Thus furthering the cause of love, and red rose clutching teddy bears, for all who followed.Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso, 43 BCE-17 CE), born at Sulmo, studied rhetoric and law at Rome. He was martyred a couple of centuries later–on February 14, AD 270– for marrying Christians. In AD 8 Augustus banished him for life to the Black Sea. By offering guidance to adulterers, it was seen as a deliberate act of provocation against the Emperor. The Art of Love appeared just after the Emperor Augustus exiled his daughter Julia for her string of affairs. Ovid’s writing is timelessly entertaining, yet his timing was bad. Though his was no metrosexual society, and men are warned not to overdo it. To both sexes, he provides copious advice on grooming. He also delves into couple counselling, advising people to play “cloak and dagger” to add intrigue to waning romance.

Men are often liars he declares, while urging young “nymphs” to stay free of the confines of marriage, and “try young and older lovers.”įurthermore, he gives women hints on ways to deceive men–using jealousy and fear to get the upper hand. manual of love and seduction Ars Amatoria DesignPics/Getty Nymphs, Play The Field, Urged Ovidĭespite some forgivably conservative ideas on gender roles, Ovid was also way ahead of his time. Ovid - officially Publius Ovidius Naso - had a reputation for poetic profligacy. But then again, is it not just a bit brutally honest too? The third book not only instructs women how to seduce men, but also encourages them to live a lustful life before they lose their looks and youth: “How soon a wrinkled skin plump flesh invades!”īy today’s standards this is both liberating and possibly sexist. “Ovid is considered by some within pickup-artist circles to be a founding father of pickup artistry,” The Atlantic notes, and his lessons hold great sway today. The poet also shares his tips on Rome’s best cruising or “hunting” sites–the theatres and playhouses, and games at the arenas.

Having armed men “for the fight prepare”, it was now time to “arm the fair,” he wrote. Like a general, training the Roman legions in Campus Martius to go into battle, Ovid diligently coaches his students in love strategies. lyrical books Ars Amatoria Illustration From Ars Amatoria Ovid’s Best P ick Up Places In Rome Ancient Roman poet Ovid gave lessons to men and women on seduction and romance in his 1 B.C.

Poet ovid the art of love