This is the first full-scale commentary devoted to the third book of Ovid" >Ovids Ars amatoria. It includes an Introduction, a revision of E. J. Kenneys Oxford text of the book, and detailed line-by-line and section-by-section commentary on the language and ideas of the text. Combining traditional philological scholarship with some of the concerns of more recent critics, both Introduction and commentary place particular emphasis on: the language of the text; the relationship of the book to the didactic, 'erotodidactic and elegiac traditions; Ovid" >Ovids usurpation of the lenas traditional role of erotic instructor of women; the poets handling of the controversial subjects of cosmetics and personal adornment; and the literary and political significances of Ovid" >Ovids unexpected emphasis in the text of Ars 3 on restraint and 'moderation. The book will be of interest to all postgraduates and scholars working on Augustan poetry.
