March 20th 2012

Lecture 10: Ovid, metamorphoses 6-7

Book 6

 Beginning of second pentad where we move from the realm of the gods to the realm of the hero.

Arachne and Minerva

 First story to be told is of Arachne, she is transformed into a spider.(Arachne greek for spider)  Art of transition is very crucial to the metamorphosis  Book 5 ends with a contest of the arts and Book 6 also starts with a contest.  Arachne is a very talented weaver and she thinks she is better than the gods, and one should never think they are better than the gods; this might get the gods angry.  Motif of divine anger is in the first half of book 6.  Arachane the way in which she creates the tapestry is similar to the creation of the cosmos “prof reads from text”. The creator the universe is an artist, the illusion to the shield of Achilles and Heapistus (check spelling). Arachne is also a creative figure, slender spindle and fine thread – something polished and something fine is understood on a potalogical (?) level- art of poetry.  Callimachean- small and refined not a big Homeric epic. Arachne – not a big epic creator but someone who is very refined in her art.  Minerva’s tapestry is classical and symmetrical and ordered with an olive branch boarder (branch of peace – ironic in this context, due to competition). Fixade (?) – something which is easily identifiable, ordered and no chaos. Arachne’s work stands for Flux – for change, she represents erotic lesions of gods and how they rape women, gods transformation into animals for sex, complete chaos no ordered structure to it.  Song of the peraedious(?) to which they challenged the muses. (look this up)  Minrva’s weaving every god is easily identifiable by their attribute, where as Arachnes’ is not. Gods appear out of force.  Archne shows Europa cheated by the bull’s disguise, a real bull you would think. It’s not a real bull it is just Zeus transformed into a bull. Ovid says that Arachne’s bull is so vivid that it looks like a real bull, however even if it were a real bull it would not be a real bull because it actually Zeus, this is Ovid playing.  To summarize work of Minerva stands for ordered epic poetry, in the work of Virgil and Homer for example. Work of Arachne stands for small poetry in the Callimachean tradition.  Arachne with the human perspective and Minerva with the divine perspective and then a pivotal moment where we leave the world of the gods and enter the world of human heros. Arachne as form of punishment is condemned to weave for the rest of her life in the form of a spider.

Death of Niobe’s Children  Ovide transitions to another famous myth. Niobe knew of Archane’s punishment but did not learn anything. Niobe also challenged a goddess.  Leto mother of Apollo and Dianna. Leto wasn’t worshiped in her city and Niobe says I don’t know what the big deal about Leto is she only gave birth to two children where as I gave birth to fourteen – 7 boys and 7 girls, I am much better. Niobe is filled with pride, hybris is used to describe this behaviour - more important than you really are and you offend a divine being (god/goddess).  Niobe’s hybristic behaviour is punished by Apollo and Dianna they decide to take her children away from her. Apollo and Dianna shoot the 7 boys, but she is still filled with pride, and they shoot the 7 girls. Niobe now grieves, and she turns into stone from her grief from losing her children.  Ovid says new tales bring back old ones. Way for Ovid to bring in other myths into the metamorphosis.

Latona and The Lycian Peasants

 Complex narrative structure, after Niobe’s story other individuals remember similar stories. And we have an instant narrative about what somebody has told him.  Alter, and the Lycian guy tells us that.. Leto was going around with her two newborn twins Apollo and Dianna. When she was about to give birth she ends up at Delos, her problem was that no land would let her give birth because of Hera’s rage. Even after she gives birth she wanders around, and now she is Lycia, and she is really thirsty so asks to drink some water. The peasants say no way, and jump into the water and make it muddy. Can be read on a potelogical (?) level, because Chamelicus(?) said I only want to drink from the pure fountain, something that’s never been touched before. Muddy water of the big river stands for epic, we got clash of potelogical (?) imagery. Pure spring (very refined, Callimachean )vs. Muddy water (loud and noisy not very refined, epic poetry) .  Peasants are very nasty and they talk and they shout and make Leto angry, and she turns them into a frogs. One the most famous transformations in Ovid’s work.  Fountain in Versai, surrounded by frogs explains the story in Ovid’s metamorphosis.  “Quamvis sint sub aqua, sub aqua maledicere temptant” – in Ovid’s metamorphosis. It sounds like a frog croaking. It means, even though they are on water or under water they still try to insult.

