Written after he had been banished to the Black Sea city of Tomis by
Emperor Augustus, the Fasti is Ovid's last major poetic work. Both a
calendar of daily rituals and a witty sequence of stories recounted in a
variety of styles, it weaves together tales of gods and citizens
together to explore Rome's history, religious beliefs and traditions. It
may also be read as a subtle but powerful political manifesto which
derides Augustus' attempts to control his subjects by imposing his own
mythology upon them: after celebrating the emperor as a
Jupiter-on-earth, for example, Ovid deliberately juxtaposes a story
showing the king of the gods as a savage rapist. Endlessly playful, this
is also a work of integrity and courage, and a superb climax to the life
of one of Rome's greatest writers.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of
classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700
titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works
throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the
series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and
notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as
up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.