’s ability to vary the same theme without becoming 

monotonous (in the second part, the various myths are classified by thematic similarities 

specifically to illustrate the art of variation). The transformation is seen as a metaphor for the 

hybrid, changing nature of the Ovidian work and poetics. 

Anne Videau’s work (85) is a reelaboration of previously published papers, and can be 

considered a continuation of another essay of hers (Les Tristes d’Ovide et l’élégie romaine: une 

poétique de la rupture, Paris 1991). She attempts to present a unified picture of Ovid’s work 

and poetics, and his generic diversity, as a response to the historical context. The first part of 

the book (23-236) explores the history of elegy since Ancient Greece, where some aspects that 

will later appear in met. are already identified. The second part (241-556) assesses the unity of 

the Ovidian corpus between elegy and epos. Videau begins by analysing the Theban cycle in 

books 3-4 of met., and its generic contamination, as well as the wordplays and semantic 

connections that operate therein (so that action can become opsis). Later, she studies the 

Ovidian transformation of the ethics which governed the archaic and divine world, informed by 

the political and historical context. 

Companions 

Three Companions to Ovid have been published in recent years. Two of these both appeared 

in 2002, one prepared by Barbara W. Boyd (59) for Brill, the second one by Philip Hardie (61) 

for Cambridge. Seven years later, the Companion edited by Peter Knox (78) was published by 

Blackwell. The three volumes should be considered complementary and representative of the 

most recent trends and developments in Ovidian studies. In all three cases, the chapters that 

refer to met. are appropriately collected into the pertinent sections. In any case, it is worth saying 

a few words about each of the volumes. See also the additional volume prepared by Knox (73): 

see on ‘Miscellanea’. 

The Brill Companion (59) collects papers of 14 prestigious scholars, which focus as much 

on general issues (social and biographical; literary and stylistic; reception; textual transmission) 

as on the various works of the poet, addressed in chronological order. One chapter is dedicated 

to exploring aspects of each of met.’s pentads (A. M. Keith, “Sources and Genres in Ovid’s 

Metamorphoses 1-5”, 235-70; G. Rosati, “Narrative Technique and Narrative Structures in the 

Metamorphoses”, 271-304; G. Tissol, “The House of Fame: Roman History and Augustan 

Politics in Metamorphoses 11-15”, 305-36). The volume features an index locorum (513-9) as 

well as a general index (520-33). 



II. Reference works 
 

 

 

14

The plan of the Cambridge Companion (61) is probably more ambitious. The 20 papers by 

17 excellent scholars are not grouped by chronological criteria, but by theme. The first section 

(“Contexts and history”, 13-75) situates the poet and his work in the contemporary literary and 

political context, while the second part (“Themes and works”, 79-245) then focuses on specific 

aspects of the Ovidian poetic production. The third section (“Reception”, 249-367) explores the 

poet’s reception and posterior influence. The book does not, however, include an index 

locorum. 

In a way, the two previous approaches are combined in the Blackwell Companion (78), 

which brings together 33 articles by 31 Ovidian scholars. The first section (“Contexts”, 1-58) 

studies the poet’s life, and the social and literary context. The second (“Texts”, 59-216) consists 

of one chapter about each of Ovid’s works (on met., cf. E. J. Kenney, “The Metamorphoses: A 

Poet’s Poem”, 140-53). In the third part (“Intertexts”, 217-307), Ovid’s use of sources and of 

intertextuality is analysed, while in the fourth (“Critical and Scholarly Approaches”, 309-93) 

two chapters are dedicated to the challenges of editing and commenting on texts, followed by 

four chapters on various literary theories and their application to Ovidian texts. The fifth section 

(“Literary Receptions”, 395-485) explores the literary reception of Ovid. This volume does not 

include an index locorum either. 

Literary history 

The viewpoints noted in the various introductions to Ovid, and in the other works above, 

can be contrasted and expanded with more general volumes and ‘literary histories’. In some 

cases, they can also serve as introductions with narrower scope. Considering the limits of the 

present paper, the following list is necessarily selective and includes only those works deemed 

especially important and relevant, and published for the first time after 1980 (reprints or new 

editions of older histories of Roman literature are therefore excluded). 

The second volume of the essential Cambridge History of Classical Literature is dedicated, 

under the editorship of Edward Kenney and Wendell Clausen (11), to Latin literature. The team 

of 18 scholars addresses, from a critical perspective, both the most relevant authors and works 

(but they also address some of the less important ones), and the different periods and literary 

genres. In addition, they consider more general questions such as the literary culture of ancient 

Rome. The book includes an appendix of authors (biographies) and works with bibliography 

(Ovid 855-7), and a metrical appendix (936-9), although not an index rerum. 



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15

The chapter dedicated to Ovid by Kenney (12) is excellent. The poet’s technical skills and 

resources, which allow him to appropriate previous literary conventions and revitalise them in 

an original way (esp. 455-7), are analysed convincingly. The volume includes, of course, a 

specific section (13) on met., which examines the main key points in interpreting the poem. In 

any case, perhaps it is excessive to state that the met. are more universal that the Aeneid (440-

1). The vision expressed in this paper should be complemented with another excellent 

contribution by Kenney in the Blackwell Companion reviewed above (“The Metamorphoses: 

A Poet’s Poem”, 140-53), and his brilliant introduction to books 7-9 (Ovidio. Metamorfosi. 

