The Last Poems of Ovid

by Ovid

The poem begins with the statement that Ovid is now in his sixth year of exile; unlike flint and iron, he is not touched by the passing of time (1-8). He says that his tribulations are like those of Ulysses, but more severe; there follows a comparison of his experiences with those of Ulysses (9-30). He then describes the bleakness of the climate, and how the sea freezes over in winter (31-34). He has heard that his accounts are not believed at Rome, and will therefore explain the reasons for the sea's freezing over (35-38). At Tomis the north wind prevails, and the salinity of the sea is reduced by the influx of many large rivers (which are listed in a catalogue); the sea's freezing is caused by these two factors (39-64). He is telling all this to Albinovanus to pass the time; Albinovanus is writing poetry as well, about Theseus, who is an example for him to follow (65-82). Ovid does not wish to imply that Albinovanus is not already doing everything possible to assist him (83-84).

The poem combines with remarkable ease a number of quite disparate subjects, and is in this sense reminiscent of Tibullus. Most of the subjects had been used previously in the poetry of exile; in particular, see Tr I v 57-84 for an extended comparison of the trials of Ulysses and those of Ovid. The disquisition on the reasons for the Euxine's freezing over is, however, new. It seems to have been drawn from a geographical or physical treatise which has left its mark elsewhere in Latin literature: see at 37-38 ([p 340-42]).

1. CIMMERIO British Library Harley 2607 (Tarrant) CVMERIO M¹ IN ETIAM MEMORI C IN ********** B¹ IN HEMONIO HITP IN EVXINO F IN EXINO B^2c BISTONIO LM^2ul Many centuries had passed since the Cimmerians had inhabited Scythia; even Herodotus, who tells the story of their departure, seems to regard the event as belonging to the distant past (IV 11-12). Homer was vaguely aware of the nation: at Od XI 13-19 (imitated at Pan Mess 64-66), he speaks of the 'Κιμμερίων ἀνδρῶν ... πόλις' by the stream of Ocean, which never receives sunlight.

For Cimmerio Burman compared Claudian Cons Stil I 129 'nunc prope Cimmerii tendebat litora Ponti'; see as well In Eutr I 249 'extra Cimmerias, Taurorum claustra, paludes'.

1. BIS TERTIA ... AESTAS. The poem is therefore dated to the summer of 14. For Ovid's mentions of the length of his exile, see at vi 5 quinquennis ([p 227]).

3. ECQVOS ... ECQVOD Laurentianus 36 2, saec xv ET QVOS ... ET QVOD BCMFHILT. The same corruption is found in certain manuscripts at Met III 442-45 (Narcissus speaking) '"ecquis, io siluae, crudelius" inquit "amauit? ... ecquem ... qui sic tabuerit longo meministis in aeuo?"' and commonly. Other instances of ecquis in emotionally heightened questions at Fast IV 488, Tr I vi 11, EP III i 3, and Her XXI 106.

3. SILICES ... FERRVM. See at viii 49 tabida consumit ferrum lapidemque uetustas ([p 270]).

4. ALBINOVANE. Albinovanus Pedo[21] and Ovid seem to have been close friends. Ovid mentions him again at xvi 6 'sidereusque Pedo', and he was the source of the famous anecdote in the elder Seneca (Cont II 2 12) of how Ovid chose as the three lines in his poems he most wished to retain the same three verses a group of his friends most wished to remove.

He was a famous raconteur: the younger Seneca calls Pedo fabulator elegantissimus at Ep CXXII 15-16 when repeating one of his anecdotes.

At the time this poem was written, Albinovanus was engaged on a Theseid (71). Quintilian perhaps had this poem in mind when he included a rather slighting mention of Albinovanus in his catalogue of epic poets at X i 90: 'Rabirius ac Pedo non indigni cognitione, si uacet'. He may, however, have been thinking of Albinovanus' poem on Germanicus' campaigns, of which the elder Seneca preserves some twenty-three hexameters (Suas I 15; commentary by V. Bongi, Istituto Lombardo di scienze e lett. Rendiconti [Classe di Lettere] ser. 3 13 [1949], 28-48. Norden and others have attributed Morel Incert 46 'ingenia immansueta suoque simillima caelo' to the same poem). Martial several times mentions Albinovanus as a writer of epigrams (II lxxvii 5, V v 5 & X xx (xix) 10); this fits well with the younger Seneca's description of Albinovanus as fabulator elegantissimus.