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Why Is Ovid Considered In Everyday Life

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Why Is Ovid Considered In Everyday Life
Ovid or Publius Ovidius Naso was a Roman philosopher known for his work titled Metamorphoses. In this book, he created numerous amounts of poetry containing characters from different eras. Some of the characters used are either fictional, mythological, or real world figures. His poems give readers a series of emotions making them judge their lives. Ovid writes his poems with careful precision. He romanticizes his poems in the hopes of displaying a clear message to the reader. In this collection of poems, translated by Rolfe Humphries, readers can observe that Ovid is trying to teach lessons that should be considered in their everyday lives. In his poems, Ovid wants readers to understand what he thinks should be known to them. He does this by providing stories in the format of a poem with a moral that captures the reader's attention. An example of this is in The Story of Tereus, Procne, and Philomela, where the poet writes how the antagonist named Tereus …show more content…
As readers go through the mythical poem, they feel that Niobe is a victim of the wrath of the gods. This is exactly what Ovid intended as he explains how the Roman goddess Latona, mother of the god Apollo and the goddess Diana, called for the death of Niobe's fourteen children as retaliation for Niobe's pride against the gods (136). The scene when Apollo and Diana kill Niobe's children is quite fearful for readers, as they have no remorse in regards to the age of each offspring. Ovid utilizes this fear of the gods power to have readers understand that one should never believe that they are stronger and above the gods. He puts this belief, which he teaches to readers, into action as Niobe receives an additional punishment for her pride against the gods. This reprimand intensifies the lesson as Niobe's "vitals hardened to rock," and readers are meant to interpret that she is turned into a small stone on Mount Sipylus

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