Volume IV. Libri VII-IX, Milano 2011, ix-xxxviii). 

The magnificent and successful handbook by Gian Biagio Conte (27), in a more traditional 

format (and also offering more conservative interpretations), includes collaborations from other 

prestigious academics: A. Barchiesi, E. Narducci, G. Polara, G. Ranucci and G. Rosati, as well 

as M. Labate, A. Schiesaro and R. Ferri since the English edition (41), which also includes 

contributions by D. P. Fowler and G. W. Most. With around 700 pages (in the 1992 edition, 

used as reference here), the manual offers a critical panorama, always with personal 

commentary, of Latin literature from its earliest origins up to the Middle Ages. Some chapters 

are oriented towards literary periodisation and the characterisation of each period identified. 

However, most of the chapters specifically address the different authors, although some also 

examine literary genres. The basic outline of the chapters includes a first section of “vita, opere, 

fonti”, which leads to the specific treatment of different works, paying special attention to 

intertextuality and the use of previous literary tradition. In addition, other aspects such as social 

and cultural context are commented upon. Most chapters finish with some words about the 

“fortuna” of the author, and a short commented bibliography (in the English edition, both 

sections are adapted to the Anglo-Saxon readership). In my view, the introductory chapter to 

Augustan literary production is outstanding (215-16). Likewise, the chapter dedicated to Ovid 

is also very good. Firstly, a few indications are offered about what we know of his biography 

(291) and the chronology of his poetic production (291-2). This is followed by an adequate 

general characterisation of Ovidian poetry (292-3) and another on each of his works (293-307; 

met. 300-4). At this point, as is logical, reference is made to the models, and how the poet uses 

them to produce a personal and original work. The chapter finishes with a brief overview of the 

poet’s posterior reception (307-8). The manual features frequent epigraphs in the margin, to 

simplify its use; it also includes various glossaries, a chronology, and an index of names. The 

work has recently been translated into Czech (62). 



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The monumental ‘Handbuch’ by Michael von Albrecht (37) is also designed in a traditional 

way. The global output is perhaps less personal than Conte’s and, by its rigid structure, the book 

is more to be consulted than read continuously. However the scholar always expresses his views 

and opinions, based on his personal experience and familiarity with the texts, and also 

establishes a dialogue with the latest bibliography. The ‘Handbuch’ is divided into four main 

chronological periods: Republican, Augustan, Early Imperial, and Middle and Late Imperial. 

Each section includes an introduction to the period as a whole (he takes into consideration 

aspects such as historical and literary context, Greek precedents and their Roman developments, 

or primary genres and characteristics of the period). After that, von Albrecht offers a detailed 

overview of each period’s poetry, and subsequently its prose according to genres and authors. 

An introductory chapter examines the origins of Latin literature, and a final one looks at its 

transmission. The chapters devoted to individual authors try to provide, within a very rigid 

structure, some information about the author’s life; the contents of his (or her) work, and an 

assessment of his (or her) relationship with previous models; his (or her) literary technique and 

style; the conceptual world (‘reflections on literature’ and ‘thought-world’); the author’s 

transmission; and, in a more detailed way, the author’s later reception (since a key aim of the 

work is to show the importance of Roman literature in the development of European cultural 

and literary movements). The bibliographies are comprehensive and up-to-date. The chapter on 

Ovid is a short, but learned and useful, introduction to his work. I would like to highlight the 

sub-section on the poet’s influence. The sub-section on Ovid’s textual transmission, however, 

is somewhat outdated. An abridged version of the chapter on Ovid is to be found in 52. 

The German original has been re-edited twice thus far (with mainly bibliographical updates) 

and has been translated into multiple languages, in many cases under the supervision of von 

Albrecht himself, including the Italian (44, with a bibliographical appendix by Rita 

Degl’Innocenti Pierini), English (49), Spanish (50, with a brief bibliographical appendix) and 

French (97) versions. However I am not aware whether the author was also involved in the 

preparation of the Greek (51), Russian (65) or Hungarian (67) translations. 

The perspectives of these three fundamental works should be supplemented with the 

massive five-volume work, Lo spazio letterario di Roma antica, edited by Guglielmo Cavallo, 

Paolo Fedeli and Andrea Giardina (with contributions by some of the most relevant Italian 

scholars of the last decades). The work attempts to offer an overview of the context and multiple 

aspects surrounding the creation, transmission and reception of Roman literature in the broadest 

sense (i.e. “lo spazio letterario”). The first volume (28) explores the different facets that 

intervene in the creation of a text (myths, religious experiences, reading experiences, 



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preferences of the public etc.). The second volume (29) focuses on the diffusion of the texts 

(from book form to private recitations or letters), while the third volume (30) analyses the 

dynamics that allowed the destruction or preservation of Roman literature. The fourth volume 

(31) focuses on some aspects of classical tradition; and, finally, the fifth volume (38) offers a 

chronology of Roman literature (9-145), a useful bibliography both on general matters (155-

211) and on individual authors (Ovid 379-88), and indexes. 

