30th Annual Student Research Conference
Ovid's Handbook for Girls: Roman Beauty Standards in Ovid's Medicamina Faciei Femineae
Clarissa A. Goebel
Dr. Bridget Thomas and Dr. Amy Norgard, Faculty Mentors
Ovid was an important author of the Augustan age who is known for his epic poem the Metamorphoses among others. As a text dealing with women’s issues, Ovid' Medicamina Faciei Femineae has been dismissed as trivial; in this paper, I discuss the Medicamina as a piece worthy of study in its relevance to modern women. I have written two translations and a commentary of the text, which addresses Ovid’s authority and audience, his relationship with other Greek and Roman didactic poets, and the relevance of the Medicamina Faciei Femineae as it discusses issues that affected women in antiquity. It is my goal that this text will speak to the issues that women continue to deal with. This paper demonstrate not only the interesting features of Ovid’s lesser-known work, but the Medicamina as worthy of study from the message that it presents to women in both the ancient and modern world.
Keywords: Ovid, Beauty, Latin, Women, Augustan, Poetry
Topic(s):Classics
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 107-1
Location: VH 1212
Time: 8:00