A review by benwillie
Metamorphoses by Ovid

4.0

I feel slightly disingenuous adding this definitely to my read (past tense—isn't it odd that "to read" is one of those few verbs whose present and past forms are identical?) pile as I only studied a few sub-books of Ovid's opus with genuine attention (most notably book 12), and skimmed the rest. While disagreeing with Ovid on a few fundamental points, the topics he tackles are important and give rise to important and transcendental questions. His great thesis is that desire, universal among humanity, is the engine of metamorphosis/change, which when taken to extremes is a fascinating theory. Each brief vignette is a unique moment in Greek mythology, but great metanarrative is what truly sets Ovid among the trifecta of revered poets. Ovid made for great discussions and a thought-provoking essay. A pagan classic, but one of high moral value nonetheless. I had to do some thinking about Dante's relationship to Ovid for another essay, and here is a great quote I found in researching:

Like Virgil, Ovid is a canonical member of Dante's scriptura paganorum, an authoritative voice able to speak divine truth and moral guidance; like Virgil, he also shares the title of "altissimo poeta" (Inf. iv, 180) and a place of privilege in Limbo. And yet, far more dramatically than is the case with Virgil's "pious" epic, the Metamorphoses demonstrates the need to read literature for its inner meaning. What this means for Dante is reading in accordance with Christian revelation, the "spiritual understanding" (Colossians 1:9) which enables one to see in the wanton transformations of gods and mortals the fullness of Gospel truth. Without such a spiritual gloss, Ovid's luxuriant letter may deceive, mislead or even kill. With it, however, the Metamorphoses becomes an allegory, a work of human language whose "other term" is God's own speech.

(Hawkins, Peter. 1980. “Virtuosity and Virtue: Poetic Self-Reflection in the ‘Commedia.’” Dante
Studies, with the Annual Report of the Dante Society 98:18.)

Worth a read.