Review of Metamorphosos by Ovid This is an epic, but the translation I had was written in prose, rather than as a poem, as are most epics. I later learned that other English translations have been done in poetry form. The original language was Latin, composed by Ovid, who was born in what is now modern Sulmona, to an important family that bred horses for the chariots of the Roman army, on March 20, 43 BC. He was educated in rhetoric in Rome under the teachers Arellius Fuscus and Porcius Latro with his brother who excelled at oratory. Ovid was principally a writer of romantic poetry, but Metamorphosos is what he is known for today. It was completed by 8 AD, about 10 years before his death. The Metamorphoses was Ovid's most ambitious and popular work, consists of a 15-book catalogue written in dactylic hexameter about transformations in Greek and Roman mythology set within a loose mytho-historical framework. Someone counted 12,000 verses, with almost 250 different myths mentioned. Each myth is set outdoors where the mortals are often vulnerable to external influences. The first book describes the formation of the world, the ages of man, the flood, the story of Daphne's rape by Apollo and Io's by Jupiter.The premise is that because the gods created the universe from chaos, they could use that same power to transform beings, i.e., humans to gods and demi-gods, and vice-versa, or plants and animals into humans and vice-versa. All kinds of beings could also be transformed into constellations of stars. Basically, it is full of Greek and Roman Mythology, which is an effort to explain why the world is the way it is. For example, the dark skin of Ethiopians is attributed to an occasion when the god Phaebus borrows the sun chariot from Phœbus, who he thinks is his real father (he can’t be sure). Due to his inexperience, Phaebus drives it too close to the earth, thus causing the skin of the inhabitants of that part of the world to turn black. Each successive book describes the acts of the gods and demi-gods with lots of mortal characters as well. There are myths involving Phaethon, Jupiter, Callisto, Europa, Cadmus, Actaeon, Pentheus, Pyramus and Thisbe, Salmacis and Hermaphroditus, and Perseus and Andromeda, Arachne, Philomela, Medea, Cephalus, Procris, Daedalus, Erysichthon, Heracles Orpheus, Pygmalion, Myrrha, Adonis Peleus and Thetis, Ceyx and Alcyone, Achilles, Iphigeneia and Polyphemus. Towards the end, the epic turns to the history of Rome, describing the journey of Aeneas, Pomona and Vertumnus, and Romulus, and culminates in the deification of Caesar. The end of the poem praises Augustus and expresses Ovid's belief that his poem has earned him immortality. In analyzing the Metamorphoses, scholars have focused on Ovid's organization of his vast body of material. Basically, he took most of the writings of his predecessors, such as Virgil, and links them together by geography, themes, or contrasts creates interesting effects and constantly forces the reader to evaluate the connections. Ovid also adds his own tone and some original material. In this spirit, Ovid treats the works of his predecessors creatively, carrying on the tradition of classical poetry in his own time. My personal impression of Metamorphosos is that while you have to admire the skill of Ovid, it is difficult for me to relate to mythological characters. But if you enjoy fantasy, you may enjoy reading it, or at least parts of it. Ovid
This is an epic, but the translation I had was written in prose, rather than as a poem, as are most epics. I later learned that other English translations have been done in poetry form. The original language was Latin, composed by Ovid, who was born in what is now modern Sulmona, to an important family that bred horses for the chariots of the Roman army, on March 20, 43 BC. He was educated in rhetoric in Rome under the teachers Arellius Fuscus and Porcius Latro with his brother who excelled at oratory. Ovid was principally a writer of romantic poetry, but Metamorphosos is what he is known for today. It was completed by 8 AD, about 10 years before his death.
The Metamorphoses was Ovid's most ambitious and popular work, consists of a 15-book catalogue written in dactylic hexameter about transformations in Greek and Roman mythology set within a loose mytho-historical framework. Someone counted 12,000 verses, with almost 250 different myths mentioned. Each myth is set outdoors where the mortals are often vulnerable to external influences. The first book describes the formation of the world, the ages of man, the flood, the story of Daphne's rape by Apollo and Io's by Jupiter.The premise is that because the gods created the universe from chaos, they could use that same power to transform beings, i.e., humans to gods and demi-gods, and vice-versa, or plants and animals into humans and vice-versa. All kinds of beings could also be transformed into constellations of stars.
Basically, it is full of Greek and Roman Mythology, which is an effort to explain why the world is the way it is. For example, the dark skin of Ethiopians is attributed to an occasion when the god Phaebus borrows the sun chariot from Phœbus, who he thinks is his real father (he can’t be sure). Due to his inexperience, Phaebus drives it too close to the earth, thus causing the skin of the inhabitants of that part of the world to turn black. Each successive book describes the acts of the gods and demi-gods with lots of mortal characters as well. There are myths involving Phaethon, Jupiter, Callisto, Europa, Cadmus, Actaeon, Pentheus, Pyramus and Thisbe, Salmacis and Hermaphroditus, and Perseus and Andromeda, Arachne, Philomela, Medea, Cephalus, Procris, Daedalus, Erysichthon, Heracles Orpheus, Pygmalion, Myrrha, Adonis Peleus and Thetis, Ceyx and Alcyone, Achilles, Iphigeneia and Polyphemus. Towards the end, the epic turns to the history of Rome, describing the journey of Aeneas, Pomona and Vertumnus, and Romulus, and culminates in the deification of Caesar. The end of the poem praises Augustus and expresses Ovid's belief that his poem has earned him immortality.
In analyzing the Metamorphoses, scholars have focused on Ovid's organization of his vast body of material. Basically, he took most of the writings of his predecessors, such as Virgil, and links them together by geography, themes, or contrasts creates interesting effects and constantly forces the reader to evaluate the connections. Ovid also adds his own tone and some original material. In this spirit, Ovid treats the works of his predecessors creatively, carrying on the tradition of classical poetry in his own time.
My personal impression of Metamorphosos is that while you have to admire the skill of Ovid, it is difficult for me to relate to mythological characters. But if you enjoy fantasy, you may enjoy reading it, or at least parts of it.
Ovid