Publius Ovidius Naso, known as Ovid, was born on March 20, 43 b.c. in Sulmo, Italy, and died at the age of sixty-one in exile in the Black Sea port of Tomi, known today as Constantsa, Romania. Considered to be one of the most influential poets in Western literary tradition, Ovid wrote several important works, including Heroines and The Art of Love. His most famous and revered work, and considered alongside the works of Homer and Virgil as among the world's masterpieces, is Metamorphoses, which he finished around 8 a.d.

Of the details of Ovid's life, historians know very little. He was born into an upper-middle-class family. To prepare for a professional career, he was sent to Rome to study rhetoric, the standard core of study for Roman education at the time. Upon completion of his studies in Rome, Ovid spent a year in Athens studying philosophy...