Ohio Wesleyan Faculty Member’s New Book Examines ‘Ovid, Metamorphoses X’
DELAWARE, Ohio – Lee Fratantuono, director of Ohio Wesleyan University’s Classics Program, is publishing his fifth book, “Ovid, Metamorphoses X,” a guide to and examination of the epic-style, narrative poem that Fratantuono considers “one of the great literary and artistic monuments of Augustan Rome.”
Bloomsbury Academic will publish Fratantuono’s book in paperback in the United Kingdom and electronically in December 2014 and in paperback in the United States in February 2015.
“Ovid’s Metamorphoses is one of the great literary and artistic monuments of Augustan Rome, and the tenth book of the epic is one of the richest in content and fascination,” said Fratantuono, Ph.D., also the Whitlock Professor of Latin at Ohio Wesleyan, where he has taught since 2005. “This volume provides not only a commentary and guide to a reader of the Latin text, but also a consideration of the intertext of Ovid’s work with his Greek and Latin antecedents, as well as an examination of the place of Ovid’s work in the context of the history of the early Roman imperial principate.”
According to the publisher, “Metamorphoses” is “original, inventive and charming,” featuring myths of transformation dating from the creation of the universe to the death of Julius Caesar. “Book X contains some of Ovid’s most memorable stories: Orpheus and Eurydice, Pygmalion, Atalanta and Hippomenes (with the race for the golden apples), Venus and Adonis, and Myrrha.”
Fratantuono’s book contains Latin text as well as in-depth commentary notes that provide language support, explain difficult words and phrases, highlight literary features, and supply background knowledge. The introduction presents an overview of Ovid and the historical and literary context, as well as a plot synopsis and a discussion of the literary genre.
Fratantuono’s other books are “Madness Triumphant: A Reading of Lucan’s Pharsalia” (2012), “Madness: Transformed: A Reading of Ovid’s Metamorphoses” (2011), “A Commentary on Virgil, Aeneid XI” (2009), and “Madness Unchained: A Reading of Virgil’s Aeneid” (2007).
Collaboratively, he is a co-editor of three forthcoming publications. Fratantuono is working with Stephen Maddux, Ph.D., on a two-volume critical edition of the medieval Latin sermons of Peter the Lombard on the liturgical year; with Caroline Stark, Ph.D., on the “Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Latin Epic, 14-96 C.E.”; and with Alden Smith, Ph.D., on “Virgil: Aeneid 5.”
In addition, Fratantuono has published numerous scholarly articles on Latin poetry, including work completed with Ohio Wesleyan classics students Michael McOsker, OWU Class of 2007, and Cynthia Susalla, OWU Class of 2012, both now pursuing graduate studies in the discipline. At Ohio Wesleyan, Fratantuono also sponsors a yearly series of guest lectures by leading classicists from the United States and abroad, and he has led students on study-abroad experiences to France, Monaco, and Italy.
Learn more about Fratantuono’s latest book, “Ovid, Metamorphoses X,” at bloomsbury.com.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers 86 undergraduate majors and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Ohio Wesleyan combines a challenging, internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities to connect classroom theory with real-world experience. OWU’s 1,750 students represent 46 U.S. states and territories and 43 countries. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the latest President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu