Ovid's Metamorphoses

A book I picked up in University for one of my Roman Mythology courses but never read. It may even be from my last semester of school (post-graduation) when I decided I wasn't going to do my masters or get a 2nd degree in library sciences so I dropped all my classes part way through the term.

I have a slight obsession with Greek/Roman history and mythology. I definitely don't know as much as I would like to know but I am passionate about what I do know. Just ask Beth about the whirlwind tour I took her on when we were in Rome and my determination to see certain sites such as the Ara Pacis and the Tomb of Augustus. I was so focused that I blew right past an entire street of designer stores without so much as a window shop.

So the Metamorphoses has sat patiently on my bookshelf for a few years now waiting for me to get around to reading it. And I am very glad that I finally did. I think I would have liked it even better if I was familiar with all of the myths and history it borrows from, because I found that the background knowledge I did have helped a lot with certain sections and other sections where I was less in the know I felt a little lost. And I am not sure I liked how much Ovid flipped between usage of the Greek & Roman names of the gods. He was pretty consistent in using the Roman Jove & Juno but otherwise it felt a bit like a crapshoot. Of course that could be the translator and not Ovid at all but it bugged either way.

A book about change and transformation that I couldn't have read at a better time as I have been going through a lot of changes lately. Definitely a book that will stay on my shelves awaiting another round.