Stat vetus... silva: Burlesque and Parody in Ovid Amores 3.1 and Persius Satire 5.132-53

Abstract

The article shows how the relevant passages of Ovid and Persius make use of a widespread pattern, deriving from folk-tale, in which the young hero’s encounter with significant female figures between whom he must choose determines his future life. Ovid, with characteristic humour, subverts this pattern and evades the choice.