Ovid

After studying this section of the chapter you should be able to explain why, in the case of the poet Ovid, "the connection between myth and politics turned all too literal."

The Metamorphoses: Significant Themes and Characters

• explain how the theme of transformation is reflected in the structure of the poem itself.
• compare Ovid's story of creation to that of Hesiod.
• explain how Ovid's organization of the universe reflects the organization of Rome.
• explain how Ovid pokes fun at Augustus by equating him with Jupiter.
• recognize Ovid's "downsizing of the [Greek] myths."
• describe the "twin follies" of Echo and Narcissus.
• recount Echo's method of distracting Juno and the punishment which Juno subsequently inflicts on Echo.
• explain how, in Echo's love for Narcissus, the "slightly comic overtones... give way to a far bleaker perspective."
• explain why Ovid, despite his exile, feared disorder more than law.
• explain how Ovid's characters are literally dehumanized by their experiences.
• discuss the compulsion toward immobility and the desperate striving for permanence in Ovid's retelling of the Perseus myth.
• use the story of Apollo and Daphne to demonstrate how, even for the Gods, the theme of transformation results in sensual frustration.
• contrast Orpheus and Eurydice with Echo and Narcissus.
• explain how Orpheus's journey to the Underworld represents and inversion of the traditional heroic mode.
• explain how Orpheus joins the forces of Eros and Thanatos.
• discuss Orpheus's Underworld experience as an heroic effort to reverse time.
• compare Orpheus's turning back as depicted by Homer and Ovid.
• identify qualities associated with both Apollo and Dionysus in the hero Orpheus.
• explain why it is fitting that the story of Apollo and Cyparissus should follow, in Ovid's narration, the story of Orpheus.
• identify parallels between Orpheus's final transformation (thanks to Apollo) and the story of Perseus.
• recount the death of Orpheus as told by Ovid.
• explain how, through the story of Orpheus, Ovid resolves the conflict between Apollo and Dionysus.
• explain how, with the apotheosis of Caesar, the spirit of Rome triumphs at the end of Ovid's work.
• explain why, despite his criticisms, Ovid depends on the stability of Rome.