Source recordAncient text
Fasti
Ovid · c. 8-17 CE · Latin
Ancient text
Fasti
Ovid
Ovid's unfinished poem on the Roman calendar, covering January to June, which explains festivals and rites through myth and aetiology.
About this work
Ovid's unfinished poem on the Roman calendar, covering January to June, which explains festivals and rites through myth and aetiology.
Stories drawn from it
Retellings in the atlas that quote or cite this work.
The Rape of ProserpinaoriginPluto, god of the underworld, abducts Ceres' daughter Proserpina and takes her to reign as his queen. Ceres' grief causes the earth to become barren until a compromise is reached, explaining the cycle of seasons.
Lucretia and the Fall of the KingstragedyThe virtuous noblewoman Lucretia is violated by the king's son Sextus Tarquinius. Her suicide and the public display of her body spark a revolution that overthrows the monarchy and establishes the Roman Republic.
The Abduction of PersephonemythHades carries off Persephone, daughter of Demeter, with Zeus's consent. Demeter's grief and her withholding of the harvest force the gods to bargain, but because Persephone has eaten a pomegranate seed below, she must return to the underworld for part of every year.
About this record
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.
Dates and authorship follow standard scholarly references; for many ancient works both are approximate or disputed.