I suppose it might seem like I haven’t read anything in quite awhile, but really, I’ve just been taking forever reading just one book. Oh, sure, I read some random trashy novels when the book was just too much for me, but in all, I’ve been relatively faithful to Metamorphoses.

Recommended to me during my first British Literature class¹, it took me awhile to find the translation recommended. Then it sat on my bookshelf with the rest of the reference books until the beginning of this summer, when I thought I might as well brush up on my myths, since I’m taking a myth class in the fall.

Metamorphoses

Publius Ovidius Naso, better known as Ovid today, was Roman poet born in 43 BC. He is most well know for his poetry, and in particular Metamorphoses, which, while not an epic poem, is certainly as long as one. There are numerous translations of Ovid’s work, but the one I read was recommended to me—a translation by Rolfe Humphries, done in the 1950s.

The book is essentially one really long poem, as each poem flows into the next as a narrative through time. Athough Roman, Ovid wrote about familiar Greek myths, using Roman names. At times the poem can be hard to understand, as in Ovid’s time people were referred to by their parents and grandparents, or even more generations back if it leads to a god. It is easy to get confused by the similarities of names, and the sheer number of names introduced in the text.

The poems themselves are translated into ten-beat unrhymed lines, so at time it’s easy to forget that it really is a poem, and get lost in the story. Also, most of the stories throughout the poems are told in the present tense, and the speaker of the poem seems like a friend you haven’t seen for awhile, but you can’t wait to hear his stories. This tone helps the poems feel fresh and new, even two thousand years after they were written.

“Now I have done my work. It will endure,
I trust, beyond Jove’s anger, fire and sword,
Beyond Time’s hunger. The day will come, I know,
So let it come, that day which has no power
Save over my body, to end my span of life
Whatever it may be. Still part of me,
The better part, immortal, will be borne
Above the stars; my name will be remembered
Wherever Roman power rules conquered lands,
I shall be read, and through the centuries,
If prophecies of bards are ever truthful,
I shall be living, aways.
—Metamorphoses: The Epilogue

Ovid’s skill with words certainly has helped him live on through the ages, but the content of his stories have played a part in that as well.

The stories of creation.

While the poem seems to be about people, the underlying theme is an explanation of nature, and how things came to be. Often, people are turned into plants or animals by the gods, as either a punishment, or an answer to a prayer. Metamorphoses can be seen as a state of being for the world in which Ovid lived. Through their stories, people become something to be remembered, as they live on in nature.

One of the most well known stories that Ovid puts in the poem is the story of Echo and Narcissus. Echo was in love with Narcissus, but he was in love with himself. Pining for him, she wasted away to just her voice, which we can still hear in the forest. Narcissus later sees his image for the first time in a pool of water, and falls in love with his image and refuses to look away. He eventually wastes away to become the small white flower that bears his name.

The animal people are most often turned into are birds. Occasionally they are turned into stags or bears, but the gods apparently have a thing for creating birds. Doves, hawks, herons, and sea birds are all created from people to become what they are today.

If the Roman world had an explanation for how things came to be, you can depend on Ovid to recount the tale.

Conclusion

Metamorphoses isn’t an easy read, even in English. While some parts are easy and familiar, the story of the Trojan war is confusing and filled with people who may or may not be battling. I found it hard during that section to follow who was fighting on which side, and the battles are more lists of who killed whom more than anything else.

If you like mythology, however, I would recommend this book as a must read. It’s interesting to see how the Romans viewed their myths, as compared to how we know them today. Also, it gives a great base to the knowledge we carry around about myths, and the self-centered gods they deify.

[rate 3.5]

1. When professors mention books, I tend to scribble info in the margins of my notebook in an effort to not forget [back]

Tagged: on Friday, July 7, 2006 · 2 Comments »