The Rome city council on
Thursday revoked ancient Roman poet Ovid's exile from the
Italian capital more than 2,000 years ago.
The motion to belatedly repeal Emperor Augustus' order on the
2,000th anniversary of the love poet's death came from the
ruling anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S).
The M5S said it wanted to "repair the serious wrong suffered"
by Publius Ovidius Naso, the poet's full name, who is best known
for his Metamophoses and the Art of Love.
Ovid, one of the three canonical Roman poets along with
Virgil and Horace, was exiled to a remote Black Sea town, Tomis
in today's Romania, in 8 AD, in one of the mysteries of literary
history.
He remained there until his death in 17 or 18 AD, aged 58-60.
Ovid himself attributes his exile to carmen et error, "a poem
and a mistake", but his discretion in discussing the causes has
resulted in much speculation among scholars.
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