LANG 350--Classical Mythology
Ovid marks a new era of mythology for this class. Until now we have been reading Greek stories from the eighth to the third centuries B.C. Ovid lived and wrote in Rome during the end of the first century B.C. and the beginning of the first century A.D, the time of the emperor Augustus. He wrote in his native tongue, Latin. Since the literate communities of medieval and Renaissance Europe wrote in Latin, and with few exceptions knew no Greek, Ovid was their chief handbook for classical mythology. His versions of the stories were familiar to many of the poets and playwrights of the middle ages and Renaissance, and later.Romans fully exploited Greek mythology to write about their culture. The story of Greek influence in Roman literature is a fascinating and complex account of how cultures come together and draw from one another.
Greeks in Italy
Briefly, some of the first writers who recorded tales of Italian gods and goddesses were Greeks who had migrated to Italy when Rome was still a small community. As Roman power grew throughout Italy, Greek armies were driven out, but many Greeks, including some well educated ones, continued to live and work in Italy. These Greeks, drawing heavily on the rich literary heritage of Greece, wrote about Italian subjects. As the Roman state grew, so did the prestige of her native language, Latin, and Greeks as well as Romans turned to the language more and more to write their stories.
While Rome was politically and economically dominant, she always valued the cultural achievement of Greece, and thoroughly incorporated it into her own.
In mythological literature often the Latin names of the Italian gods and goddesses were kept, along with some of their Italian features. You are already familiar with the names of the principal Greek divinities; the following list pairs them with their Roman counterparts:
GREEK ROMAN Zeus Jupiter, Jove Hera Juno Kronos Saturn Heaven Uranus Demeter Ceres Apollo Apollo, Phoebus Artemis Diana Aphrodite Venus Eros Cupid Hephaestus Vulcan Dionysus Liber Hermes Mercury Athena Minerva Hades Pluto Poseidon Neptune Ovid was very familiar with hundreds (thousands?) of stories from Greek mythology and stitched many of them together in his Metamorphoses, a very peculiar epic poem in 15 books. Where is its unity? Unlike earlier epics which were unified by a theme such as "the anger of Achilles" or "the founding of the Roman race," Ovid examined the effects of love "from the earliest beginnings of the world, down to my own times." Ovid challenges the notion of unity by the enormous diversity of his subject matter, a diversity in place--the stories take place all over the known world--and a diversity in time--he really does sweep down from the creation to the Augustan era.
Metamorphoses or Transformations refers to the change of shape and form of the characters of the poem. The theme is presented in the opening lines of the poem, where the poet invokes the gods who are responsible for the changes to look favorably on his efforts to compose. The chief agent of transformation is love, represented by Venus and her youthful and mischievous son, Cupid. The changes are of many kinds: from human to animal, animal to human, thing to human, human to thing. Some changes are reversed: human to animal to human. Sometimes the transformations are partial, and physical features and personal qualities of the earlier being are preserved in mutated form.
Ovid's chief literary virtue, and the reason he was popular for so many centuries after the ancient world, is probably his inventive brilliance. The Romans taught youths in the schools to find the most suitable examples to illustrate the points they sought to make in their speeches. This skill was known in Latin as "inventio." Unlike our word "invention," "inventio" means "discovery," in the sense of finding from existing material the best examples. Ovid must have excelled in this skill as a schoolboy; he certainly used it with masterful art in his Metamorphoses.
Metamorphoses: The Creation Through the Story of Phaethon
In the Theogony Hesiod seeks to show the genealogical, or familial connection of the elements of the universe. Chaos gives rise to Earth, Tartarus, Eros, etc., and Earth and Sky give birth to Cronus, Rhea, Oceanus, etc., and each of them have offspring who help to occupy the cosmos. All is connected through family ties. And the conflicts over the succession of rulers can be viewed as family feuds, fathers resisting the challenge of more energetic, cleverer sons.
Ovid doesn't personify the elements of his creation account nearly as much. How would you describe his story?
Hesiod's Theogony contains almost no mention of mortals except toward the end when he discusses heroes, and, of course, Heracles has a unique role. In fact, Prometheus is despicable, according to Hesiod, precisely because he seeks to improve the situation for mortals, in general.
How does Ovid's esteem of mortals compare with Hesiod's?
Hesiod's Works and Days contain a description of the races of humankind from golden to iron. The trend in steadily down, except for the race of heroes which follows the bronze and precedes the iron. The heroes are warlike, but glorious and noble, and their end is more pleasant than for any other race.