Two complementary volumes appeared some years later, edited by Piergiorgio Parroni, one 

focusing on poetry (79) and the other on prose (P. Parroni (ed.), Lo spazio letterario di Roma 

antica, VII. I testi: 2. La prosa, Roma 2012). Each consists of a commented anthology of texts 

organized by genre, with every section including an introductory note. The texts are presented 

with translation and commentary. Alessandro Fusi was responsible of the chapters on Ovid: the 

section on met. includes 3.339-512 and 4.53-166 (70-97); one will also find texts from am. 

(546-51), epist. (552-63), ars (306-17), fast. (270-285), and trist. (564-75). At the end of each 

volume there are “schede bio-bibliografiche” for every author (Ovid 842-52). 

Among many further literary histories published in the reviewed period, I would like to 

briefly address the following: in Italian, that of Cupaiuolo (42); in French, those of Zehnacker–

Fredouille (40), Grimal (43) and Laurens (93); and in Spanish, that of Codoñer (46). 

The literary history by Fabio Cupaiuolo (42) is mainly organized into chronological periods, 

although within each epoch an attempt is made to group together authors that cultivated the 

same genres. An individual chapter is devoted to Ovid (“Il tramonto dell’età augustea: Ovidio”, 

261-74). In the brief pages on met. (266-7), Cupaiuolo focuses on Ovidian narrative technique, 

and on the philosophical background of the work (267-8). The volume is, in fact, a revised and 

expanded edition of a previous book by the author (Letteratura latina. Profilo storico, Napoli 

1990). 

A similar structure is followed by Hubert Zehnacker and Jean-Claude Fredouille (40), 

although the subsection on Ovid (193-206) is more conventional.  

Carmen Codoñer (46) coordinated a group of Spanish scholars in order to produce a history 

of Latin literature, organised mainly by authors. Antonio Alvar wrote the chapter on Ovidian 

elegy (213-30), Rosa Mª Iglesias and Mª Consuelo Álvarez the chapter on met. (231-44), and 

Francisca Moya the chapter on fast. (245-53). Iglesias and Álvarez focus especially on 

programmatic and mythological aspects, the contamination of genres, and the structure of the 

carmen perpetuum. 

Many years after publishing a succinct history of Latin literature (La litterature latine, Paris 

1964, 19722), Pierre Grimal (43) offered a much more extensive one as a result of his long 



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scholarly experience (although, controversially, Christian authors are excluded). He emphasises 

the autonomy and originality of Latin literature, while recognizing the importance of Greek 

influence. Augustan Literature is also seen as a product of late-Republican struggle, rather than 

a new product of the Augustan age. Some pages are devoted specifically to Ovid (333-42). 

Lastly, the stimulating book by Pierre Laurens (93) is everything but a traditional history of 

Latin literature. Laurens rather tries to reconstruct the history of Latin literature through the 

dialogue between scribes, scholars, and creators who have appropriated Latin literature 

(especially humanists). As far as the met. are concerned, Laurens briefly discusses the historical 

reception of the poem as “une collection de fables” (93-4), as opposed to the true structure as a 

carmen perpetuum (94-6). He also addresses the innovative character of the poem (96-7). 

To all these literary histories, one could add other works which might provide 

supplementary perspectives. 

The work by Luc Duret (18) is focused on the minor poets and prose writers of the Augustan 

era whose work has not been preserved, or only in fragmentary form. For Ovidian scholars, the 

pages dedicated to the poets of ‘Ovid’s generation’ (1487-1502) could be particurlarly 

interesting, with figures such as Cornelius Severus and Albinovanus Pedo, as well as other 

authors of mythological or ‘national’ epics. These secondary figures can help to gain a more 

thorough understanding of Augustan literature and its evolution in Ovid’s time. 

Although not specifically about Ovid’s production, the work by James Zetzel (22) analyses 

Augustan poetry (especially Virgil, Horace and Propertius) in relation to Alexandrine poetry 

and Alexandrine classification of genres. The author notes that the peculiar characteristic of 

Augustan poetry is the appropriation of tradition and the expansion of genres, combining large 

and small, old and new, intimate and heroic (cf. esp. 100-2). 

The companion to Latin literature edited by Stephen Harrison (69) includes contributions 

of major academics and is divided into three sections (“periods”, “genres”, “themes”). Those 

studying met. might be especially interested in the third chapter by Joseph Farrell (“The 

Augustan Period: 40 BC-AD 14” 44-57, esp. 54-6), and part of the sub-chapter “Narrative Epic. 

4 Post-Virgilian Epic” (91-4) by Philip Hardie. 

Other scholars have approached Roman literary history according to genre. Since met. are 

particularly hard to classify as one genre or another, it might be interesting to list some of these 

literary histories. I will address the works by Martin-Gaillard (6), von Albrecht (55) and 

Perutelli (56).  

René Martin and Jacques Gaillard (6) examine each genre of Latin literature. Every section 

includes a small anthology of texts, although Ovid’s met. are seen as a special case of generic 



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contamination that forbids any exact classification or, at least, not as an epic in the traditional 

sense (49-50). 

