Ars Amatoria  

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The ''Ars amatoria'' exerted considerable fascination from the start, and has remained a widely-read source of inspiration no doubt because of its literary brilliance and popular accessibility. A similar tone is struck on a smaller scale by the epigrams of [[Martial]] (late 1st-early 2nd cent. AD). The list of later manifestations of the poem's influence is immense: reference is made to the almost equally extensive literature on the subject. The ''Ars amatoria'' was included in the syllabuses of mediaeval schools from the second half of the 11th cent., and its influence on 12th and 13th cent. European literature was so great that the German mediaevalist and palaeographer [[Ludwig Traube]] dubbed the entire age 'aetas Ovidiana' ('the Ovidian epoch'). The ''Ars amatoria'' exerted considerable fascination from the start, and has remained a widely-read source of inspiration no doubt because of its literary brilliance and popular accessibility. A similar tone is struck on a smaller scale by the epigrams of [[Martial]] (late 1st-early 2nd cent. AD). The list of later manifestations of the poem's influence is immense: reference is made to the almost equally extensive literature on the subject. The ''Ars amatoria'' was included in the syllabuses of mediaeval schools from the second half of the 11th cent., and its influence on 12th and 13th cent. European literature was so great that the German mediaevalist and palaeographer [[Ludwig Traube]] dubbed the entire age 'aetas Ovidiana' ('the Ovidian epoch').
-As in the years immediately following its publication, it has also subsequently fallen victim to outbursts (or exhibitions) of moral opprobrium. All of Ovid's works were burned by [[Savonarola]] in Florence in [[1497]]; [[Christopher Marlowe]]'s translation was banned in [[1599]], and another English translation of the ''Ars amatoria'' was seized by US Customs in 1930.+As in the years immediately following its publication, it has also subsequently fallen victim to outbursts (or exhibitions) of moral opprobrium. All of Ovid's works were burned by [[Savonarola]] in Florence in [[1497]]; [[Christopher Marlowe]]'s translation was banned in [[1599]], and another English translation of the ''Ars amatoria'' was seized by US Customs in [[1930]].
It seems possible that [[Edmond Rostand]]'s fictionalized portrayal of [[Cyrano de Bergerac]] makes an allusion to the ''Ars amatoria'': the theme of the erotic and seductive power of poetry is highly suggestive of Ovid's poem, and Bergerac's nose, a distinguishing feature invented by Rostand, calls to mind Ovid's [[cognomen]], Naso (from ''nasus'', 'large-nosed'). It seems possible that [[Edmond Rostand]]'s fictionalized portrayal of [[Cyrano de Bergerac]] makes an allusion to the ''Ars amatoria'': the theme of the erotic and seductive power of poetry is highly suggestive of Ovid's poem, and Bergerac's nose, a distinguishing feature invented by Rostand, calls to mind Ovid's [[cognomen]], Naso (from ''nasus'', 'large-nosed').

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Ars Amatoria ("The Art of Love") is a series of three books by the Roman poet Ovid. Written in verse, their guiding theme is the art of seduction. The first two, written for men about 1 BC to AD 1, deal with 'winning women's hearts' and 'keeping the loved one', respectively. The third, addressed to women telling them how to best attract men, was written somewhat later.

The publication of the Ars Amatoria may have been at least partly responsible for Ovid's banishment to the provinces by the Emperor Augustus. Ovid’s celebration of extramarital love must have seemed an intolerable affront to a regime that sought to promote ‘family values’. When finally in AD 8 Ovid’s position in Rome became untenable, it was because of the error (‘mistake’), about whose nature there has been much inconclusive speculation, and the carmen (‘poem’), which is presumably the Ars Amatoria (Tristia 2.207: Perdiderint... me duo crimina, carmen et error).

For the modern reader part of the appeal of the Ars Amatoria lies in the vivid snapshots of contemporary Roman life.

Legacy

The Ars amatoria exerted considerable fascination from the start, and has remained a widely-read source of inspiration no doubt because of its literary brilliance and popular accessibility. A similar tone is struck on a smaller scale by the epigrams of Martial (late 1st-early 2nd cent. AD). The list of later manifestations of the poem's influence is immense: reference is made to the almost equally extensive literature on the subject. The Ars amatoria was included in the syllabuses of mediaeval schools from the second half of the 11th cent., and its influence on 12th and 13th cent. European literature was so great that the German mediaevalist and palaeographer Ludwig Traube dubbed the entire age 'aetas Ovidiana' ('the Ovidian epoch').

As in the years immediately following its publication, it has also subsequently fallen victim to outbursts (or exhibitions) of moral opprobrium. All of Ovid's works were burned by Savonarola in Florence in 1497; Christopher Marlowe's translation was banned in 1599, and another English translation of the Ars amatoria was seized by US Customs in 1930.

It seems possible that Edmond Rostand's fictionalized portrayal of Cyrano de Bergerac makes an allusion to the Ars amatoria: the theme of the erotic and seductive power of poetry is highly suggestive of Ovid's poem, and Bergerac's nose, a distinguishing feature invented by Rostand, calls to mind Ovid's cognomen, Naso (from nasus, 'large-nosed').

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