The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII

Here are the myths that have shaped the Western imagination for two thousand years: the world born from chaos, the great flood, Apollo and Daphne, Phaethon's fatal ride, Pyramus and Thisbe, Arachne's daring web, Medea's sorcery. Ovid's Metamorphoses gathers the legends of gods and mortals into one flowing pageant of change, told with wit, pathos, and an artistry that has inspired writers from Chaucer and Shakespeare to the present day. This edition reproduces the complete, unabridged original text of Books I–VII in a classic prose translation, framed by a new introduction that sets the poem in its historical moment and reader's notes that illuminate names, places, and allusions along the way. Whether you are returning to a beloved classic or meeting Ovid for the first time, these pages offer an unhurried, generous companion to the founding stories of mythology. Part of The Founding Texts Library.