Michael von Albrecht’s book (55) analyses almost eight centuries of Latin epic tradition 

(from Livius Andronicus to Corippus). The book does not have the format of a conventional 

manual, but starts off with linguistic and literary commentary on various passages, drawing 

conclusions from that. The study of rhetoric and intertextuality enables the author to appreciate 

which elements are already part of the tradition and which are innovations. The sixth chapter is 

dedicated to met. (143-207), and consists of five sections which reproduce previously published 

material (duly organised into corresponding sections of the present work). 

However, as an introduction to Latin epic, it is far more useful the book edited by Anthony 

Boyle (39), with a chapter on met. by William Anderson (108-24). 

As a part of a history of Latin epic, Alessandro Perutelli (56) offers a useful introduction to 

the carmen perpetuum. Although one could expect special emphasis on the generic definition 

of the poem (115-17, 130, 133-5), most of the chapter is devoted to the idea and description of 

metamorphosis (several examples are discussed: 119-29), and to the articulation of the narrative 

(esp. 131-3). 

Finally, within the ambitious Companion to Ancient Epic, Carole Newlands (71) examines 

how Ovid accommodated “to the sweep of epic the elegiac strategies derived from the neoteric 

and Hellenistic poets” (476). For instance, she studies the Ovidian treatment of some typical 

epic subjects such as “battlefields” (481-2), “the hero” (482-5), and “the gods” (485-90), which 

lead her to consider the political implications of the work. She also reviews the essential critical 

issues in the interpretation of the met., and takes into account the most important scholarly 

trends. Newlands thus produces a fine and up-to-date introduction to Ovid’s ‘epic’ piece. 

Augustan milieu 

Many works have explored the insertion of Augustan poets and Ovid into the broader 

Augustan literary context. To begin with, I would like to comment on the works by Little (15), 

Cizek (17), Phillips (21), Ahl (23), Griffin (26) and White (36). 

Douglas Little (15) studies, in a fairly conventional way, the relation between the production 

of the main Augustan poets (Virgil, Horace, Propertius, Tibullus, Ovid) and the policies driven 

by the emperor. The author mentions Ovid (316-49) as a poet who was not concerned with 

political or ‘national’ matters; about met. specifically, he says that the narrated stories lack civic 

character, and are concerned solely with the private sphere (341-4). In spite of that, Little states 



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0

that in Ovid’s work, in one way or another, there are certain political implications that 

challenged certain aspects of the main moral foundations of the Augustan regime. The author 

analyses the following works: am. (316-22), ars (322-31), fast. (331-9), met. (339-4), trist. and 

Pont. (344-9). 

Eugen Cizek (17) notes that Ovid did not adapt well to the established order of his time, 

and showed a certain opposition to it. He thus ended up surpassing the predominant literary 

taste, as well as becoming, after Virgil, a second model for posterior authors. 

Similarly, Frederick Ahl (23) examines the themes and dynamics related to the principate 

which operated in Imperial poetry, and their evolution until the loss of hope one can perceive 

in the ‘Silver Age’ poetry. 

Jasper Griffin (26) tries to shed some light on how Horace and Virgil especially, but also 

Propertius, dealt with the risk of servitude before Augustus (and how the latter, in turn, tried to 

exert his influence over the poets, often through Maecenas). Although Ovid is only mentioned 

in passing (esp. 215), the work can help to illuminate his relations with the emperor. 

Peter White’s book (36) is very important in the same way, exploring incisively the relation 

between poets and leaders of Augustan society. He therefore examines issues such as patronage, 

propaganda and censorship during Augustus’ reign. The main thesis of White, as opposed to 

more traditional visions, is that Augustan poets do not behave like intellectuals at the service of 

state power and propaganda. Two of the appendices deserve a special mention: one is about 

“the social status of Latin poets” (211-22) and the other looks at “connections of Augustan 

poets” (223-65; Ovid 239-48). 

On a separate matter, Charles Phillips (21), following the hypotheses of the sociology of 

knowledge, tries to overcome the ‘Augustan’ or ‘anti-Augustan’ clichés, especially in Ovid. He 

suggests that the poet’s exile could be motivated by a vision of religion antithetical to tradition 

(esp. 806-15), which would have been growing progressively throughout ars, met. and fast. 

There are countless works examining the principality of Augustus and the cultural activity 

of this period. Here we examine only two works by Karl Galinsky (45, 70), who has dedicated 

a significant part of his academic career to studying the incredibly rich and productive society 

and culture that was built during Augustus’ principate. Both works could come in useful for 

understanding Ovid’s poetic production, especially met. 

The fruit of long years of study is the now-classic monograph in which Galinsky (45) offers 

a broad analysis of the various materialisations of Augustan culture, in its widest sense, and in 

all its complexity (politics, ideology, propaganda, figurative arts, architecture, literature, 

religion etc.). Although many interpretations are not new, this is the first non-collective volume 



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in many years that studies in depth the multiple manifestations of ‘Augustan culture’. Galinsky 

presents an Augustus who is almost the exact opposite of the despotic tyrant of R. Syme (The 

Roman Revolution, Oxford 1939). Galinsky points out that the entire period is more of a 

synthesis between innovation and tradition – an entity in constant evolution and transformation, 

erected around the auctoritas of the princeps – than a pre-conceived plan. Chapter 5 is dedicated 

to literature, and includes a short section (261-9) analysing met. as a work that is representative 

of late Augustan literature (to be complemented by Galinsky’s still-valid monograph Ovid’s 

Metamorphoses. An Introduction to the Basic Aspects, Oxford 1975; see also “Was Ovid a 

Silver Latin poet?”, ICS 14, 1989, 69-88 and “Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Augustan Cultural 

Thematics”, in P. Hardie, A. Barchiesi, S. Hinds (eds.), Ovidian transformations: essays on the 

Metamorphoses and its reception, Cambridge 1999, 103-11 on ‘VI.1 Language and Style’). 

