Even literature junkies have their flaws. I, for one, hate reading Middle English (a la Chaucer) and Early Modern English (a la Shakespeare). It drives me crazy. Sadly, in addition to the great works of such masters as Chaucer and Shakespeare, much of Classical Literature, written in Latin and Greek, was translated during these eras. This is sad because, along with the Bible, these classical pieces have had some of the greatest influences on their literary successors. They are pieces that, if we can stand to read them, will bring great insight into literary work after literary work.
I, however, with the help of a great professor who is requiring the reading of Ovid's Metamorphoses at length, have found the solution. Find a modern translation. This may seem obvious, but I didn't realize that people were still translating this stuff.
A recommendation: Allen Mandelbaum. Among others, his translations include Inferno of Dante (1980) and The Odyssey of Homer (1990) and his 1972 translation of The Aeneid of Virgil won the National Book Award.
I am currently reading his 1993 translation of The Metamorphoses and it is brilliant. I'm no expert on the Classics myself, but according to my professor and the reviews, it is very accurate. In my opinion, it is beautifully written and, most importantly, it is completely readable.
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