Metamorphoses

The Metamorphoses is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid, considered his magnum opus, chronicling the history of the world from its creation to the deification of Julius Caesar in a mythico-historical framework comprising over 250 myths across 15 books and nearly 12,000 lines. Although it meets some criteria for an epic, the poem defies simple genre classification because of its varying themes and tones, and while some episodes derive from earlier treatments of the same myths, Ovid diverged significantly from all of his models. It is one of the most influential works in Western culture, inspiring authors including Dante Alighieri, Giovanni Boccaccio, Geoffrey Chaucer and William Shakespeare, with numerous episodes depicted in sculpture, painting and music especially during the Renaissance.