Ars amatoria

Ars amatoria, poem by Ovid, published about 1 bce. Ars amatoria comprises three books of mock-didactic elegiacs on the art of seduction and intrigue. One of the author’s best-known works, it contributed to his downfall in 8 ce on allegations of immorality. The work, which presents a fascinating portrait of the sophisticated and hedonistic Roman aristocracy, attained wide popularity in its day. The message of this brilliant treatise was essentially subversive to the official program of moral reforms then being promoted by Augustus, and it cannot have been well received by those who were seriously committed to the goals and aspirations of Augustanism.