This is a lovely compendium of myths, legends, and flattery by arguably the best writer of the ancient world, and is considered one of the three canonical Roman poets, including Virgil and Horace. The Metamorphoses of Ovid are a huge undertaking, to have written, read, and translate. If one is familiar at all with subsequent literary history, you can see the telling influence of Ovid's work across time and genre. If nothing else, Ovid collected a large array of Greek and Roman myth, tales that might have been lost without him. To those with a careful eye, you can spot Ovid's influence from Chaucer to Shakespeare to Ted Hughes. The vivacity of many tales can be seen in European art, and even in musical representations, a la an early opera of Mozart's, a 2002 Broadway adaption, and a song cycle by Patricia Barber.

Despite the rich translation and enjoyable nature of the work, the fractured nature of the poem is also a negative aspect of the book, as it breaks up any sort of continuity, creating a lack of direction. It takes an effort to see the genius behind this spiraled purpose, but the effort is definitely worth while.

This is one of the most important and influential works of Western civilization. Kindle edition will please both casual readers of the work and scholars looking to get a little more in-depth.

I confess that reading Ovid's Metamorphoses has left me a changed man. His focus on transformation parables of ancient myths taught me quite a bit about change. I was intrigued by how often unwanted change was unwillingly created by life-denying action that angers one of the gods. All the great figures of ancient times are here: Daedalus, Achilles, Paris, Perseus, Hector, Pygmalion, Midas, Helen and Aeneas to name but a few. The origins of common fables must have had their ancient roots in Ovid. So much of art, especially painting, music and literature, owes its transformation from the tales articulated with wit and charm by Ovid. This is an important window into ancient times and the stories must have been intriguing to hear in engaging oratory. This is genuinely a great work of literature and the pages really fly by rapidly. These tales of Ovid on change helped me understand better the constant role of change in my own personal transformation. And, thus, the tales of Ovid transformed me in the reading and in the writing transformed Ovid into immortality.

First, this is obviously not a book for everyone - although anyone can read it - you have to really want to read it for it to be enjoyable. Take the time to read it slowly. If you try to skim it you will miss far too much.

The glossary and notes were very useful & I didn't find the type to be a problem.

I initially bought this book because it was a required reading for a class. I had no idea how wonderful this book was. The poetry is so beautiful it moves you. It provokes and engages readers with something new every time you read it. If you're a fan of Roman mythology, this is a must.