Ovid’s prominent career as Rome’s leading poet was suddenly interrupted in year 8 CE, when the emperor Augustus ordered the poet’s banishment to Tomis on the coast of Black Sea (modern Constanţa), a former Greek colony, populated at the time by the local tribe of the Getae. The exact reasons behind this banishment remain unknown. In his highly autobiographical

Trist

. 2.207 Ovid mentions as possible grounds two offences, “carmen et error” [a poem and an indiscretion], the first of which he is quick to identify with his

Ars amatoria

[

The Art of Love

], a witty mock-didactic work addressing both men and women on the techniques of courtship and the secrets of erotic affairs. It is not unlikely for such a bold and controversial poem to cause certain discontentment and uneasiness to…

2173 words

Citation: Michalopoulos, Charilaos N.. "Tristia". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 June 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8464, accessed 19 March 2024.]

8464 Tristia 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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