What are the characteristics of Ovid's ages of humankind and how do these differ from Hesiod's?
Lycaon
We may think that what Lycaon does is wicked, but not deserving of punishment for the entire human family. Jupiter wants to make the point that, to begin with, this is the first case of murder ever. And the fact that one mortal is capable of this, reflects badly on the race as a whole.
Who tells the story of Lycaon and what is his purpose in telling it?
What is the reason for Lycaon's metamorphosis? How thoroughly does he change?
Lycaon's transformation is only partial. This tells us that he keeps the most characteristic features of his human side. We are left thinking that the wolf looks and behaves in a certain way because there was once a human like this.
Of this story Joseph Solodow writes:
What is metamorphosis? It is clarification. It is a process by which characteristics of a person, essential or incidental, are given physical embodiments, and so are rendered visible and manifest. Metamorphosis makes plain a person's qualities, yet without passing judgment on them. It is--and this constitutes a central paradox of the poem--a change which preserves, an alteration which maintains identity, a change of form by which content becomes represented in form.
The World of Ovid'sMetamorphoses, p. 174How is Lycaon's metamorphosis a clarification of who he, as a person, is?
The Flood
What is the response of the gods and goddesses to Jupiter's call for the universal destruction of humankind?
Where does the story of Deucalion and Pyrrha take place? Why are they able to survive the flood?
What is the solution to the problem of depopulation?
Apollo and Daphne
The theme of love and Ovid's first major portrait of a god are introduced with this story. It opens with a quarrel between Apollo and Cupid about whose weapons are more powerful.
How does Ovid bring us from the story of the flood to the story of Apollo and Daphne?
How does the story of Apollo and Daphne involve the issue of love? How does Apollo come to fall in love with her?
How reverent is Ovid in his portrait of Apollo? How does the character of Apollo before he is smitten with love compare with his character after?
As he chases Daphne through brambles, Apollo fears she will injure herself and mar her beauty. Even when driven by lust, the god still, pathetically, shows concern for the safety of his beloved. What happens when passion and dignity collide? when someone of Apollo's respectability falls so desperately in love?
How does the metamorphosis of Daphne bring Ovid's portrait of Apollo to its comic finale?
The laurel (more familiar as 'bay') is sacred to Apollo, the god of lyric and other poetic creation. The victors in athletic contests and renowned poets of many societies have been honored with a laurel wreath. The title 'poet laureate' comes from Latin 'poeta laureatus,' meaning 'poet honored with laurel.' How does Ovid get comic benefit out of etiology here?
Jupiter and Io
The theme of the many loves of the gods continues with the story of Jupiter and Io. Io's father, Inachus, is the only river divinity who is not present when the rivers gather to console, or congratulate, Daphne's father, the river Peneus.
How does Ovid make the transition to the story of Io? How is her father involved in a detail of the story of Daphne and Apollo?
What is awkward about the visit of the many rivers who come to Peneus?
How is the story of Io like the story of Daphne? How is her misfortune similar to Daphne's?
Is the treatment of Jupiter humorous or respectful? Or both?
How does Juno's involvement in the story affect the portrait of Jupiter? How dignified is the behavior of Jupiter, when Juno asks for the cow as a gift? How does this portrait of the head of the Olympian gods compare with his image in the other literature we've read this term? Is there any comparable description?
In what country did Io's wanderings end and where is she worshipped?
Phaethon
Phaethon is the son of Clymene by the sun god, Phoebus, who took advantage of her once. Clymene is now married to Merops. Epaphus is Io's son under similar circumstances. Epaphus challenges Phaethon over his claim to be the son of the sun god.
Note: Phaethon's father is named Phoebus, which means "splendid," "bright." It is the same title used of Apollo, though here it is used of the sun and is distinct from Apollo.How honorable are the motives of the actions of Phaethon, his mother Clymene, his father Phoebus?
Why does Clymene send Phaethon to his father? How does Phaethon persuade her to help him prove his paternity?
How does Phaethon persuade his father to let him drive the chariot of the sun? How thoughtful is the father in allowing himself to become confined by his promise to his son? How often do gods make such mistakes in other literature?
How well do Phoebus's divine bearing and power fit his feelings as parent and lover?
The great fire that results from Phaethon's chariot ride resembles the cataclysm brought on by the flood. How do these two devastating events compare with one another? How is the manner in which gods are depicted in both events different?
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Revised: June 24, 2000