Fasti (Penguin Classics)

On the surface, Ovid’s final poem appears patriotic, yet it quietly rebels against the emperor who sent him into exile, undermining his values and propaganda. A treasure trove of information about Roman myth and religion, Fasti is at once a calendar of daily rituals and a clever collection of stories in a range of styles and genres, from comic to tragic, epic to erotic, all subtly presenting political opinions. Augustus attempted to control subjects by inflicting his own version of history and annual cycle of festivals on them. Banished to the Black Sea, Ovid ingeniously discredits official heroes and power structures. 360 pages.