The Love Poems

The Roman poet Publius Ovidius Naso (Ovid) is best known for his epic poem Metamorphoses, a collection of myths and legends from Ancient Greece and Rome. His works continue to be widely read and admired, and he is regarded as one of the most significant poets of ancient Rome.

Ovid’s love poems are both brilliant and evocative. In Amores (‘Loves’), the romantic mysteriousness of elegiac love-poetry is exploded by his witty and ironic treatment of the form. Ars Amatoria (The Art of Love) and Remedia Amoris (The Cures for Love) both lay down the rules for the game of love, which both sexes can play.

A.D. Melville’s translations, which also include the lesser-known Cosmetics for Ladies, have been specially licensed for this recording. It is delivered with customary panache by David Timson.