Ovid’s The Art of Beauty

Ovid (43 BC–17), translated by Kelk, Christopher (contributor-contact-email)

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Ovid’s Medicamina Faciei Femineae is a didactic poem in elegiac couplets, offering a counter-argument to contemporary criticisms against women’s use of cosmetics. The work predates the third book of Ovid's Ars Amatoria, placing its composition between 1 BC and AD 8. Extant text comprises 100 verses, divided into two 50-line sections: the first legitimises the topic, while the second provides five specific facial treatment recipes. Only a fragment survives of an estimated original length of 500-800 lines.

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Kelk, Christopher

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