Passionnée par l'antiquité et la mythologie,j'ai littéralement dévoré Les Métamorphoses d'Ovide.L'œuvre est tellement riche en significations et en symboles qu'une simple lecture ne suffit pas.Les thèmes se regroupent,les personnages ne sont pas comme ils sont censés être(chez Ovide,les dieux s'intéressent aux affaires des mortels et sont souvent rabaissés au rang des humains). Les Métamorphoses sont une vraie mine d'or pour les lecteurs souhaitant enrichir leur culture littéraire à travers la mythologie grecque qui a inspiré tant d'auteurs au cours des siècles. ( )

In my opinion a relatively dry and clunky text - before buying this version please do have a look at other prose and verse translations until you find something that might suit you better!

Ovidius is een wereldberoemd schrijver uit de Romeinse oudheid. Ik moet echter zeggen dat ik niet erg onder de indruk ben van dit boek. De vertaling is aangenaam om te lezen, maar inhoudelijk vind ik het niet bijzonder interessant. Niet alle grote boeken uit de wereldliteratuur zijn nu nog de moeite waard. Gestopt met lezen na hoofdstuk 4, blz 117 ( )

The early Greek myths translated and told in a pretty easy to read format. I preferred The Odyssey and the hymns to this though. ( )

Important Note: This review is for the edition translated by Z. Philip Ambrose. Seeing as the review focuses mainly on the translation, this will not work for all copies of the book. You have been warned.

Introduction:
Right of the bat, I'll admit I'm slightly biased. The translator for this version, Ambrose, was my professor for my greek and roman mythology class I took at UVM. This was a required text and took me about five minutes to realize he was the translator once I got into class. That automatically made the class special. Of all the ancient translations I've read, I can finally say I've known the translator. Just keep this in mind as I continue my review.

Content:
Ovid is great, pure and simple. I love his stories and the way he writes them. Every time once of my friends asks for a story when we're bored I immediately go to my memories of Ovid and pick out one of my favorites stories. Usually this is the tale of Narcissus and Echo or Atremis and Actaeon.

Translation and Notes:
If anyone is interested in reading Ovid they already know the value of his works and what they contain (if you don't, then the rest of this review may not be as important to you). Henceforth, that is not the primary focus of my review and will, instead, focus on the translation, notes, and diagrams included in this edition. There is a formidable Table of Contents that lists each story for easy reference. At the end there contains an index/glossary that is near sixty pages in length, chronicling each place, god, and mortal, who they are and when they appear. This is much more handy that it first sounds and I've used it constantly. The introduction, which for me is normally boring and overly long, gives a brief synopsis of each book and the tales included within. That helped me to no end when studying for a test!

Notes in the book were on the bottom of the page and usually helped the reader with synonyms (like Abantaides is Perseus), places, and names. Easy and very important.

The two most important things in this edition are the illustrations and the translation itself. The illustrations, of which there are many, added greatly to the events depicted in each tale. I found that I used these illustrations as landmarks for individual tales more than the Table of Contents or the Index. For these alone I would recommend this edition yet we have not even touched upon the translation! Fortunately, the translation was just what I wanted: readable and very true to the original Latin. When I first read this translation as a sophomore, I thought it fun to read. Not necessarily easy (for I think poetry and classical texts should be a brain-working experience and require a decent amount of effort put into it) but still fun. When I revisited the text as a senior and translated the original Latin I developed a new appreciation for Ovid and Ambrose. Ovid's Latin was great (of course) and Ambrose did his utmost best to stay true to the original. I used Ambrose's work as a 'cheat sheet', if you will, as I read the Latin for class. The translation was almost word for word, line for line, and a young Latin student's gift from the gods. Until you've tried translating for yourself you can't imagine how great this was, to have each line match up with the original. Just...superb!

However, I must note that I have not read a different translation. Overall, I don't think it would matter. Penguin comes out with decent translations (and they have the most, by far) and Oxford World Classics give even better translations with awesome notes except I found both these translations lacking something special when I glanced over them in the bookstores. Perhaps because they didn't have those wonderful illustrations or they aren't set-up as neatly, I still have no desire to further explore my dislike. Take this new bit of information as you will, my view of this translation will certainly not change.

Conclusion:
A great literal, but definitely readable, translation of Ovid's well-known work of stories and myths, complete with illustrations. Great for the beginner and Latin student alike. Highly recommended. ( )