Transcript Ovid_2011WIN

Documenting the source
Works Cited Listed
alphabetically by last name first
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Ovid. Metamorphoses. Trans. A. D.
Melville. New York: Oxford University
Press, 1998. 176-179.
Author: Ovid/translator: Melville,
Publius Ovidius Naso
(20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18)

known as Ovid, was a
Roman poet who is
best known as the
author of the three
major collections of
erotic poetry: Heroides,
Amores, and Ars
Amatoria. He is also
well known for the
Metamorphoses, a
mythological hexameter
poem
Metamorphoses
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Metamorphoses (from Greek μετά meta and μορφή
morphē, meaning "changes of shape"), is a Latin
narrative poem in fifteen books by the Roman poet
Ovid describing the history of the world from its
creation to the deification of Julius Caesar within a
loose mythico-historical framework.
Completed in AD 8, it is recognized as a
masterpiece of Golden Age Latin literature. The
most-read of all classical works during the Middle
Ages, the Metamorphoses continues to exert a
profound influence on Western culture.
Daedalus, famous architect

In Greek mythology,
Daedalus (Latin, also
Hellenized Latin
Daedalos, Greek
Daidalos (Δαίδαλος)
meaning "cunning
worker", and Etruscan
Taitale) was a skillful
craftsman and artisan.
the Labyrinth on Crete
http://www.explorecrete.com/mytholo
gy/daedalus-icarus-video.html

In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (Greek
λαβύρινθος labyrinthos) was an elaborate
structure designed and built by the legendary
ar’tificer ‘Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at
Knossos. Its function was to hold the
‘Minotaur, a creature that was half man and
half bull and was eventually killed by the
Athenian hero ‘Theseus. Daedalus had made
the Labyrinth so cunningly that he himself
could barely escape it after he built it.
the Labyrinth on Crete
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In colloquial English,
labyrinth is generally
synonymous with maze
Crete: formerly,
Candia, a Greek island
in the Mediterranean,
SE of mainland Greece.
456,642; 3235 sq. mi.
(8380 sq. km).
Capital: Canea.
Minos
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–noun Classical
Mythology . a king
of Crete: he ordered
Daedalus to build
the Labyrinth.
http://dictionary.refe
rence.com/browse/
Minos
Minos’ Troubles
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1. Poseidon sent a giant white bull out of the
sea. Minos was committed to sacrificing the
bull to Poseidon, but then decided to
substitute a different bull. In rage, Poseidon
cursed Pasiphaë, Minos' wife, with zoo’philia.
(Minotaur, half bull, half human monster)
2. He kept Daedalus in prison so that the
secret of art could not be leaked (unless with
the help from WikiLeaks).
‘Minotaur

He dwelt at the center
of the Cretan Labyrinth,
built for King Minos of
Crete and designed by
the architect Daedalus
and his son Icarus who
were ordered to build it
to hold the Minotaur.
The Minotaur was
eventually killed by the
Athenian hero
‘Theseus.
Pa’sipha’ë
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daughter of ‘Heli’os, the Sun, by the eldest[2]
of the Oceanids, Perse;
She was given in marriage to King Minos of
Crete. With Minos, she was the mother of
Ariadne, Androgeus, Glaucus, Deucalion,
Phaedra, and Catreus. She was also the
mother of "starlike" Asterion, called by the
Greeks the Minotaur, after a curse from
Poseidon caused her to experience lust for
and mate with a white bull sent by Poseidon.
‘Rhy’ton
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‘Rhyton in the
shape of a bull's
head at the Greek
pavilion at Expo '88
Rhyton , an ancient
Greek drinking horn,
made of pottery or
metal, having a
base in the form of
the head of a
woman or animal.
Continuity & Transformation
Picasso’s Bullhead
(1881 – 1973)
Golden mean (philosophy)

In philosophy, especially that of Aristotle, the
golden mean is the desirable middle
between two extremes, one of excess and
the other of deficiency. For example courage,
a virtue, if taken to excess would manifest as
recklessness and if deficient as cowardice.
Beauty & Truth
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To the Greek mentality, it was an attribute of
beauty. Both ancients and moderns realized
that there is a close association in
mathematics between beauty and truth. The
poet John Keats, in his Ode on a Grecian
Urn, put it this way:
"Beauty is truth, truth beauty," -- that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.
three 'ingredients' to beauty

