Letters from the Black Sea by Ovid. Short summary

5 seconds

The Roman emperor Octavian Augustus sends Ovid into exile on the outskirts of the empire. The exiled man begins to write letters to friends and his wife in which he recounts the hardships of exile.

1 minute

The Roman emperor Octavian Augustus sends Ovid into exile on the outskirts of the empire. The exiled man begins writing letters to friends: Brutus, Fabius, Rufinus, Grecinus, and others, as well as to his wife. In them he recounts the hardships of exile, reminisces about the past and expresses the hope for a pardon in the future, and speaks of poetry.

In the first letter, the author says that he is sending the scroll to the city and regrets that he cannot go there himself. Ovid wishes for the letter to say hello, for from now on this is the only way he can do so. If anyone asks if he is alive, the scroll must answer in the affirmative.

The message must not respond to insults, for otherwise the author’s affairs will only worsen. If the scroll is caught by one who is saddened by Ovid’s banishment, let him read his songs with tears in his eyes. The narrator expresses the hope that the ruler will relent and have mercy on him.