Poet · 43 BC – 17
Ovid
Little-Known Facts
- Augustus exiled him for 'a poem and a mistake', the exact offence of which remains a literary mystery.
- He spent his final years writing mournful poetry from exile far from Rome.
Myths & Misconceptions
Why was Ovid exiled?
Augustus banished him in 8 AD for an unspecified offence Ovid called 'a poem and a mistake'; scholars still debate exactly what he did.