Editing Ovid (section)

===''Metamorphoses'' ("Transformations")===
[[File:Ovidius Metamorphosis - George Sandy's 1632 edition.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Engraved frontispiece of [[George Sandys]]'s 1632 London edition of ''Ovid's Metamorphoses Englished'']]
{{Main| Metamorphoses}}
The ''Metamorphoses'', Ovid's most ambitious and well-known work, consists of a 15-book catalogue written in [[dactylic hexameter]] about transformations in Greek and Roman mythology set within a loose mytho-historical framework. The word "metamorphoses" is of Greek origin and means "transformations". Appropriately, the characters in this work undergo many different transformations. Within an extent of nearly 12,000 verses, almost 250 different myths are mentioned. Each myth is set outdoors where the mortals are often vulnerable to external influences. The poem stands in the tradition of mythological and etiological catalogue poetry such as [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Catalogue of Women]]'', [[Callimachus]]' ''[[Aetia (Callimachus)|Aetia]]'', [[Nicander]]'s ''Heteroeumena'', and [[Parthenius of Nicaea|Parthenius]]' ''Metamorphoses''.

The first book describes the formation of the world, the [[ages of man]], the [[Flood myth|flood]], the story of [[Daphne]]'s rape by Apollo and [[Io (mythology)|Io]]'s by Jupiter. The second book opens with [[Phaethon#Ovid|Phaethon]] and continues describing the love of Jupiter with [[Callisto (mythology)|Callisto]] and [[Europa (mythology)|Europa]]. The third book focuses on the mythology of [[Ancient Thebes (Boeotia)|Thebes]] with the stories of [[Cadmus]], [[Actaeon]], and [[Pentheus]]. The fourth book focuses on three pairs of lovers: [[Pyramus]] and [[Thisbe]], [[Salmacis]] and [[Hermaphroditus]], and [[Perseus]] and [[Andromeda (mythology)|Andromeda]]. The fifth book focuses on the song of the [[Muses]], which describes the rape of [[Proserpina]]. The sixth book is a collection of stories about the rivalry between gods and mortals, beginning with [[Arachne]] and ending with [[Philomela (princess of Athens)|Philomela]]. The seventh book focuses on [[Medea]], as well as [[Cephalus]] and [[Procris]]. The eighth book focuses on [[Daedalus]]' flight, the [[Calydonian boar]] hunt, and the contrast between pious [[Baucis and Philemon]] and the wicked [[Erysichthon of Thessaly|Erysichthon]]. The ninth book focuses on [[Heracles]] and the incestuous [[Byblis]]. The tenth book focuses on stories of doomed love, such as [[Orpheus]], who sings about [[Hyacinth (mythology)|Hyacinthus]], as well as [[Pygmalion (mythology)|Pygmalion]], [[Myrrha]], and [[Adonis]]. The eleventh book compares the marriage of [[Peleus]] and [[Thetis]] with the love of [[Ceyx]] and [[Alcyone]]. The twelfth book moves from myth to history describing the exploits of [[Achilles]], the [[Lapith#Centauromachy|battle of the centaurs]], and [[Iphigeneia]]. The thirteenth book discusses the [[Achilles#Fate of Achilles' armour|contest over Achilles' arms]], and [[Polyphemus]]. The fourteenth moves to Italy, describing the journey of [[Aeneas]], [[Pomona (mythology)|Pomona]] and [[Vertumnus]], and [[Romulus]] and [[Hersilia]]. The final book opens with a philosophical lecture by [[Pythagoras]] and the deification of [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]]. The end of the poem praises [[Augustus]] and expresses Ovid's belief that his poem has earned him immortality.

In analyzing the ''Metamorphoses'', scholars have focused on Ovid's organization of his vast body of material. The ways that stories are linked by geography, themes, or contrasts creates interesting effects and constantly forces the reader to evaluate the connections. Ovid also varies his tone and material from different literary genres; [[Gian Biagio Conte|G. B. Conte]] has called the poem "a sort of gallery of these various literary genres".<ref>Conte, G. p. 352</ref> In this spirit, Ovid engages creatively with his predecessors, alluding to the full spectrum of classical poetry. Ovid's use of Alexandrian epic, or elegiac couplets, shows his fusion of erotic and psychological style with traditional forms of epic.

A concept drawn from the Metamorphoses is the idea of the white lie or [[pious fraud]]: "pia mendacia fraude".