Ovid in Exile

I first met Ovid through The Art of Love, the classic guide to "how to pick up chicks," ancient-Rome style. I grew to love him through The Amores, his pantingly passionate love poems, and I grew to honor him through The Metamorphoses, his poetical codification of Roman religion. In many ways I felt that, although it took some time to play out, Rome fell when Ovid was exiled. He was the life of the party, and they didn't know it.

Or rather, they did know it, and they didn't want Rome to be a party anymore. Once Ovid was out, Rome went dark and stayed that way for centuries, until Ovid was rediscovered. Then the Renaissance started, and the party was on again.