Responsibility In Ovid's Metamorphoses

The poem begins with a perfect example of the hospitality laws being abused. Book I opens with the son of Odysseus, Telemachus, calling the assembly because his house has been plagued with guests who will not leave. They have broken the laws of Hospitality by remaining within the house and eating the food of Odysseus while trying to woo Odysseus's wife, Penelope. The suitors claim the right to stay through hospitality laws, stating that they remain solely because Penelope will not choose a husband amongst them, "it is not the Achaean suitors who are to blame: it is your own mother with her unexampled trickery. Three years have passed, -and a fourth will soon be gone - since she began to baffle her suitor's hearts. She gives hope to all, sh promises every man in turn...." The

This story of betrayed love is ironically woven into the bedcover on the marriage bed of Peleus and Thetis. Although the poem is supposed about the story of Peleus and Thetis, which is a happy one, the ekphrasis of Adriane dominates most the poem. In stark contrast to the happy tone of Peleus, The story of Ariadne centers around betrayal and abandonment. Ariadne's expression of grief (lines 132-201), is arguably the focus of the

    Byblis and Myrrha, two of Ovid's impassioned, transgressive heroines, confess incestuous passions. Byblis yearns for her brother, Caunus, and Myrrha lusts for her father, Cinyras. Mandelbaum translates these tales effectively, but sometimes a different translation by Crane brings new meaning to an argument. As Byblis and Myrrha realize the feelings at hand, they weigh the pros and cons of such emotions. Despite the appalling relationships in question, each young girl provides concrete support and speaks in such a way that provokes pity for her plight. Their paths of reasoning coincide, but Byblis starts where Myrrha's ends, and visa versa; Myrrha begins where Byblis' concludes.

The emphasis of details such as his “two strong hands” continues to indicate that the poem will be carried out through a man’s perspective, and as such, the encountered sirens will be portrayed through the eyes and perceptions of Odysseus and his seamen.

There is a parallel in Ovid’s Metamorphoses to the relationship between humans and the gods, and that parallel is the story of Apollo and Daphne. Daphne is not human but a minor deity (nymph) of nature that would be submissive to the major deities, as would humans. In this way, one can see that humans are haunted, manipulated, and forced to act in ways that the gods want them to, so that the desires of the gods can be met. The only way for a human, or nymph, to escape the pains of the gods is to be transformed.

In the story of Ovid’s Metamorphoses “Arachne,” much more is taking place than just a weaving contest. There are examples of human ingenuity and arrogance. During the weaving contest it’s a high tension fight between Arachne and Minerva, who are both weaving the gods in two different lights, while you have Minerva who is a god herself weaving all of their excellence and purity. Arachne is arrogantly weaving the gods in their true colors dark, deceptive, and malicious. It’s high strung and intense, it ropes you in makes it impossible to stop reading. Human ingenuity and arrogance reappear and shape the story and Arachne, in Arachne's case she will later be turned into a spider and for the story’s sake as soon as Arachne wins the weaving contest it has a new tone to it.

The Metamorphoses first demonstrates helpfulness to citizen readers when Pentheus won't listen to reason in Book 3. Pentheus tries to persuade his family and others not to worship Bacchus. No one is convinced, but Pentheus stands firm. Ovid describes Pentheus’ state “His grandfather and Athamas and all His courtiers tried upbraided him and tried to stop him, but in vain.

Roman gods were known for their outrageous behavior. Ovid’s Metamorphoses satirically portrays the gods during their episodes of bad behavior. In the tale “Apollo and Daphne” Ovid focuses on the despicable nature of the god Apollo as he attempts to capture the nymph Daphne in order to have sex with her. This is especially shocking as Daphne has chosen to remain a virgin for the entirety of her life. Apollo’s lust for Daphne is shown to have terrible effects. She becomes objectified and is stripped of her humanity. The gods played a major role in Roman society, acting as leaders and guides. Ovid’s work shows that the people are putting their trust in the wrong hands. The brash nature of the gods makes them unfit to be worshipped.

The view Ovid takes on women is not always clear. In some passages he has a violent perspective on women. Ovid writes about how he easily could have taken advantage of women, displaying a negative viewpoint of ownership towards females. Similarly he says “never a virgin there was free from the lust of a hand”, which shows that men desire women, and a virgin is held as a high prize, one that is worth committing the act of adultery for (Art 1. 89-126).

The sculpture Apollo and Daphne, created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, is based off a story from Book 1 of Ovid's Metamorphoses. It is a portrayal of when Daphne is turned into a tree when trying to escape Apollo after they were both shot with an arrow by Eros. The sculpture is a powerful visual of Daphne and Apollo’s emotions as Daphne was captured by him. To evaluate the photo further I will discuss the feeling of empathy the sculpture made me feel and two connections the sculpture has to Ovid’s story.

“The story that the dreamer remembers combines the two classical versions even though they are, or seem to be, irreconcilable. This reconciliation is, we must remember, an act of memory protected by the fiction of the dream; it can be most easily seen in the composite character of Aeneas. He is Virgil’s epic hero and Ovid’s false lover, admirable and treacherous. As such, he and his story are an appropriate visual summary of the value of fame which is inherently ambiguous. From his memory of two old things, the dreamer has created a “new thing” an eccentric retelling that recognizes the validity of conflicting truths in history – “fals and soth compouned” (Buchmaster 284).

In one word, the author Ovid describes the overall content and theme of his poem with the word “Metamorphoses” in the title. Some relative synonyms of this word among others are; altar, change, mutate, develop, and reshape (metamorphose). But Ovid goes further to describe the theme within the first two lines of the poem.

Continuing in the epic form, the opening lines of the poem, indeed follow the time-honoured epic tradition of announcing the theme and invoking divine assistance (Ovid). "Metamorphoses'" narrative method involves many of the devices of the epic manner: long extended similes, catalogues, famous heroic figures, quests and journeys, feasts, battles, heroic speeches, councils of war, and a supernatural plane to the action (Ovid). The range and precision of Ovid's references to the classical epic tradition in articulating the program of Metamorphoses establishes the poem's generic alignment with epos (Keith 239).

An ancient prose narrative, all versions of “Arachne and Minerva” warn readers of the consequences facing those who disrespect the gods by recounting Athena’s actions when faced with mortal hubris. In studying prose narratives, William Bascom defined a valid myth as one: set in an earlier world, focused on a main character of a divine nature, and considered sacred and true by its original audience. Ovid’s “Arachne and Minerva” adheres to Bascom’s definition of a myth because it was viewed as a truthful account of the past, detailed the goddess Athena’s true process of addressing human disrespect, and focused the legitimate divine repercussions that follow

Transformations from one shape or form into another are the central theme in Ovid's Metamorphoses. The popularity and timelessness of this work stems from the manner of story telling. Ovid takes stories relevant to his culture and time period, and weaves them together into one work with a connecting theme of transformation throughout. The thread of humor that runs through Metamorphoses is consistent with the satire and commentary of the work. The theme is presented in the opening lines of Metamorphoses, where the poet invokes the gods, who are responsible for the changes, to look favorably on his efforts to compose. The changes are of many kinds: from human to animal, animal to human, thing to