Goltzius, Hendrik

Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso) was born in Sulmo, Italy in 43BC. Intended for the law he instead took up poetry, writing the "Amores", and the Art of Love ("Ars Amatoria"), works which caused offence in some quarters, including amongst the ruling dynasty. Ovid made amends, to a degree, in the "Metamorphoses", where Augustus and Livia are echoed in Jupiter and Juno, and marriage is celebrated in key moments of the text.

Involved on the fringes of power and politics, it seems that Ovid saw but was not directly implicated in some event that antagonised the Emperor. Ovid was banished in 8AD, t...