Galinsky’s contribution was completed, some years later, by an excellent collective volume 

(70), which gathered 16 chapters grouped into six sections. This book aimed to establish both 

the status quaestionis and new points of departure for research from a multidisciplinary 

perspective. Section 5 is dedicated to Augustan literature and includes studies by A. Barchiesi, 

J. Griffin, P. White and Galinsky himself, who specifically addresses the Aeneid and met. as 

expressions of both Augustan oikumene and “world literature”. 

Narrative technique and poetics 

In 2010 an Italian translation by Corrado Travan (81) was published of Richard Heinze’s 

classic work (Ovids elegische Erzählung, Leipzig 1919), largely still current, and reedited on 

more than one occasion. It is well known that Heinze’s aim was to show the differences between 

epic and elegiac forms and diction. Heinze also aspired to contribute to the appreciation of 

Ovid, demonstrating his effective use of the two genres, based on a comparison of passages in 

fast. and met. The Italian edition has a brief introduction by Franco Serpa, “L’Ovidio di Heinze” 

(ix-xiii), which considers Heinze’s influence on Virgilian and Ovidian studies, and points out 

the most relevant aspects of the work. After this, the book includes notes each from the 

translator (xv-xvi) and the editor, Simona Ravalico (xvii). 

Taking precisely Heinze’s classic work as a reference, Susanne Daams (66) studies from a 

formal, thematic and narrative viewpoint the myths of Venus and Mars (ars 2.561-88; met. 

4.167-89), and of Cephalus and Procris (ars 3.687-746; met. 7.690-862). One section is devoted 

to the individual study of each story (9-79), one to studying the secondary bibliography that 

responds to Heinze’s book (80-90), and another to observing the linguistic, stylistic, narrative 



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2

and content differences in the various tales (91-154). Daams concludes that Ovid’s narrative 

technique and originality do not allow such a clear distinction between the elegiac and epic as 

presented by Heinze (155-63). 

Ovid is often associated with myth, legend and fable, however Antonino de Rosalia (2) is 

one of those who defend the significance of the realist “quadri di vita”, which the poet included 

in his work. De Rosalia understands that realism serves to lend credibility to fantastical deeds 

(6-7), and to transmit the vision, “impregnata di grande umanità”, that the poet has of the world. 

This is exemplified through the convenient examples of Philemon and Baucis (7, 9-10), 

Pygmalion (7-8) or Anna Perenna (10-11). 

Godo Lieberg (14) studies the motif whereby the poet says that he himself is doing what 

he, in fact, is narrating (cf. Verg. ecl. 6.62-3). Lieberg maintains that this motif has heavy 

philosophical implications, and involves a reflection on the creator’s role, as well as Dionysian 

and Orphic connotations. The book brings together and discusses examples of the motif, mostly 

in Latin poetry (from Virgil to Prudentius), although examples of Greek literature and modern 

authors are also included. As far as Ovid is concerned, Lieberg examines the poetic implications 

of trist. 2.439-40 (99-100), am. 2.18.1-4 (100-2), 2.18.11-8 (102-4), 3.12 (104-9), and met. 

10.247-9 (110-1). Lieberg also looks at the issue of the verosimility of myths (108-10). In the 

appendix (174-8) he explores the metaphor of the word as weapon in various authors, including 

Ovid (175). The thesis sustained in this book should be complemented by G. Lieberg, Zu Idee 

und Figur des dichterischen Schöpfertums, Bochum 1985. 

Warren Ginsberg (20) analyses various techniques, originating in rhetoric and philosophy, 

used in Ancient and Medieval literature, to define characters. These characterisations also 

define the authors themselves, and their public. In this sense, the representations of the 

characters could also be considered as a metaphor of the artistic imagination (4). The first and 

second chapters deal with am. and met. respectively. In the former, each character notably 

celebrates the omnipresent Ovidian creativity in some way, while in the second, the characters 

of the personalities, reflected in the narrative structure itself, clearly appeal very directly to the 

audience. More precisely, Ginsberg analyses the stories of Ceyx and Alcyone (11.410-748), 

and the tale of Orpheus (10). 

D. J. Coetzee (47) examines met. from the point of view of the Aristotlean principle of 

πρέπον (85-6), and the possible ἀπρέπεια of Ovid, especially in light of Quintilian’s criticism. 

On the one hand, the role of the gods, and the excessively human nature of their weaknesses, is 

examined (87-90). On the other, the scholar notes the constant intrusiveness of the narrator and 

the poet in the poem, as opposed to the impersonal character of the Homeric narrator (90-2). 



