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Ovid’s Metamorphoses
Publius Ovidus Naso (Ovid), the
famous Roman poet was born in 43 BC at Sulmo near Rome.
‘Metamorphoses’ is one his greatest poems in which he has
described the history of the world since its creation till the
times of Julius Caesar. Metamorphoses means transformation or
change and was completed in 08 AD. ‘Metamorphoses’ consists of
fifteen small sections or books or can be called chapters. He
has used mythical characters as examples for his readers. These
characters were punished or rewarded by the higher authority as
a result of their deeds or action, good or bad. The poem is a
series of tales collected mostly from Greek mythology and
literature. At that time the study of Greek poetry, literature,
culture and history was considered as a sign of heritage in the
educated Roman society. That is the main reason why Ovid focused
on Greek subject for his Roman audience. Ovid was an excellent
storyteller and was able to keep the reader’s interest and
attention till the end. The main theme of his book is passion.
There are other tales that comes form Babylon, Latin and eastern
literature and culture. Ovid’s works has inspired many European
writers and his influence is very prominent in their literary
compositions.
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The word metamorphosis means change and Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses’
is about the stories of change or transformation of human beings
into animals, beasts, trees, stones and other objects as
described in Greek folk tales. These changes were ordered by the
gods sometimes against the good and evil deed of the humans and
at times to show their power or for the sake of mere pleasure.
The chapter fourteen of Metamorphoses describes a number of
incidences about gods and goddesses falling in love with each
other or with human beings. Their internal rivalry results in
wars and ends in changing each other and their rival human
beings into other shapes. The author has tried to show the odds
of the world and the reasons behind these events and also the
interferences of gods in human lives. The gods had misused their
powers for their selfish desires and played foul games with
their opponents and created chaos on the face of earth. The
chapter includes tales about Circe, the daughter of Sun, who
longed for Glaucus, a sea-god. Glaucus was in love with a
mermaid named Scylla. Out of jealousy, Circe transformed her
into a monster to repel Galucus.
Another tale is about Aeneas, a figure in roman mythology and
the son of Anchises, a Trojan prince, and Venus, goddess of
love. The poem tells Aeneas encounter with Sibyl and then with
Circe. Circe made Aeneas and his friends drink a magic brew that
turned them into animals except for Eurylochus who avoided the
drink. Eurylochus went to inform Ulysses of the incident.
Ulysses goes to Circe and at the end both agree to a marriage
and Aeneas and his group were change to their original forms as
a result of a deal between the two.
The chapter is mostly comprised of mischievous deeds of Circe.
In another event she falls in love with King Picus and since he
was involved with Canens, Circe turns the king into a woodpecker
while Canens dies of fatigue and hunger. The poem also narrates
an account of Aeneas war for the throne of Latinus, king of
Latium in Italy. The war against Turnus was won by Aeneas and
Latinus’ daughter Lavinia was married to Aeneas and their union
resulted in the birth of the Roman race.
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Another love-story is about Pomona, roman goddess of fruit
trees. Vertumnus, the god of gardens and changing seasons,
fallen in love with her and disguised himself in shape of an old
women. He convinced Pomona of his love by telling her the story
of Iphis who gives his all to seek Anaxerate’s love and
acceptance. Anaxerate’s heart was cold as stone. Iphis finally
gives up and hangs himself in front of her. As Anaxerate watches
the funeral from her window, her life is slowly ended as the
stone that made up her heart spreads throughout her body. On
hearing this story, Pomona accepted Vertumnus proposal.
In book fifteen of Metamorphoses, Ovid tells about the legendry
king of Rome, Numa and Hercules. He describes the magical powers
of Hercules and the way he turned the black pebbles white and
freed Alemon’s son.
Further in the book, Ovid gives an account of Pythagoras, a man
who watched the universe with his inner eyes. Pythagoras lived
in an isolated place where he had a school and taught the
origins and secrets of the surrounding world. He was a strict
vegetarian and was against killing animals in order to eat their
flesh. Pythagoras taught that soul is a prisoner inside human
body and it wanders from one body to another. If the deeds of a
body are good, the soul can get a release from the cycle of
rebirth and go back to its destiny. He thus preached the humans
to adopt a life free of evils to avoid the rebirth of soul. Most
of the book is about the teachings of Pythagoras and his
philosophy of life and nature of universe.
Although the characters of Ovid’s poem were mostly Greek, but
these were directly or indirectly related to Romans also. There
were gods and goddesses both Greek and Romans who operated with
each other simultaneously. The most important event Ovid
described in book fourteen was the marriage of Aeneas and
Lavinia that accomplished the union of Trojans and Latins that
would one day produce the Roman people. It was for these reasons
that the poem found great appreciation among the Roman audience.
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