The Greeks believed there to be three
'ingredients' to beauty: symmetry,
proportion, and harmony. This triad of
principles infused their life. They were
very much attuned to beauty as an
object of love and something that was
to be imitated and reproduced in their
lives, architecture, Paideia and politics.
They judged life by this mentality.
The Axial Age
all great minds run in the same channel
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In Chinese philosophy, a similar concept,
Doctrine of the Mean, was propounded by
Confucius; Buddhist philosophy also includes
the concept of the middle way.
German philosopher Karl Jaspers coined the
term the axial age (Ger. Achsenzeit,
"axistime") to describe the period from 800 to
200 BCE, during which similar revolutionary
thinking appeared on a global scale.
The Great Bear
The constellation of Ursa Major has
been seen as a bear by many distinct
civilizations
Transformation of the Great Bear

In Greek mythology, Zeus (the king of the
gods) lusts after a young woman named
Ca’llisto, a nymph of ‘Artemis. Hera, Zeus'
jealous wife, transforms the beautiful Callisto
into a bear. Callisto, while in bear form, later
encounters her son Arcas. Arcas almost
shoots the bear, but to avert the tragedy,
Zeus hurls them both into the sky, forming
Ursa Major.
Wagoner; Astronomy :
the northern constellation Au’riga

Au’riga is a
constellation in the
northern sky. Its
name is Latin for
'chario’teer' and its
stars form a shape
that has been
associated with the
pointed helmet of a
charioteer.
Au’riga

as a chariot and its
driver. The driver is
often represented
as a shepherd,
usually with a goat
flung over his left
shoulder (due to the
resemblance of that
area to a lump), with
two kids nearby.
Wagoner

The driver of a chariot, a charioteer.
Chiefly with mythological reference.
Obs.Frequently applied to Phœbus
(Apollo) or to Phaethon (Apollo’s son) as
charioteer of the sun.
Bo’ötes, n.


Pronunciation: /bə
ʊˈəʊtiːz/
Etymology: Latin,
< Greek βοώτης
ploughman,
wagoner; also the
constellation.

Transgression and
Transformation
O’rion
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Classical Mythology
a giant hunter who
pursued the
Pleiades, was
eventually slain by
Artemis, and was
then placed in the
sky as a
constellation.
Orion

An engraving of
Orion from Johann
Bayer's
Uranometria, 1603
(US Naval
Observatory
Library)
‘Artemis/Cinthia

Artemis (Greek: (nominative) Ἄρτεμις,
(genitive) Ἀρτέμιδος) was often
described as the daughter of Zeus and
Leto, and the twin sister of Apollo. She
was the Hellenic goddess of the hunt,
wild animals, wilderness, childbirth,
virginity and young girls, bringing and
relieving disease in women; she often
was depicted as a huntress carrying a
bow and arrows.
Artemis

The Diana of
Versailles, a Roman
copy of a Greek
sculpture by
Leochares. (Louvre
Museum)
Function of allusion

M. H. Abraham defined allusion as "a
brief reference, explicit or indirect, to a
person, place or event, or to another
literary work or passage". It is left to the
reader or hearer to make the connection
(Fowler); where the connection is
detailed in depth by the author, it is
preferable to call it "a reference".
Patterns and Themes
Unity vs. Variety
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Identify patterns in the web of those stories
Transgression and Transformation
Reward and punishment
Consistency in allusions that further
enhances the thematic significance;
Unity vs. variety: enrich the thematic
explorations; piling up evidence without
boring the reader.
‘Delos & ‘Paros
Recognizing Rhyming scheme
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Delos: a Greek
island in the
Cyclades, in the SW
Aegean: site of an
oracle of Apollo.

Paros: a Greek
island of the
Cyclades, in the S
Aegean: noted for
its white marble.
6776; 77 sq. mi.
(200 sq. km).
‘Samos & Lebinthos

Samos: a Greek
island in the E
Aegean. 41,709;
194 sq. mi. (502 sq.
km).

Lebinthos
(Λεβινθοσ) is a
small, in the eastern
Ägäis between Kos
and Paros
convenient island,
which belongs to
the group of the
southern Sporaden
( also Dodekanes
called).
Perdix
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Daedalus’ nephew
A prodigy, a person, esp. a child or
young person, having extraordinary
talent or ability: a musical prodigy.
Irony: his cleverness leads to his
untimely death;
Acrophobia: a pathological fear of
heights
Narrative Time vs. Event Time
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Narrative sequence
Usually
chronologically
listed
Perdix first
Icarus later
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Flashback (how do
you know?)
More interesting
(Pallas) Athena
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Goddess of
Wisdom, War
and Crafts
Patron
Goddess of
Athens