Ovid's deliciously clever and exuberant epic, Metamorphoses is a verse translati on from the Latin by David Raeburn with an introduction by Denis Feeney in Pengu in Classics.Ovid's sensuous and witty poetry brings together a dazzling array of mythological tales, ingeniously linked by the idea of transformation - often as a result of love or lust - where men and women find themselves magically chan ged into new and sometimes extraordinary beings. Beginning with the creation of the world and ending with the deification of Augustus, Ovid interweaves many of the best-known myths and legends of Ancient Greece and Rome, including Daedalus and Icarus, Pyramus and Thisbe, Pygmalion, Perseus and Andromeda, and the fall o f Troy. Erudite but light-hearted, dramatic yet playful, the Metamorphoses has i nfluenced writers and artists throughout the centuries from Shakespeare and Titi an to Picasso and Ted Hughes.This lively, accessible new translation by David Raeburn is in hexameter verse, which brilliantly captures the energy and spontan eity of the original. The edition contains an introduction discussing the life a nd work of Ovid as well as a preface to each book, explanatory notes and an inde x of people, gods and places.Publius Ovidius Naso (43BC-18AD) was born at Sulm o (Sulmona) in central Italy. Coming from a wealthy Roman family and seemingly d estined for a career in politics, he held some minor official posts before leavi ng public service to write, becoming the most distinguished poet of his time. Hi s works, all published in Penguin Classics, include Amores, a collection of shor t love poems; Heroides, verse-letters written by mythological heroines to their lovers; Ars Amatoria, a satirical handbook on love; and Metamorphoses, his epic work on change.If you enjoyed Metamorphoses, you might like Homer's The Odysse y, also available in Penguin Classics.