Download The Retelling of Greek Myths: Ovid`s Metamorphoses

The Retelling of Greek Myths:
Ovid’s Metamorphoses
Ch. 20
Ovid
 Publius Ovidius Naso (43 BC – 17 AD)
 A sophisticated, urbane poet
 Wrote works that were very popular, but
somewhat “scandalous”
 Wrote an Art of Love and a Remedy of
Love as well as his famous
Metamorphoses
 Fell afoul of the morality of the Augustan
Regime and was exiled for last 10 years
of his life
Metamorphoses: Significant
Themes
 “Bodies changed” – an epic poem
about things changing
 Some of the changes are gods changing
their shapes (Jupiter becoming a bull to
get Europa), some are people
transformed into animals (Actaeon
changed to a stag) or constellations
(Callisto changed into Ursa Major)
Metamorphoses: Significant
Themes
 Comic Tone
 Ovid is not a “serious” poet like Virgil
 Several of the stories are satiric
 The gods are often portrayed in ways that
are not complimentary
 Jupiter and Apollo’s rage against women
 Minerva’s anger at losing a weaving contest
 Some see the portrayal of the gods as silly
as subtle attack on Augustus and his court
Some stories
 Echo and Narcissus
 The Four Ages
 The Golden Age is shown as Roman
fantasy of the good old days of simple
shepherds
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Perseus
Apollo and Daphne
Orpheus and Eurydice
Apotheosis of Caesar
Something on serious note
 Humans in the Metamorphoses are
often the victims, or potential victims
of divine actions, against which they
have only one recourse –
transformation into something nonhuman
 Apotheosis of Caesar – though Ovid
was critical of Augustus, he was still a
booster of Rome, the eternal city