The "Metamorphoses" of Ovid

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how Book Three of Allen Mandelbaum's translation of Ovid's "Metamorphoses" is one of the most intriguing sections of Ovid's entire work. It looks at how, not only does it contain many of the more famous anecdotes within the "Metamorphoses", including the stories of Actaeon, Tireseas, and Narcissus and Echo, but how it it is one of the most thematically coherent sections of a work that is already largely an attempt to systematize and organize the corpus of traditional mythology by theme and relation between stories. It also looks at how all the stories in Book Three have one particular issue in common; every story, in some fashion, deals with the issue of sight as it relates to the gods.

From the Paper:

"Although Cadmus' tale, the first of book three, ultimately tells of his heroism and the founding of Thebes, it nonetheless bears an interesting relation to sight. As Cadmus look on at the snake that he has slain, he is warned not to look at its corpse, the voice saying, "Why Cadmus, do you stare at that slain snake?/You, too, will be a snake at whom men gaze." This somewhat strange moment in the story, however, is very much the thread that links it to the rest of the book. Indeed, in the next section concerning Actaeon, it is also sight that plays a crucial role in his downfall. Because he sees Diana and her nymphs bathing, Actaeon is sentenced to death."

More papers on The "Metamorphoses" of Ovid:

• Analytical Essay # 141292 : "Boethus' "The Consolation of Philosophy"
• Analytical Essay # 122808 : "Ovid's "The Story of Pygmalion and the Statue"
• Analytical Essay # 126043 : "'Metamorphoses' and 'Meditations'"

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