Publius Ovidius Naso, known in English as Ovid, was born on 20 March 43 BC at Sulmo, a prosperous town in the Apennine country east of Rome, now Sulmona in the Abruzzo region of Italy. He died in exile at Tomis on the western shore of the Black Sea, probably in AD 17 or 18. Few ancient poets have left so vivid a record of their public voice, artistic ambitions, pleasures, fears, and humiliations; yet Ovid remains, in…
“Pure chance holds sway everywhere; keep your hook in the water, for a fish will appear where you least expect it.”
Neighbourhood:
Ancient & Classical Poets, Classical & Ancient Poets, Death & Mortality, Love Poets
Emotional landscape: Despair, Sorrow, Longing
In the landscape of ancient Greek poetry, few figures present as fascinating a paradox as Theognis of Megara. A poet whose verses have endured for over two and a half millennia, yet whose life remains shrouded in uncertainty and scholarly debate. The collection of elegiac poetry attributed to him—comprising approximately 1,400 lines—represents one of the most substantial surviving bodies of archaic Greek elegiac vers…
“What is beautiful is dear, and what is not beautiful is not dear.”
Neighbourhood:
Ancient & Classical Poets, Classical & Ancient Poets, Greek Poets, Love Poets, Political Poets, Social Justice Poets
Emotional landscape: Sorrow, Despair, Longing