2. Vita (biography) 12-7BC Publishes Amores 2nd edition
43BC Born March 20, in Sulmo
c.29BC Studies law at Rome with rhetoricians Arellius Fuscus and Porcius Latro.
Frequents poetry recitals by Vergil, Horace, Tibullus, Propertius
On track for a career in the Senate
25BC Participates in literary circle of Messalla (Propertius)
22-21BC Publishes Amores
15BC Publishes Heroides
12-7BC Publishes Amores 2nd edition
2BC-AD2 Publishes Ars Amatoria, Remedia Amoris
AD2 Fasti, Metamorphoses in progress
AD8 Relegated to Tomis
AD17/18 Dies in exile

3. Life and Times of Ovid
Highly regarded by the emperor Augustus, until he was banished from Rome under mysterious circumstances in 8 A.D.
Despite public and private entreaties, Augustus refused to forgive Ovid, who finished out his days in Tobis.
Possibly because he felt Ovid's work was not conforming to conservative views in Rome at that time [tales of love and sexuality too racy]
Also felt that Ovid mocked the ideal of Rome

4. Narrative Connection
Ovid claims to write one continuous epic, not an anthology of myths. Unlike the Odyssey, however, there is no central hero, thus no simple Aristotelian unity to the work.
However he does do these three things to tie the stories together
Metamorphosis
Apparent Chronological Progression
Occasionally will follow a hero like Hercules through several tales

5. Pattern of the Metamorphoses
"Divine Comedy" or Gods in Love: Books 1-2
"Avenging Gods": Books 3-6
"Pathos of Love": the rest of Book 6-11
"History of Rome & the Deified Caesar": Books 12-15
Following this outline, we see a general movement from gods acting like humans (sect I), to humans suffering at the hands of gods (II), to humans suffering at the hands of humans (III), to humans becoming gods (IV). 

6. Creation
Ovid presents a philosophical rather than mythological creation account, avoiding the popular myth of Earth mating with Sky (as in Egyptian, Babylonian, and Greek myths).
Chaos is merely raw material from which the Demiurge (Plato's name for the divine artisan) shapes the cosmos.
From the beginning we see change and conflict as an inherent quality of nature, warring elements (earth, air, water, fire) in collision. Note that the god brings order to chaos.
By separating and delineating elements, the creator god imposes rational design on unruly matter, but this order does not remain fixed for long.
As the multiple metamorphoses begin to occur, change is once again the rule.

7. Creation of Man
In this first book, Ovid gives three accounts of human origins. 
The first version is the most positive, saying we were "made in God's image," literally "from divine seeds" (a Stoic idea). Ovid slips from philosophy to mythology as he refers to the first named god in the work, Prometheus, as the creator of humanity. Socrates taught that man's erect posture indicated his superiority over the other animals.
The second connects man's beginnings with the source of evil, as he sprung up from the giants' blood after their defeat by the gods.
In the third, humanity is re-created after the flood out of stones.

8. Final Book Events of contemporary Rome:
The death of Caesar is seen from the gods' perspective, elevating its significance to heavenly status. Note Augustus' act of deifying Caesar only brings more honour to himself
Is Ovid being facetious, comparing Julius and Augustus to mythical heroes whom he clearly does not believe in?
Difference in Greek and Roman mythology: whereas Greek myth with the aftermath of the Trojan War, Roman myth becomes "history" (Aeneas, Romulus), bringing the story into the present age. Everything that has occurred before was destined to produce this new Golden Age of Augustus
(an idea which Ovid mocks).