The

Ars amatoria

(or

Ars amandi

) [

The Art of Love

], together with the

Medicamina faciei femineae

[Cosmetics for the Female Face, also known as

The Art of Beauty

] and the

Remedia amoris

[

Remedies for Love

], constitute a group of works by Publius Ovidius Naso (Ovid) which belong to didactic poetry. Its metre, however, is not the dactylic hexameter, which is the established metre for didactic poetry (e.g. Hesiod’s

Works and days

, Aratus’s

Phaenomena

, Nicander’s

Theriaca

and

Alexipharmaca

, Vergil’s

Georgics

), but Ovid’s favourite metre, the elegiac couplet. Ovid’s preference for the elegiac couplet over the dactylic hexameter reveals his humorous, light-hearted and ironic approach to amatory teaching. The work consists of three books, which were not published all together at the…

1585 words

Citation: Michalopoulos, Andreas. "Ars Amatoria". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 May 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=6510, accessed 19 March 2024.]

6510 Ars Amatoria 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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