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Lastly, in the first part of her article, Maria Grazia Iodice di Martino (4) systematically 

addresses Ovidian ideas about poetry which are spread throughout his corpus (63-77). These 

are themes such as the poet’s fame and immortality (63-6), the recusatio (66-8), divine 

inspiration (68-71), the non-utilitarian purpose of the poetry (71), the opposition between 

ingenium and ars (71-3), the public (74-6), or literary genres (76-7). Additionally, the author 

analyses Ovid’s mentions, often without any kind of assessment, of other Greek (78-85) and 

Latin poets (85-95). In general, Ovid reproduces ideas that belong to a long tradition 

(represented by Callimachus, Horatius or Propertius, for example), but also offers further 

personal ones, and opens the way to those of Quintilian (95-6). 

Instrumenta 

The LIMC (5) is an encyclopaedia in various volumes which gathers together the 

representations of mythological characters in Ancient art. Each volume is divided into two 

tomes: one describing and commenting the representations, and the other reproducing them. It 

is a useful instrument for observing the similarities between some pictorial representations and 

Ovid’s descriptions of mythological characters and situations. 

As a culmination of previous works, the fundamental monograph by James Adams (8) 

consists of the very first attempt to systemise Latin vocabulary referring to sexual organs, as 

well as to some sexual practices. Due to the necessity of limiting such an ambitious work, 

certain fields, such as the lexicon about, among others, breasts, prostitution and kisses is left 

out. In each case, Adams analyses the basic terms, as well as some metaphors and alternative 

euphemisms to label them (especially metonymy, while the use of aposiopesis is generally left 

out). In the case of sexual organs, the volume also examines specialised terms used to describe 

parts of them. As brilliant as his book is, Adams makes some regrettable omissions, especially 

in terms of certain euphemisms. The brief reflections on some specific functions of sexual 

language are interesting (e.g. apotropaism, aggression or humiliation, humour and 

outrageousness, and titillation 4-8). Perhaps less relevant are the conclusions about socio-

linguistic variations, almost non-existent, depending on the communicative context (214-7) or 

literary genre (218-25), and about chronological variations (225-8) or possible analogies with 

Greek (228-30). In the appendix (231-50), the author examines the language that describes 

excretory acts (defecation, urination, pedo). The volume includes three comprehensive indexes 

(257-72): one of Latin words, another of Greek words, and a general one. 



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4

We must also address the impressive, multi-authored Diccionario de motivos amatorios 

edited by Rosario Moreno (88), but originally conceived by Antonio Ramírez de Verger (9). 

The volume covers erotic motifs in Latin elegy, but also in other genres, as well as in some 

prose works (from Ennius to Petronius and Martial; cf. 9-10). The entries are the result of a 

fresh reading of the huge corpus of texts being taken into account. Each article is headed by its 

title in Spanish, with the possible Latin equivalents. In some cases, the heading also includes 

cross-references to further related articles. After a general definition and description of the motif 

(following paradigmatic passages), the authors also provide analysis of sub-motives. At the 

bottom of the entry, they offer a list of the most relevant words related to the motif, and a 

bibliography. As expected, the volume ends with different indices (Index verborum latinorum 

497-505; Index verborum graecorum 507; Index rerum memorabilium 509-26). 

Miscellanea 

As a complement to the two Companions reviewed earlier (59, 61; vid. supra on 

‘Companions’), Peter E. Knox (73) brings together 20 papers published between 1976 and 

1999, which the editor considers to be among the most representative and influential in Ovidian 

studies in recent years (for references to the original contributions, cf. 489-90). They are 

definitively worth reading. Thus the editor’s introduction (1-12) can be understood as a 

justification of his choice, but also as a short review of the revival and development of Ovidian 

studies in the last few decades. The works are divided into four sections, giving us a general 

idea of the big themes that are addressed: “Contexts and Intertexts” (about the use of 

intertextuality and other literary strategies to understand the works of Ovid; seven papers), 

“Ideologies of Love and Poetry” (about Ovid’s poetry in Augustan Rome; four papers), 

“Narrators and Narratives” (focussed on met. and fast.; five papers) and “On the Margins of 

Empire” (about the poet’s relation with politics and power; four papers). The contributions 

dealing with met. are considered in corresponding sections. The volume finishes with an index 

locorum (525-32) and a general index (533-41). 

This section also includes other books that bring together works by a single author 

(“Schrifte”) and collective volumes (“Acta” and “Festschrifte”) that have Ovid and his poetry 

as a common thread. The books by Segal (34), von Albrecht (57, 91, 92, 94) and De Vivo (87) 

belong to the first category (“Schrifte”). In each case, the particular articles that concern met. 

are reviewed in the corresponding sections of this volume.  



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Charles Segal’s tome (34) collects, in an Italian translation, six articles by the author 

published between 1969 and 1985 about various aspects of met. such as love, humour, artistic 

skill, Augustan values, the very particular Ovidian seriousness etc. It also includes three 

unedited contributions. 

The volume prepared by Michael von Albrecht (57) gathers 21 of his papers, the product of 

his long and productive research into the met. Apart from a couple of previously unedited 

articles, the book reproduces works, with slight changes, published between 1968 and 1996. 

