Roman Mythology Book Club
"Tales from Ovid" by Ted Hughes

The Roman poet Ovid wrote the history of the world in his epic Metamorphoses. 

"Ovid was born the year after the death of Julius Caesar and flourished in the Rome of Augustus," reads the first sentence of Ted Hughes's 1997 translation, Tales from Ovid.

"He completed the Metamorphoses around the time of the birth of Christ, was later banished for some unknown offense against the Emperor, and spent the last ten years of his life in exile."

Tales from Ovid is a kind of greatest hits of the Metamorphoses, a condensed version featuring two dozen of the most important gods, heroes, and astrological figures the Romans worshipped before the advent of Christianity. 

If you are new to Roman mythology, Tales from Ovid is an ideal introduction, an overview of the most important transformations. If you have already read the complete Metamorphoses, Hughes's translation and selection of stories offers a fascinating refresher.

You don't need to read anything before our first meeting.

Our first night together, come ready to learn about who Ovid was, and how he wrote this book (literally, how he wrote it down, and how it was preserved, some 14 centuries before the invention of the printing press). We will also delve into the dustup between Augustus and Ovid that led to the poet's mysterious exile. 

After that, we'll read 30-40 pages a week of the text, giving ourselves a glimpse of popular belief at the birth of the Roman Empire. During our discussions, we'll focus on these characters:

• Week 1: Ovid, Augustus
• Week 2: Jupiter, Phoebus, Phaethon
• Week 3: Proserpina, Pluto, Echo & Narcissus
• Week 4: Actaeon, Venus, Adonis
• Week 5: Pygmalion, Hercules, Cygnus
• Week 6: Arachne, Baccus, Midas
• Week 7: Niobe, Tereus, Pyramus & Thisbe

Prepare to see a lot of paintings and sculptures of each of these characters, from antiquity to the Renaissance to the present day. 

We'll also listen to music, glimpse alternate translations, and time travel to ancient Rome.

Plus, we'll talk about why and how these characters are still very much alive today. And the next time you come across one of them mentioned in the work of writers like George Eliot, Herman Melville, and Virginia Woolf, you'll know the reference and what it means.

Will meetings be recorded?

Yes, all meetings will be recorded and sent out automatically to everyone who's signed up. 

Who is leading this club?

Christopher Frizzelle is the founder of FrizzLit, the host of the Silent Reading Party, and the former editor-in-chief of The Stranger. 

Which edition of the book are we reading?

We are reading this edition of Tales from Ovid by Ted Hughes.

What do I need to read before the first meeting?

Nothing. 

Is financial assistance available?

Yes. If you would like to join this class but price is a barrier, sponsorship funds are available to help make it possible. Please apply here.

Thank you for donating

Thanks to everyone who makes a donation to the financial assistance fund. You are making this class accessible to people who would not be able to afford it otherwise.

Art

Perseus holding up Medusa's head to transform Atlas into a mountain, as splendidly illustrated by Levi Hastings