Metamorphoses

Ovid's Metamorphoses gains its ideal twenty-first-century herald in Stanley Lombardo's bracing translation of a wellspring of Western art and literature that is too often treated, even by poets, as a mere vehicle for the scores of myths it recasts and transmits rather than as a unified work of art with epic-scale ambitions of its own. Such misconceptions are unlikely to survive a reading of Lombardo's rendering, which vividly mirrors the brutality, sadness, comedy, irony, tenderness, and eeriness of Ovid's vast world as well as the poem's effortless pacing. Under Lombardo's spell, neither Argus nor anyone else need fear nodding off. The translation is accompanied by an exhilarating Introduction by W. R. Johnson that unweaves and reweaves many of the poem's most important themes while showing how the poet achieves some of his most brilliant effects. An analytical table of contents, a catalog of transformations, and a glossary are also included.

Stanley Lombardo successfully matches Ovid's human drama, imaginative brio, and irresistible momentum; and Ralph Johnson's superb Introduction to Ovid's 'narratological paradise' is a bonus to this new and vigorous translation that should not be missed. Together, Introduction and text bring out the delightful unpredictability of Ovid's 'history of the world' down to his times.--Elaine Fantham, Giger Professor of Latin, Emerita, Princeton University, Lombardo's translation is the most readable I've seen. . . . Its language is modern, accessible, and unpretentious. . . . I can imagine reading all the way through this version with students. I also admire the catalog of transformations . . . and, as usual, an Introduction by Ralph Johnson is worth the price of the book.--Margaret Musgrove, University of Central Oklahoma, A superb teaching text. The translation is readable, witty, and very accessible to today's students. The glossary is useful, and Johnson's essay is a great introduction to Ovid.--John Makowski, Loyola University, Chicago

Stanley Lombardo is Professor of Classics, University of Kansas. W. R. Johnson is Professor of Classics and Comparative Literature, Emeritus, University of Chicago.