Ovid's Metamorphoses

The Arthur Golding Translation of 1567

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by Ovid,

Translated by Arthur Golding,

Edited by John Frederick Nims

Independent Publishers Group

Due/Published March 2000, 465 pages, paper

ISBN 0966491319

Perhaps the greatest ancient compilation of Western myths, Ovid's Metamorphoses includes the stories of Jove, Apollo, Mercury, and Venus. This first English translation, originally published in 1567, introduced Ovid's work to Shakespeare and inspired many of his plays. Golding's version brings to English Ovid's history of the Trojan War and the rise of Rome, and ends with the story of Julius Caesar. Also included are the famous myths of Pyramus and Thisbe, Jason and Medea, Orpheus, Hercules, and Pygmalion. A glossary of names and places and footnote definitions of archaic words make the text accessible to all readers.