Salvete omnes!!
Was Ovid's Ars Amatoria ever taken seriously as a manual of seduction, or was it perceived mostly as a satirical piece by contemporaries and those to follow? I understand there is speculation it was for the Ars that he was banished to Romania, but it is not known for certain; with that in mind, does the Ars reflect "everyman's" morality in the Rome of the time, with Augustus' moral reforms representing a "right-wing" minority -- or were Augustus' ideals more reflective of the mood of the people, and the morals of the Ars simply those of a subversive, "bohemian" minority, a la the underworld of pre-war Paris?
That asked, I will say that the material in the Ars bears a striking resemblance to the later "courtly love" ideals of mediaeval Europe, and seems to form the core of a peculiarly European view of love, sex and marriage; the assumption that both husband and wife will seek out lovers while remaining committed to each other as life partners seems eminently practical, in view of human nature, and at wide variance with the views imported from the desert religions.
What say you all?