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IN CORPUS CORPORE TOTO: MERGING BODIES IN OVID’S METAMORPHOSES by JACLYN RENE FRIEND (Under the Direction of Sarah Spence) ABSTRACT Though Ovid presents readers of his Metamorphoses with countless episodes of lovers uniting in a temporary physical closeness, some of his characters find themselves so affected by their love that they become inseparably merged with the ones they desire. These scenarios of “merging bodies” recall Lucretius’ explanations of love in De Rerum Natura (IV.1030-1287) and Aristophanes’ speech on love from Plato’s Symposium (189c2-193d5). In this thesis, I examine specific episodes of merging bodies in the Metamorphoses and explore the verbal and conceptual parallels that intertextually connect these episodes with De Rerum Natura and the Symposium. I focus on Ovid’s stories of Narcissus (III.339-510), Pyramus and Thisbe (IV.55-166), Salmacis and Hermaphroditus (IV.276-388), and Baucis and Philemon (VIII.611-724). I also discuss Ovid’s “merging bodies” in terms of his ideas about poetic immortality. Finally, I consider whether ancient representations of Narcissus in the visual arts are indicative of Ovid’s poetic success in antiquity. INDEX WORDS: Ovid, Metamorphoses, Intertextuality, Lucretius, De Rerum Natura, Plato, Symposium, Narcissus, Pyramus, Thisbe, Salmacis, Hermaphroditus, Baucis, Philemon, Corpora, Immortality, Pompeii IN CORPUS CORPORE TOTO: MERGING BODIES IN OVID’S METAMORPHOSES by JACLYN RENE FRIEND B.A., Denison University, 2012 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS ATHENS, GEORGIA 2014 © 2014 Jaclyn Rene Friend All Rights Reserved IN CORPUS CORPORE TOTO: MERGING BODIES IN OVID’S METAMORPHOSES by JACLYN RENE FRIEND Major Professor: Sarah Spence Committee: Mark Abbe Naomi Norman Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2014 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Sarah Spence, Dr. Mark Abbe, and Dr. Naomi Norman for their help throughout every stage of this project. I would especially like to express my gratitude for Dr. Spence’s willingness to serve as my committee chair despite her retirement from the University of Georgia. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................1 2 INTERTEXTUAL CONNECTIONS ................................................................7 Narcissus ....................................................................................................12 Pyramus and Thisbe ...................................................................................20 Salmacis and Hermaphroditus ...................................................................26 Baucis and Philemon..................................................................................33 3 ALTERNATE VERSIONS OF THE MERGING-BODY MYTHS ...............41 Narcissus ....................................................................................................44 Pyramus and Thisbe ...................................................................................51 Salmacis and Hermaphroditus ...................................................................53 Baucis and Philemon..................................................................................59 4 CORPORA AND IMMORTALITY IN THE METAMORPHOSES ...............66 5 NARCISSUS IN POMPEII .............................................................................83 A General Survey of Ancient Narcissus Imagery ......................................86 An Ovidian Narcissus in Pompeii? ............................................................93 Narcissus in the House of Octavius Quartio: Context and Meaning .........97 v Connecting Thoughts ...............................................................................104 6 CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................125 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................129 vi LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 3.1: Mosaic, Pyramus and Thisbe...........................................................................64 Figure 3.2: Salmacis Inscription at Halicarnassus (Column I) ..........................................64 Figure 3.3: Salmacis Inscription at Halicarnassus (Column II) .........................................65 Figure 3.4: Sketch of Salmacis Remains at Halicarnassus ................................................65 Figure 5.1: Statuette, Narcissus and Eros ........................................................................106 Figure 5.2: Wall painting, Narcissus and Eros ................................................................106 Figure 5.3: Wall painting, Narcissus................................................................................107 Figure 5.4: Wall painting, Narcissus (reproduction by A. Ala, 1865) .............................107 Figure 5.5: Wall painting, Narcissus and Eros ................................................................108 Figure 5.6: Wall painting, Narcissus and Eros (reproduction by A. Aureli, 1861) .........108 Figure 5.7: Wall painting, Narcissus, Eros, and nymph ..................................................109 Figure 5.8: Gem, Narcissus, Eros, and Artemis (?) .........................................................109 Figure 5.9: Gem, Narcissus and Artemis (?)....................................................................110 Figure 5.10: Grave relief, Narcissus ................................................................................110 Figure 5.11: Relief, Narcissus and Eros...........................................................................111 Figure 5.12: Mosaic, Narcissus ........................................................................................111 Figure 5.13: Mosaic, Narcissus ........................................................................................112 Figure 5.14: Wall painting, Narcissus..............................................................................112 Figure 5.15: Wall painting, Narcissus and Eros ..............................................................113 vii Figure 5.16: Wall painting, Narcissus and Eros ..............................................................113 Figure 5.17: Wall painting, Narcissus, Eros, and nymph ................................................114 Figure 5.18: Wall painting, Narcissus, Eros, and nymphs ...............................................114 Figure 5.19: Wall painting, Ganymede ............................................................................115 Figure 5.20: Wall painting, Cyparissus............................................................................115 Figure 5.21: Wall painting, Narcissus and Eros (sketch by Reinach 1992) ....................116 Figure 5.22: Statue, Narcissus .........................................................................................116 Figure 5.23: Statuette, Narcissus and Eros ......................................................................117 Figure 5.24: Statuette, Narcissus and Eros ......................................................................117 Figure 5.25: Sarcophagus relief, Narcissus......................................................................118 Figure 5.26: Sarcophagus relief, Narcissus......................................................................118 Figure 5.27: Sarcophagus relief, Narcissus and Eros ......................................................119 Figure 5.28: Sarcophagus relief, Narcissus and Eros (detail of fig. 27) ..........................119 Figure 5.29: Sarcophagus relief, Narcissus and Eros, Graces .........................................120 Figure 5.30: Wall painting, Narcissus, Eros, and nymphs ...............................................120 Figure 5.31: Wall painting, Narcissus and nymph ...........................................................121 Figure 5.32: Wall painting, Narcissus..............................................................................121 Figure 5.33: Ground plans (after J. Clarke) .....................................................................122 Figure 5.34: Pergola plans ...............................................................................................123 Figure 5.35: Wall paintings, Narcissus, Pyramus and Thisbe .........................................123 Figure 5.36: Pergola .........................................................................................................124 Figure 5.37: Pyramus and Thisbe ....................................................................................124 viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION In preparing to approach the intertextual connections that underpin this thesis, I offer a passage from Ciaran Carson’s novel Fishing for Amber which works particularly well if used as a metaphorical explanation of the process by which intertextuality is created. Fishing for Amber, a “long story,” as its author calls it, reconfigures Ovidian myths amidst a narrative infused with Irish fairy tales, descriptions of Dutch art, and accounts of history that sometimes depart from
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