Metamorphoses: The New, Annotated Edition

This book is wonderful. The Rolfe Humphries is THE translation. This printing is also very nice. The paper, the type, everything makes it a good book. When you turn the page, it turns nicely and lies flat; how refreshing. The stories of the Metamorphoses are, of course, wonderful. It's the book itself that I want to talk about. The beautiful Waterhouse painting on the cover spans the front and part of the back covers. The line numbers at the top of each text page are those of the Latin text in the Loeb edition; how many translators would go to that kind of trouble for you? Rolfe Humphries' introduction is light, funny, and enjoyable. His love of his work shines through. The last line of his intro is, "So - here he is [Ovid], and I hope you like him." The table of contents is annotated, making it easy to find any major story you are looking for. I also love the designs at the beginning of each book/chapter: such details enhance my enjoyment of reading this edition. If you have never read Ovid's Metamorphoses, don't be intimidated. It is a collection of mythology stories, and you will find much that is probably familiar to you (Echo and Narcissus, Jason, Pygmalion, and more). If you are at all serious about literature, this is a basic building block in your knowledge. And even if you're not, it's just a damn good book. The translation itself is so fluent and enjoyable. Just listen to the introduction: My intention is to tell of bodies changed To different forms; the gods, who made the changes, Will help me - or so I hope - with a poem That runs from the world's beginning to our own days. This is exciting, eloquent stuff! Please do yourself a favor and make sure you read this at some point during your lifetime.

Humphries translation of the Latin classic of Greek and Roman mythology is still contemporary, fresh, vibrant, and colorful more than a half-century after first publication. For readers unfamiliar with Ovid, the great Latin poet and lover of Transformations (i.e., Metamorphoses), we are simultaneously acquainted with the great classical myths, given their contemporary meaning and perennial revelance, through a masterful translation that is as modern as the stories are classical. For example, from Book III, "Echo and Narcissus," we read: Now Narcissus Was sixteen years of age, and could be taken for Either boy or man; and boys and girls Both sought his love, but in that slender stripling Was pride so fierce no boy, no girl, could touch him. To understand the pantheon of the classical gods, each was a projection of one (or maybe two) human attributes is a quasi-human, quasi-divine form. Rather than trying to make a single god into a possessive, jealous, xenophobic, and emotionally-unstable, homophobic male patriarchical "prick," the pantheon of Roman and Greek gods were merely the "objectification" of the worst and noblest human emotions, intelligence, vulnerabilities, and jealousies -- just as we find in ourselves, without crusty theology to cloud the oracles of human vice and virtue (versus human depravity, sin, and redemption). This is a book one can enjoy in "sprints," or luxuriate with on a weekend afternoon, and further, enjoy reading to your Beloved. We do. With Humphries exquisite translation, hearing the poetry read makes it even livelier to the ear and heart.

I don't know any Latin but I could tell how well of a poet Ovid was and how well of a translator Humphries was, simply reading this book. This was the first proper actual book from start to finish I'd read in a while, and I ended up far richer for it. The annotations were also great and helpful. The book contains some beautiful and also some of the disturbing content I've read in a while, but I think it's edge is memorable and meaningful ultimately, which is what's more important. I'd also say in that it seems to me in the context of its time, and even if quite briefly usually (and I'm going to tread lightly, this is merely my opinion) that it made a decent representation of social issues, the trauma of sexual assault and representation of power dynamics. Ultimately though, it is thought-provoking and will make you feel some sort of way, regardless of your identity. In any case, I highly recommend this edition of this book, and though it's not an easy read, few worthy books are.

Great price fast

Very interesting stories to read. I originally got this for a class however I took some time and read it on my own and was very grateful that I did. You can learn lots of lessons and morals from this book.

Whichever translation of Ovid's "Metamorphoses" you choose to read - and this is certainly one of the better ones - you cannot fail to appreciate the impact this book has had on Western culture in general. Elements of the many, many stories herein turn up in Western art, literature, music, and language, and it's only after you've read it do you realize how much influence Ovid has had. Despite being 2000-years old, it's as relevant today as it ever was, grimly reminding us that thousands of years of civilization have done little to change human behavior and morality. Love, lust, compassion, cruelty, devotion, incest, brutality, humor, sadness - it's all there in graphic language, and not just a book about myths for children but the nature of humanity for adults.

my daughter appreciated receiving this book as a gift she enjoys reading a lot of books and this book arrived in very good condition

Came on time - used for myth class (college)

Humphries gelingt es, dieses großartige Werk dem Normalleser zugänglich zu machen. Das ist keine geringe Leistung. Stehen die "Metamorphosen" doch am Beginn der europäischen Literatur und sind sie neben der Bibel das meist zitierte Werk der abendländischen Literatur. Ovids Werk handelt von Verwandlungen verschiedenster Art. Meist geht es darum, dass Götter ihre Macht missbrauchen, um Sterbliche in Tiere oder Pflanzen zu verwandeln. Oft nachdem sie vorher von den Göttern missbraucht wurden oder indem sie der ungerechten Rachsucht der Unsterblichen zum Opfer fielen. Die Götter sind dabei nicht zimperlich. Hier kommen die meisten schweren Straftaten, die hierzulande vom Strafgesetzbuch erfasst sind, zur Anwendung: Mord und Totschlag, Entführung, Vergewaltigung, Inzest, usw. Nicht umsonst geriet "Metamorphosen" ins Blickfeld politisch korrekter Studenten in den USA, welche von ihren Professoren verlangten, das Werk mit einem entsprechenden Hinweis auf potentiell gefährliche Inhalte zu versehen. Sicher, "Metamorhosen" ist ein gewalttätiges und chauvinistisches Werk, dessen männliche Dominanz und Brutalität augenscheinlich sind, aber es steht in seiner Bedeutung für die europäische Kulturgeschichte auch einzigartig da. Man ist beim Lesen immer wieder überrascht, für wie viele europäische Mythen, die ins Allgemeinwissen übergegangen sind, bereits hier die Grundlagen gelegt wurden.

Good product

Questa è onestamente la miglior traduzione delle Metamorfosi di Ovidio. Ho letto i libri in latino e in Italiano, e questa traduzione di Rolfe Humphries è l'unica che non mi fa venire mal di testa per l'uso di eccessiva pomposità e parole pseudo-italiane ricercate che dovrebbero arricchire il testo ma lo gonfiano soltanto (ho detto quello che ho detto e non mi pento). Questa traduzione riflette la narrativa semplice e diretta di Ovidio, come giusto che sia.

I purchased this edition of the Metamorphoses because as a Classics grad student studying Augustan literature I wanted to have several different translations of the Metamorphoses for comparison's sake. The translation here is... rough, in my eyes. Not "rough" in the sense of "poorly done," but "rough" in the sense of "outdated and misogynistic." The real value here is in Joseph Reed's commentary, which I think would be useful for first-time readers of the Metamorphoses and seasoned Classicists alike. Reed does an excellent job explaining mythological references, clarifying some of the translator's problematic language, and drawing connections between myths to try and explain Ovid's project. The purchase was worth it for the commentary alone!

A must read for the avid Ovid reader. Good quality book for the price point.