"The Art of Love" or "Ars amatoria" is a three-book instructional elegy series written by the ancient Roman poet Ovid in 2 AD. The first book offers advice to men on finding a woman, while the second book focuses on how to keep her. The third book, written two years later, provides guidance for women on winning and maintaining a man's love. Ovid covers various topics in the books, including remembering important dates, creating longing in the relationship, and avoiding certain questions. Despite being completed in 2 AD, much of Ovid's advice remains relevant today. The book combines mythological references, daily Roman life, and human experiences to entertain its readers. Ovid employs irony and wit in discussing love, likening it to military service and emphasizing the need for mutual fulfillment. While the book addresses sexual matters, Ovid maintains a discreet and tasteful approach, avoiding obscenity. The series concludes with a discussion of sexual positions, with Ovid humorously suggesting that tall women should avoid certain postures. Composed in elegiac couplets, "Ars amatoria" serves as a practical guide or "textbook" rather than a purely artistic endeavor.
Ovid was a Roman poet born on March 20, 43 BCE, in Sulmo, Italy. He was born into a wealthy family and received an education in Rome and Athens, studying rhetoric and literature. Ovid began his literary career as a poet of love elegies, including his most famous work, The Amores. He went on to write a number of other works, including the Metamorphoses, a narrative poem that tells the stories of mythological figures and their transformations, and the Fasti, a poetic calendar of Roman festivals and rituals. Ovid died in Tomis in 17 CE, and his works continued to be widely read and celebrated in the centuries that followed. He is regarded as one of the most important poets of the Roman era, known for his innovative and imaginative use of mythological themes and his skillful mastery of poetic form.
