Ovid's Metamorphoses

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the reason why the Gods punished human beings in the myths that Ovid related in his finest work, Metamorphoses. It is the THESIS here that there were two basic reasons that mortals drew out the wrath of the heavens: they were flawed and they did not give the Gods enough respect, or they displayed what is termed "hubris," or pride, and therefore they had to be punished by the Gods.

Ovid (43BC-17AD) was the Roman poet who used his book to deal with mythological, legendary, and historical figures within his hexameters, in fifteen different books. He began Metamorphoses with the creation of the world and concluded it with the crowning of Caesar and the reign of his son Augustus.

There are five specific stories that deal with ovid's concept of the Gods and their punishment of mortals. The first of these is the story of Lycaon, who was doubting of Jove when he came to visit. Lycaon is eventually punished because he is not only suspicious of the Gods but he is also contemptuous of Jove. His hubris gives him the feeling that he is the equal of the Gods, and for this reason he has to be dealt with.

"I gave a sign that a god had come, and people/Began to worship, and Lycaon mocked them, laughing at their prayers" (10). Ovid offered this story as both entertainment and moral instruction. He wanted to prove that the Gods could well be benevolent, if only mortals would believe in them and give them their proper respect.

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vens, or they would be given powerful examples of their mortality. In the story of Arachne, Ovid gave the example of the Maeonian girl who challenged Athena to a trial of skill in weaving. Because of Arachne's hubris, she was turned into a spider. And this is the root of the arachnid, which means spider. The bragging that Arachne engages in only gets her into trouble: she was "boasting of her talent,/Calling it better even than Minerva" (129). One of the more interesting aspects of this story is that Ovid shows that one of Arachne's worst flaws is her lack of respect for age. Instead of ascribing wisdom and skill to one who is older, Arachne associates it with feebleness: "You silly old fool. Your trouble/Is having lived too long" (130). Another relevant point in the story is that Arachne is turned into the spider, but she is still allowed her weaving and spinning. The Gods might have punished her, but they did not keep her from being productive for others: "She still kept spinning; the spider has not forgotten/The arts she used to practice" (133). The story of Pentheus is also one where the protagonist "laughed at gods, was scornful,/Made fun of the old man's prophecies, and mocked him/About his inner darkness" (73).

Category: Literature - O