Ovid

Publius Ovidius Naso (43 BCE - 17/18 CE), known as Ovid, was a Roman poet whose 'Metamorphoses' became one of the most important sources of classical mythology and a profound influence on European fairy tale traditions. His 15-book epic weaves together hundreds of myths centered on transformation—gods turning humans into flowers, animals, or stars—and established narrative patterns that would echo through centuries of storytelling. Characters like Pygmalion, Narcissus, and Orpheus all appear in Ovid's work, their stories transformed over time into the familiar tales we know today. Ovid was exiled by Emperor Augustus to Tomis on the Black Sea for reasons that remain mysterious, but his works survived and profoundly influenced medieval literature, Renaissance art, and eventually the fairy tales collectors of the 17th-19th centuries.