Book IV of the Fasti, Ovid's celebration of the Roman calendar and its associated legends, is the book of April and honours the festivals of Venus, Cybele, Ceres, and their cult, as well as the traditional date of the foundation of Rome and many religious and civic anniversaries. Elaine Fantham accompanies her commentary with a revised text and an extended introduction. Besides including surveys of language, style, versification, and textual transmission, the introduction looks at the shifting generic traditions of Greek and Roman elegy, and situates Ovid's composite poem in its Augustan literary and historical context. Other sections explain the recurring religious, astronomical and dynastic material of the Fasti. It has been a particular concern to relate features of Book IV to the other books of the Fasti and to Ovid's other elegiac works, and the Metamorphoses.

The first English language commentary on any book of the Fasti since Frazer's five volume edition and annotated Loeb of 1929/31.
Reviews
' ... a breakthrough in the study of classics ... it will secure a place in every undergraduate curriculum of Roman history.' Bryn Mawr Classical Review



Book Information
ISBN 9780521449960
Author Ovid
Format Paperback
Page Count 304
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 325g
Dimensions(mm) 186mm * 123mm * 21mm