Transcript Ovid’s Metamorphoses

Ovid’s Metamorphoses
Ovid: 43 BC – 17 AD
 Highly regarded by the emperor Augustus, until he
was banished from Rome under mysterious
circumstances in 8 A.D.
Despite
public and private entreaties, Augustus
refused to forgive Ovid, who finished out his days in
Tobis.
Possibly because he felt Ovid's work was not
conforming to conservative views in Rome at that time
[tales of love and sexuality too racy]
Also felt that Ovid mocked the ideal of Rome
Narrative Connections


Ovid claims to write one continuous epic, not an
anthology of myths. Unlike the Odyssey, however,
there is no central hero, thus no simple Aristotelian
unity to the work.
However he does do these three things to tie the
stories together



Metamorphosis
Apparent Chronological Progression
Occasionally will follow a hero like
Hercules through several tales
Pattern of the Metamorphoses




"Divine Comedy" or Gods in Love: Books 1-2
"Avenging Gods": Books 3-6
"Pathos of Love": the rest of Book 6-11
"History of Rome & the Deified Caesar":
Books 12-15

Following this outline, we see a
general movement from gods
acting like humans (sect I), to
humans suffering at the hands
of gods (II), to humans suffering
at the hands of humans (III), to
humans becoming gods (IV).
BOOK ONE: Prologue
Creation





Ovid presents a philosophical rather than mythological creation
account, avoiding the popular myth of Earth mating with Sky (as in
Egyptian, Babylonian, and Greek myths).
Chaos is merely raw material from which the Demiurge (Plato's name
for the divine artisan) shapes the cosmos.
From the beginning we see change and conflict as an inherent quality
of nature, warring elements (earth, air, water, fire) in collision. Note
that the god brings order to chaos.
By separating and delineating
elements, the creator god
imposes rational design on
unruly matter, but this order
does not remain fixed for long.
As the multiple metamorphoses
begin to occur, change is once
again the rule.
Creation of Man



In this first book, Ovid gives three accounts of human
origins.
The first version is the most positive, saying we were
"made in God's image," literally "from divine seeds" (a
Stoic idea). Ovid slips from philosophy to mythology as he
refers to the first named god in the work, Prometheus, as
the creator of humanity. Socrates taught that man's erect
posture indicated his superiority over the other animals.
The second connects man's beginnings with the source of
evil, as he sprung up from the giants' blood after their
defeat by the gods.
In the third, humanity is re-created after the flood out of
stones.
The Final Book
Events of contemporary Rome:
 The death of Caesar is seen from the gods' perspective,
elevating its significance to heavenly status. Note
Augustus' act of deifying Caesar only brings more honor
to himself


Is Ovid being facetious, comparing Julius and Augustus to
mythical heroes whom he clearly does not believe in?
Difference in Greek and Roman mythology: whereas
Greek myth with the aftermath of the Trojan War, Roman
myth becomes "history" (Aeneas, Romulus), bringing the
story into the present age. Everything that has occurred
before was destined to produce this new Golden Age of
Augustus

(an idea which Ovid mocks).