A Commentary on Ovid's Fasti, Book 2 [Hardcover]

TheFastiis one of Ovid's most complex, inventive, and remarkable works. In presenting the Roman calendar in poetic form, it encompasses an unusually wide range of subjects, a labyrinth of religious rites, historical events, and astronomical myths that can place significant demands on the reader. This commentary on Book 2 - the first detailed commentary in English for 80 years - guides the reader through the maze of diverse material towards a fuller appreciation of the poem, through detailed analysis of its religious, historical, political, and literary background.

Introduction
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Commentary

Robinson's close engagement with Ovid's wide-ranging source material, together with his own depth of understanding, accentuate the impact of this narrative of death and purification, placation of ancestral spirits and peremptory silencing of violated women. At the same time his unflinching, but not over-imaginative analysis of latent meanings, implied by juxtaposition or a pregnant phrase, penetrates the political undertones which appear to lie not far beneath the surface. This commentary is a splendid contribution to Ovidian studies and a valuable reference book for specialists in Augustan literature. --Bryn Mawr Classical Review

Matthew Robinsonis Lecturer in Classics, University College London