Ars Amatoria: Part One

Latin 4/5 Project, the story of Ovid.

From the filmmakers, Brian Hostutler, Ryan Holman, Ben Giese

Our Story:
Throughout the school year of 2004-2005 at Jefferson Forest High School, We, the 4th and 5th year Latin Students, were translating The Ars Amatoria from Latin to English. Our teacher assigned us a project to write essays on the book, however my friend Ryan Holman and I were wondering if our talents could be put to better use than just writing an essay. So we were permitted to make a brief five to ten min. movie. We had a month to fill it, but needless to say it was the day before it was due and we barely had a minute of footage shot. We first had to decide what exactly we were going to do, and then we filmed it, so pretty much 90% of the movie was thought up right before each scene was shot.

***For the record, the song during the montage was inserted before it was declared the most overplayed song of all time. Sorry!***

The Real Story:
Publius Ovidius Naso (Sulmona, March 20, 43 BC -- Tomis, now Constanta AD 17) Roman poet known to the English-speaking world as Ovid, wrote on topics of love, abandoned women, and mythological transformations.

The Ars Amatoria ("The Art of Love") is a series of three books by the Roman poet Ovid. Written in verse, their guiding theme is the art of seduction. The first two, written for men about 1 BCE to 1 CE, deal with 'winning women's hearts' and 'keeping the loved one', respectively. The third, addressed to women telling them how to best attract men, was written somewhat later.

The publication of the Ars Amatoria may have been at least partly responsible for Ovid's banishment to the provinces by the Emperor Augustus. Ovid's celebration of extramarital love must have seemed an intolerable affront to a regime that sought to promote 'family values'. When finally in AD 8 Ovid's position in Rome became untenable, it was because of the error ('mistake'), about whose nature there has been much inconclusive speculation, and the carmen ('poem'), which is presumably the Ars Amatoria (Tristia 2.207: Perdiderint... me duo crimina, carmen et error).


ALSO CHECK OUT THE BONUS VIDEO THE MAKING OF THE ARS AMATORIA