Metamorphoses

Still remarkably vivid. It is easier to read this for pure pleasure than just about any other ancient text Nicholas Lezard; Guardian Ovids sensuous and witty poem begins with the creation of the world and brings together a dazzling array of mythological tales; ingeniously linked by the idea of transformation - often as a result of love or lust - where men and women find themselves magically changed into extraordinary new beings. Including the well-known stories of Daedalus and Icarus; Pyramus and Thisbe; Pygmalion; Perseus and Andromeda; and the fall of Troy; the Metamorphoses has influenced writers and artists from Shakespeare and Chaucer to Picasso and Ted Hughes. This translation by David Raeburn is in hexameter verse; which brilliantly captures the energy and spontaneity of the original. Translated by DAVID RAEBURN with an Introduction by DENIS FEENEY