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Elegy II
This is a wonderfully livelyportrait of a day at the races by a man who would rather look at women thanhorses. This translation is particularly colloquial, with many modern touches notstrictly faithful to the original; but the spirit is captured vividly.
Pelopswon the hand of the Princess Hippodameia by cheating in a chariot race,sabotaging his rival\'s vehicle. He thinks his girlfriend mayhave prettier legs than even the beautiful Atalanta who raced against and wonmany suitors for her hand, only to be overtaken by Milanion when he distractedher with three golden apples given him by Venus.
Diana the huntress was alsoreputedly a swift runner. Thus does the poet combine his themes: beautiful womenand racing.
The victory the poet prays for is of course over the woman\'sresistance.
Neptune was god of the sea, which Ovid hated.
A common sort ofmiracle in ancient Rome was the reported nodding of the head of a god\'s statue,signifying approval of a prayer.
The poet says he will worship the woman morethan Venus herself.
Ovid reworked this poem in a passage ofBook I of The Art of Love.
Elegy IV
This is a variation of the address to the cuckoldedhusband, but this time the argument is that possessiveness only makes a wiferestive and more likely to betray her spouse. Sentiments like these were repeatedin countless tales and poems in the late Middle Ages. Jealousy, it was insisted,destroys love. This is of course a convenient philosophy for a would-be seducerof wives.
Her \"person\" is her body.
Argus is usually said tohave been killed by Hermes, but Ovid says he was blinded by love.
See thenotes to Book II, Elegy XIX for Danae.
Penelope wasUlysses\' (Odysseus\') wife, who waited faithfully for his return from the TrojanWar for twenty years, despite being besieged by numerous suitors.
The poeteven goes so far as to argue impudently that adultery (strictly outlawed inAugustine\'s Rome, though the law was frequently broken) is not only a trivialmatter, but can be highly respectable, citing instances from mythology, whichindeed abounds with illicit unions--one of the reasons that the Greeks and Romansdid not base their ethics on their religion.
The notion that all womenbeautiful enough to attract lovers will have them is repeatedly endlessly in lateMedieval and Renaissance satires. An entire book of Rabelais\' Gargantuaand Pantagruel is based on this theme. Obviously those who thought ofthemselves as potential lovers hoped this was so. From ancient times to the 19thcentury, the stereotype of the uncontrollable sexuality of women dominated muchthinking about them. The rise of Victorianism, which viewed men as more sexualthan women, marked a revolutionary change in European thinking, and one which didnot go unchallenged.
According to Ovid, what are the advantages of being acuckold?
Elegy XIA & B
Ovid tries to bid farewell to the fickle Corinna, but finds he cannot.
Thereis a saying that \"Jove laughs as the oaths of lovers.\" Ovid accuses thegods of corruption in supporting such laxity. Even if she rejects him, he willcontinue to love her.
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