hello everyone!
Discussing in some spaces of mythology enthusiasts, it is often said that Ovid was “anti-authoritarian”. This is said in relation to his portrayal of the gods in the Metamorphoses, particularly the way he portrayed Athena/Minerva in the Medusa myth: Athena is particularly cruel because she punishes Medusa, a victim of rape.
Now, I would like to know whether indeed Ovid can be called “anti-authoritarian.”
from what I knew, Ovid tried to write an epic poem that fit within the canons of Augustus, not fully succeeding, although that was his intent. As for the exile, several causes have been hypothesized, such as certain sexual scandals involving Augustus.
But what I would like to know is: did Ovid really dislike Augustus? Can we read in his works some sort of sentiment against Augustus and the empire?
Comments
Welcome to /r/AskHistorians. Please Read Our Rules before you comment in this community. Understand that rule breaking comments get removed.
Please consider Clicking Here for RemindMeBot as it takes time for an answer to be written. Additionally, for weekly content summaries, Click Here to Subscribe to our Weekly Roundup.
We thank you for your interest in this question, and your patience in waiting for an in-depth and comprehensive answer to show up. In addition to the Weekly Roundup and RemindMeBot, consider using our Browser Extension. In the meantime our Bluesky, and Sunday Digest feature excellent content that has already been written!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.