Tristia by Ovid

hello i'm Seb and this is my review of/introduction to the Tristia, a collection of whiny bitter poems by my number one sad Roman, Publius Ovidius Naso. my moving stuff has settled down now so video uploads should be a bit less sporadic from now on =) hope you're all well and reading happily 📚 thanks for watching! ✨
other works mentioned, all by Ovid:
Ars Amatoria (the Art of Love)
Metamorphoses - i read the Penguin Classics translation by David Raeburn, this is what got me into Ovid, it influenced Shakespeare and like half the Renaissance painters
Fasti
Heroides - i read and gushed over the version translated by Murgatroyd, Reeves, and Parker in an earlier video linked in cards
Espitulae Ex Ponto (The Black Sea Letters) - included with the Tristia in the edition I talk about here, translated by Peter Green
Ibis

[@deadlizardreads1937]

I’m always so intimidated by Ancient Greek/Roman works, but you make them sound so compelling!

[@apocalypsereading7117]

thanks! i'm usually intimidated by any ancient stuff that isn't myth-related, but the Tristia could end up being my gateway drug ~

[@primoelmex]

Thank you for this ..im reading that exact same book. I first learned about Ovid from a documentary called "Rome in the 1st century". I was so captivated by some excerpts from Tristia that i had to read it all, but i agree with you , it is sad, especially when you know the backstory.

[@apocalypsereading7117]

glad you felt the same! there was so much more to say about it than i did here, like about his sections on the power and immortality of literature, and the way he writes Augustus as a god/villain/nemesis... such a lot going on in a poem that's on the surface a broken record whining about being away from home. is the documentary worth looking up? i need more 1st-century content in my life ~

[@primoelmex]

I've watched it several times ..it's a 4 part documentary about the first hundred years of the Roman empire after Julius Caesar gets killed ..it goes from Augustus to Trajan ..but it also tells about influential folks that had an impact on the times, like Ovid and Seneca etc.

[@primoelmex]

It's in here just look up "Rome in the 1st century"

[@apocalypsereading7117]

thanks, will do! 👀

[@curioushmm9027]

thank you seb for the chance to enjoy this side of ovid vicariously through your enjoyement while reading and sharing it..i do think i'd tire of acturally reading it after a few lines....but you've given me the opportunity to have some second hand fun..and it's fun to think of him as the roman oscar wilde.

[@apocalypsereading7117]

thank you ch! it's my pleasure, and i'm so glad to hear that, since this is one that def lacks wide appeal i think, even tho i loved it (i did get a bit worn down by his moaning sometimes, but i just had to tell myself to look at it as a psychological artefact rather than just "literature" and that helped a lot). second-hand fun is sometimes better than the real thing i suppose =)

[@curioushmm9027]

@@apocalypsereading7117 😁😁