1619 OVID METAMORPHISIS antique ILLUSTRATED

Ovid

Metamorphosis


Ovid. Metamorphosis dat is: die herscheppinghe oft veranderinghe beschreven vanden vermaerden ende gheleerden poët Ovidius...,

Thantvverpen; 1619

(Antwerp: Guilliam Lesteens, 1619)


printer's woodcut device to title with early manuscript ownership, numerous woodcut illustrations, close-trimming at head touching some running titles, some foxing, 20th century endpapers

Later binding. Quarter sheep, marbled boards

Size 4 by 6 1/4"

237 leaves (474 pages) plus table of content

Text in Dutch

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The Metamorphoses ( from Ancient Greek:
"Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet
Ovid.
It is considered his magnum opus. The poem chronicles the history of
the world from its creation to the deification of Julius Caesar in a
mythico-historical framework.

Although it meets some of the criteria for
an epic, the poem defies simple genre classification because of its varying
themes and tones. Ovid took inspiration from the genre of metamorphosis poetry
and some of the Metamorphoses derives from earlier treatment of the same myths;
however, he diverged significantly from all of his models.

One of the
most influential works in Western culture, the Metamorphoses has inspired such
authors as Dante Alighieri, Giovanni Boccaccio, Geoffrey Chaucer, and William
Shakespeare. Numerous episodes from the poem have been depicted in works of
sculpture, painting, and music, especially during the Renaissance. There was a
resurgence of attention to his work towards the end of the 20th century. Today
the Metamorphoses continues to inspire and be retold through various media.

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