The papers are organised into six chapters (“Einführung”, about the relation between the author 

and his public; “Themen und Variationen. Mythos – Liebe – Kunst”, about aspects of content; 

“Epos und Elegie. Wandlungen der Erzählkunst in Ovids Lebenswerk”, about formal elements; 

“Wechselnde Perspektiven”, a suggestion to read each book after illustrations; 

“Gesamtwürdigung der Metamorphosen”, about various problems that the author should have 

considered; and “Fortwirken”, about Ovid’s reception and influence). Each chapter is preceded 

by a short introduction. 

Another similar volume by von Albrecht (94) appeared some years later. It contains 15 

articles, partly rewritten and all published for the first time between 1958 and 2010. The book 

is arranged into five sections: “Autor und Werk” (11-80), “Längsschnitte” (81-102), “Gestalten 

und Themen” (103-38), “Poetische Technik” (139-66) and “Tradition und Fortwirken” (167-

220). 

In addition, the third (92) volume of Große römische Autoren by von Albrecht also brings 

together other works by the author concerning Ovid, already published (again reworked to a 

greater or lesser extent). The third section of this third volume (203-77) is entirely dedicated to 

Ovid. In the third section of the second volume (91) poets such as Ovid, Lucan, Valerius 

Flaccus, Silius Italicus and Claudian are examined as imitators of Virgil (179-256). 

The volume by Arturo De Vivo (87) gathers 11 of the author’s previously-published papers. 

Those regarding met. are duly reviewed in the pertinent sections. 

On the other hand, the volumes edited by Chadha (3), Chevallier (9), Papponetti (33, 75), 

Schubert (54), Hardie-Barchiesi-Hinds (53), Milewska-Waźbińska-Domański (74), Janka-

Schmitzer-Seng (76), Jouteur (77), Álvarez-Iglesias (89), Gatti-Mindt (90) and Citti-Pasetti-

Pellacani (96) belong to the category of “Acta” or “Festschrifte”. 

The special issue of Mosaic journal, prepared by Vijay Chadha (3), gathers, as a true mosaic, 

19 contributions of the most varied nature around the Ovidian corpus (3-210). 



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6

The volume prepared by Raymond Chevallier (9) brings together 29 works presented in the 

colloquium “Présence d’Ovide”, held in the château d’Azay-le-Ferreron in 1980 and which, not 

unexpectedly, focused largely on the reception of Ovid. 

The book edited by Giuseppe Papponetti (33) collects the papers and communications of 

the Convegno Internazionale di Studi, held in Sulmona in 1989, with the theme “Ovidio, poeta 

della memoria”. 

Likewise, Papponetti (75) edited the proceedings of the Ovidian conference held in 

Sulmona in 2003.  

The double-volume homage to Michael von Albrecht, edited by Werner Schubert (54), 

gathers together 79 original papers about various aspects of Ovid’s work and its reception (19 

on met. 255-536). 

The book edited by Philip Hardie, Alessandro Barchiesi and Stephen Hinds (53) collect 18 

papers presented in Cambridge in July 1997, as a preparation for the commentary on met. 

published in subsequent years by the Fondazione Lorenzo Valla (2005-2015). Themes 

addressed include, for example, matters related to time and chronology, allusion and 

intertextuality, posterior reception, the relation with imperial power, “the Self”, compositive 

technique, and even textual criticism. 

The volume edited by Barbara Milewska-Waźbińska and Juliusz Domański (74) consists of 

22 papers (three in German, the rest in Polish), presented at a conference held in Warsaw from 

16 to 18 September 2004. Some contributions focus on aspects of Ovid’s poetic production 

(especially met., fast., trist. and Pont), but many address the reception of the poet, mostly in 

Poland (nine papers). 

The volume edited by Markus Janka, Ulrich Schmitzer and Helmut Seng (76) gathers 

together 13 works presented in Konstanz in 2005, organised implicitly around the three main 

phases of Ovid’s poetic career, and his reception and posterior influence. The articles therefore 

address various aspects of the opera amatoria, fast. and met., and the exile elegies. The 

perspectives adopted are very wide (“Quellenforschung”, intertextuality, the poet’s relation 

with the historical and political context etc.). 

The volume prepared by Isabelle Jouteur (77) collects 13 works presented at a conference 

held in Poitiers in 2008. They address most of Ovid’s poetic production in relation to the world 

of theatre and performance. The editor rightly states that the study of this interaction is justified, 

above all, due to the importance of recitation and declamatory practices in contemporary 

literature (5). In this way, various contributions address Ovid’s use of different theatrical 

resources, combining diverse models and genres. In one case, the poet’s influence on 



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subsequent Roman theatre is also explored (G. Tronchet, “Hosidius le tragique et ses modèles 

ovidiens”, 89-137). All this ends up providing a proof of the diversity and hybridisation of 

Ovid’s poetry, but also of the poet’s total command over the resources at his disposal (17-19). 

The editor summarises the articles in 8-15. 

The volume edited by Mª Consuelo Álvarez and Rosa Mª Iglesias (89) gathers together the 

15 papers presented in the Seminario Internacional about Ovid held at the Universidad de 

Murcia in November 2010. The various contributions address, from different viewpoints, the 

crystallisation of already existant myths into poetry thanks to the Ovidian verses. Moreover 

they also deal with aspects related to the ancient mythographers and poetic creations of the 

Augustan era (including matters of detail and textual criticism), but also related to the classical 

tradition that derives from Ovid. The volume is completed by an index locorum and an index 

nominum. 

