Ovid, _Ars Amatoria_

Ovid, Ars Amatoria

9th century manuscript of the Ars amatoria

Ovid (43 BCE-17CE) was probably the most influential ancient writer in early modern England and in Europe generally.  He is best known as the author of the Metamorphoses, that unconventional epic that helped teach the West its classical mythology and that was a staple in the schools.  The Ars was his most controversial work, a mock-didactic treatise about how to deal with the opposite sex. Ovid considered it a joke, but some people took it seriously and for this, he was banished to Tomis on the Black Sea and died there. Medieval writers considered it an authority of love, a handbook of seduction, a misogynist encyclopedia, all three at once, or none of these.

The first two books of the Ars teach young men how to woo, seduce, and then keep the interest of the woman of their choice. The third section turns things around and tells women what men's devices are, and encourages them to seek love on their terms. A followup text, also considered a joke by some, was the Remedia Amoris: "the remedy for love," or how to fall out of love.

Though we tend to see love as glorious and wonderful and nasty and such, ancient, medieval, and early modern readers often viewed it as a disease, trouble, a breaker of alliances and a destroyer of happiness and households. 

The Ars has its bawdy and libertinish elements, and some think this is why Ovid was banished by the Emperor Augustus. Sometimes it seems hard and cynical.  It seems to suggest that men should be fairly amoral in their pursuit of women.  The treatise focuses on sex and desire, which to Romans was interchangeable with love. It sometimes recommends deceit, lying, and brands women as gullible and easy to trick. At other points, it is more reverent and humane. 

Though the Ars is about erotic love, it is certainly never crude or stupid. It discusses things like simultaneous orgasms and sexual positions in a coded and appropriate way, and it is amusing. 

Though it is hard to believe, the Ars was a school text in the medieval and early modern worlds. It is relatively easy Latin, amusing, and easy to relate to for younger people, who tend to be consumed with such matters. In the Middle Ages, it was frequently translated and adapted so it was important in literature and for the idea of "courtly love."

There is even a Mental Floss webpage post devoted to Ovid's "dating tips," taken from the Ars:

http://mentalfloss.com/article/51032/11-dating-tips-ovid%E2%80%99s-ars-amatoria

Main source:
http://www.ancient-literature.com/rome_ovid_ars.html

Picture:
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