Ovid s Metamorphoses A Collection Of Myths - 1627 Words

Ovid’s Metamorphoses is a collection of myths remastered to fit a theme of transformation. In these stories, the characters are confronted with a problem or a situation and how they react determines their fate. These fates take the form of physical alterattions. Often people transform into flora, fauna, or different human forms. In Metamorphoses the metaphors utilized by Ovid involve the natural world. These mataphors are natural for us to understand because nature is a common reference point for us all. While Ovid’s meaning behind the forms he chooses in his transformations seem simple, recognizing why characters are transformed can be confounding. The key to interpreting Ovid’s transformations is in realizing to whom the transformation is directed and this may not always be the one being transformed. The transformations that take place in Metamorphoses symbolize traits in the transformed and the transformer in both positive and negative aspects. Ovid uses trans formations to exaggerate the traits of the charater being transformed. In Book III, Narcissus is pursued by hordes of admirers. He is a young man and is exceptionally beautiful. Despite his abundance of suitors, Narcissus prefers to remain single. His rejection obviously upsets his followers, especially one of his male admirers who curses Narcissus in prayer to Nemesis: â€Å"May he himself love as I have loved him/ †¦ without obtaining his beloved† (3. 521-522). Nemesis grants his wish and Narcissus falls in love withShow MoreRelatedThe Greek Mythology : A Normative Critique1754 Words   |  8 Pages  Greek mythology is the body of myths and teachings that belong to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. It was a part of the religion in ancient Greece. Modern scholars refer to and study the myths in an attempt to shed light on the religious and political i nstitutions of Ancient Greece and its civilization, and to gain understanding of the nature of myth-making itself. Greek mythologyRead MoreAnalysis Of King Arthur And The Knights Of The Round Table1901 Words   |  8 Pageswriter’s imagination. Thomas Malory was the first to provide an English work retelling of the legend in his Le Morte D Arthur, published in 1485. Centuries later, Alfred Tennyson published his Idylls of the King throughout the later half of the 1800’s, telling the story of Camelot in the form of an epic poem. Arthur is such a great warrior and leader that his tale is very hard to believe. People have never heard of someone more selfless and humble, whose goal is to help others instead of themselvesRead MoreGreek Mythology8088 Words   |  33 PagesA   Gods   Given  the  multiplicity  of  myths  that  circulated  in  Greece,  it  is  difficult  to  present  a  single  version  of  the   genealogy  (family  history)  of  the  gods.  However,  two  accounts  together  provide  a  genealogy  that   most  ancient  Greeks  would  have  recognized.  One  is  the  account  given  by  Greek  poet  Hesiod  in  his   Theogony  (Genealogy  of  the  Gods),  written  in  the  8th  century  BC.  The  other  account,  The  Library,  is   attributed  to  a  mythographer  (compiler  of  myths)  named  Apollodorus,  who  lived  during  the  2nd