On Ovid's Metamorphoses -

About the Book

Drawing on many years of teaching Ovid's Metamorphoses, Gareth Williams offers a brisk and lively reading of the poem that emphasizes why it speaks in compelling ways to a twenty-first-century audience. He shows how the Metamorphoses is not just a colorful collection of stories about change but an exploration of change itself.

Book Synopsis

Ovid's Metamorphoses has entranced audiences for two thousand years, from Rome under Augustus to humanities classrooms today. Borrowing liberally from Greek and Roman mythology, the poem tells hundreds of stories that share one essential theme: each tale depicts a transformation from one physical form into another.

Drawing on many years of teaching the Metamorphoses, Gareth Williams offers a brisk and lively reading of the poem that emphasizes why it speaks in compelling ways to a twenty-first-century audience. He shows how the Metamorphoses is not just a colorful collection of stories about change but an exploration of change itself. Ovid challenges us to recognize flux as fundamental to human experience: circumstances shift, fortunes ebb and flow, and our very identities ceaselessly evolve across from one life stage to another.

Capturing the energy and excitement that Ovid's poem generates among readers, Williams also sheds new light on its modern provocations. His fresh interpretations of the Metamorphoses reveal its power to enrich and inform our daily existence amid the uncertainties of life today.

Review Quotes

A delightful volume....highly recommended.-- "Choice"

The book is full of lively and provocative readings of Ovid's greatest work, careening through its changing tales and tales about change to portray a work which, having endured throughout the two millennia since its composition, find a deep resonance even in--or especially in--the 2020s.-- "Bryn Mawr Classical Review"

Lucid, insightful, and lively, this book offers compelling new interpretations of Ovid that speak to current issues such as fake news, deceptive speech, sexual violence, gender inequity, and strategies of resistance within an autocracy. These are serious themes, but Williams adopts some of Ovid's own wit and psychological nuance, providing an accessible and intellectually exciting approach to the Metamorphoses.--Carole E. Newlands, author of Playing with Time: Ovid and the Fasti

Smart close readings abound, and Williams's punchy analyses make the book fun to read, though they never obscure his mastery of the subject.-- "Publishers Weekly"

The perfect sidekick to accompany readers on their journey through Ovid's epic--whether approaching the Metamorphoses for the very first time or revisiting this ever-changing kaleidoscope of a poem.--Genevieve Liveley, author of Ovid's Metamorphoses: A Reader's Guide

This is a wonderful book. It offers an introduction to Ovid's Metamorphoses and the life of the poet, guiding the reader through some of the epic's most memorable moments. The primary pleasure of the book is to read about a great poem through the words of a sensitive and experienced teacher, who wears his erudition very lightly. The writing frequently sparkles, with contemporary allusions and wicked puns throughout.--James Uden, Boston University

About the Author

Gareth Williams is Anthon Professor of the Latin Language and Literature at Columbia University. He has published extensively on Ovid, Roman philosophy, and classical reception.