The book edited by Pierluigi Leone Gatti and Nina Mindt (90) brings together nine articles 

around the concept of “Transformation der Antike” in broad sense: within the context of 

Augustan poetry and literature in Antiquity and beyond, both in the Latin language and modern 

languages. Eight of the papers have Ovid as common thread, and examine his production from 

the perspective of its models, the political context, and especially its reception from Antiquity 

to present day. 

The book edited by Francesco Citti, Lucia Pasetti and Daniele Pellacani (96) consists of 11 

works that reflect on metamorphosis as a meeting point for philosophy, literature and science, 

especially since the Hellenistic period. In this way, the contributions explore the relation 

between transformations that belong to the world of myth and the supernatural, and those which 

arise in nature. They also study the language and imagery of the metamorphosis, which is shared 

in philosophical, scientific and literary production (there being, of course, no clear-cut 

distinction of these genres in Antiquity). This concomitance is especially visible in Ovid and in 

met., on which several papers of the volume are focused. 

Last but not least, the volume edited by Luis Rivero, Mª Consuelo Álvarez, Rosa Mª Iglesias 

and Juan Antonio Estévez (98) features 11 papers delivered by some of the most respected 

Ovidian scholars of the last years in an International Symposium held in Huelva in October 

2017 as a celebration of the bimillennium of Ovid’s death. The variegated approaches present 

in the volume, but also the relevance of the contributions, offer a stimulating panorama of the 

most recent developments in Ovidian studies and also set starting points for further reflection 

and research. Four chapters deal specifically with met., while a fourth does so indirectly: Tarrant 

(21-45) and Ramírez de Verger (81-102) struggle with its text; Labate (169-86) investigates the 



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role and representation of the East in met.; Coulson (223-35) focuses on the ‘vulgate 

commentary’; Iglesias and Álvarez (201-21) look at the whole Ovidian corpus, including met., 

as an ‘incomplete mythical encyclopaedia’. The volume includes an index locorum and a 

general index. 

Philological history 

James Zetzel’s book (7), originating in a doctoral thesis defended in Harvard in 1972, 

studies the first stages of the manuscript transmission of Latin texts and the work of ancient 

philologists. Logically, it largely studies the work carried out on the text of Virgil. The book 

was harshly, though fairly, contested by S. Timpanaro (Per la storia della filologia virgiliana 

antica, Roma 1986; cf. Virgilianisti antichi e tradizione indiretta, Firenze 2001). 

Others 

Alison Elliot (1) offers the text of, and translates into English, 11 medieval accessus Ovidii, 

which might serve to illustrate common opinions about Ovid, especially during the so-called 

Aetas Ovidiana. In a brief introduction (6-11), she defines the concept of accessus and the main 

trends of Ovidian scholarship in the Middle Ages. The text of Arnulf of Orléans on met. follows 

the edition by Fausto Ghisaberti (“Arnolfo d’Orléans, un cultore di Ovidio nel secolo XII”, MIL 

24, 1932, 180-1), and the accessi to Ovid’s elegiac poetry follows that of R. B. C. Huygens 

(Accessus ad Auctores. Bernard d’Utrecht. Conrad d’Hirsau. Dialogus super auctores, édition 

critique entièremente revue et eugmentée, Leiden 1970, 29-38). In the appendix (44-5) she 

translates a Vita Ovidii preserved in Cod. Paris. 8255 (following the text of F. Ghisaberti, 

“Medieval Biographies of Ovid”, JWI 9, 1946, 50). 

Hubert Zehnacker (16) tries to hypothesise some reasons why Ovid’s relation with the 

theatre was limited to his famous Medea, which in reality was not performed, but recited. The 

author maintains that Ovid probably did not make a further foray into tragedy, because the genre 

was very politically troubled, and therefore in the Augustan context could imply risks which 

were best avoided. Zehnacker goes even further, suggesting that these circumstances also ended 

up causing the disappearance of Roman tragedy. 

The volume (25) prepared by Michael von Albrecht, together with Hans-Joachim Glücklich 

from the third edition onwards, includes a small selection of texts from met. annotated for use 

in schools (“ab 10. Jahrgangsstufe”). The selected passages are these: 1.1-4, 5-88, 89-150 (from 



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the third edition), 1.747-2.400 (selection), 3.131-259ª (not included from the third edition 

onwards), 339-510, 4.55-166, 6.146-315, 317-81 (also removed from the third edition 

onwards), 7.1-158 (not included either from the third edition), 8.183-259, 616-724, 10.1-77, 

and 15.871-9. The book comes with exercises for studying linguistic, literary, cultural and 

metrical questions. The editors also examine the posterior reception of the texts and, in addition, 

suggest that students should appropriate the text, recreating it in their own way. This book 

includes two appendices on Ovid’s style and metre, adapted to the required level. In the volume 

Consilia (24), von Albrecht, with the collaboration of Glücklich from the third edition onwards, 

presents advice for teachers on how to prepare and guide the reading of met. in general, and for 

each of the selected passages in particular. Likewise, they include an interpretation of the 

different texts selected, which, in many cases, I consider valuable not only for schools.