Go to: SYLLABUS | Metamorphoses, 1st Part

Ovid's Trojan War

Achilles & Cygnus
Book 12, lines 76-143

Once the Greeks reach Troy, fighting begins and Ovid has Achilles take on Cycnus, son of Neptune. By choosing to focus on Achilles at Troy, Ovid invites us to think of the Iliad and his role there. In Ovid's hands, the heroic world gets a complete overhaul. How is his style of heroism different from Homer's? How is his portrait of Achilles different from Homer's?

The anger of Achilles is an important motif in Ovid's portrait of the Greek hero, but what is the basis of his anger? In Homer, Achilles became angry with Agamemnon because the Greek commander, in front of the whole Greek army, selfishly claimed Achilles' concubine. In Ovid, Achilles is angry because his opponent, Cygnus, just won't die. Cygnus enjoys a divinely bestowed invulnerability. The harder Achilles tries to finish him off, the angrier he becomes, like the man who can't get his power lawn-mower started. How does he deal with his frustration?

How does the simile of the bull provoked by the red cloak compare with similes for Achilles and other heroes in the Iliad? What qualities of Achilles are illustrated in the simile?

What were the ways that heroes in the Iliad took the life of their opponents? How eventually does Achilles kill Cygnus? How heroic does this seem?

After dinner, when the Greeks are relaxing, what occupies their conversation? Why does the defeat of Cygnus tend to dominate? What does all this reflect about the character of Achilles?

Nestor
Book 12, lines 144-578

Another hero receiving a very different treatment from his Homeric counterpart is the senior advisor, Nestor. From Homer's Iliad:

but Nestor rose between them,
the man of winning words, the clear speaker of Pylos...
Sweeter than honey from his tongue the voice flowed on and on.
Two generations of mortal men he had seen go down by now,
those who were born and bred with him in the old days,
in Pylos' holy realm, and now he ruled the third.
Iliad I.290-95.

Homer's Nestor was a critical asset to the Greeks. He not only counseled Agamemnon, as here, to seek reconciliation with Achilles, but he also defused another, minor, quarrel between the two, when Achilles wanted to go immediately to battle before Agamemnon had had time to present his gifts to him. Nestor's age and experience had earned him the respect of the kings and, despite his years, he continued to rule the people of Pylos.

How does Ovid's Nestor compare? At the end of the day, as the Greek army relaxes, the songs turn to courage. Achilles seems content to monopolize the conversation with stories of his own exploits--and in his presence no one objects--until Nestor manages to change the subject. What particular detail captures everyone's attention so that even Achilles is willing to give Nestor the floor?

Nestor tells the famous story of the battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs. How does Ovid prepare for the telling of the story? What are the circumstances of the telling? What does Ovid relate about the interests of Nestor's audience? How does the story of the Lapiths and Centaurs come up? What does this say about the nature of Nestor's mind?

What details does Nestor seem to remember best? What makes the battle of these characters unusual for a heroic conflict? What is the physical and mental state of the combatants? What prompts the fighting in the first place? What is the difference in Ovid's handling of the graphic details of violence from Homer's depictions of violence? What are the weapons used? What are the images of the similes and what events are they used to enhance and amplify?

Hercules' son, Tlepolemus, has been listening to Nestor's account and wonders why his father has been left out. What does this suggest about Nestor's version of the story and about how balanced his report has been?

Death of Achilles

Book 12 closes with the death of Achilles and some words about his fame:

glory to fill the world--and which is the true measure of man?
Peleus' son is alive in the minds of men in his fame.
Such a man cannot dwindle down to a feckless shadow
in Tartarus' pit.

What immediately follows this tribute and how does it reflect Ovid's regard for Achilles' fame?