Marsyas

 Briefly mentioned, Minerva invented the flute she saw herself and her cheeks look really ugly. She throws it away, Marsyas a satyr plays it and he is really good. Marsyas challenges Apollo (not a good thing). Eventually Apollo is declared the winner of the contest, and as a result punishes Marsyas. Apollo tears away his skin of Marsyas. “Why tear me from myself.” Ovid loves to describe every detail.  Ovid makes it so cruel that he makes it funny; he takes it over the top.  Ovid goes back for a brief moment to Niobe’s story. The only person to really morn for Niobe is Pelops they are brother and sister- father Tantalus. Tantalus is a sinner who is punished in Hades. Pelops' father was Tantalus cuts Pelops into pieces and serves it to the gods. Demeter, deep in grief after the abduction of her daughter Persephone by Hades, absentmindedly accepted the offering and ate the left shoulder. The other gods sensed the plot, however, and held off from eating of the boy's body. Pelops was ritually reassembled and brought back to life, his shoulder replaced with one of ivory made for him by Hephaestus.

Tereus, Procne and Philomela

 Transition once and for all in the human world. All three end up being transformed into birds, this story is told most frequently in ancient text aside from the metamorphosis.  Tereus was a Thracian king, the son of Ares and husband of Procne. Tereus and Pronce live happily together for some time up until Philomela, Procne’s. Tereus desired his wife's sister, Philomela. He forced himself upon her in the most brutal way, and then cuts her tongue out and held her captive so she could never tell anyone. He told his wife that her sister had died. Philomela wove letters in a tapestry depicting Tereus's crime and sent it secretly to Procne. Pronce free’s Philomela and they plot revenge. In revenge, Procne killed her and Tereus' son Itys and served his flesh in a meal to his father Tereus which he eats. When Tereus learned what she had done, he tried to kill the sisters but all three were changed by the Olympian Gods into birds: Tereus became a hoopoe; Philomela became the nightingale whose song is a song of mourning for the loss of innocence; Procne became the swallow. There are various versions they all don’t turn into the same birds.  Shakespeare play that takes the same motif, Titus Androncius. She takes a pen in her mouth and writes it in the ground. Showing ancient myth lives on.

Last event that occurs in book 6. Boreas and Orithyia.

 In order to make a transition to the next story, Ovid tells us about the children of King Pandion, who was the father of the sisters Procne and Philomela. Their brother, Erechtheus, became the king of Athens when Pandion died. Erechtheus had several children, including a daugther named Orithyia. Boreas, the god of the cold North wind, was in love with Orithyia, but she rejected his attentions. This made Boreas angry, and he took Orithyia by force. They had two boys, Calais and Zetes, they both had wings when they were older like their father. Take part in the Argonautic expedition.

Book 7

 Roughly falls into two parts. Medea in the first part, and Second part referred to as Ovid’s Theseis.  Myth of the Argunuatic cow (?) most famous text, epic by Apollonius Hellenistic poet. 3rd CB, different from Homeric epic. Jason is sent out to recover the Golden Fleece. What is this golden fleece, Athamas is the husband of Ino he goes mad and kills his son. Athamas before Ino was in love with Nephele, had two children Phrixus and Helle. Ino was the evil step mother was jealous of the step children, and Nephele saves her children by sending a flying, ram with golden wool. During their flight Helle fell off the ram and drowned in the Dardanelles, renamed the Hellespont (sea of Helle), but Phrixus survived all the way to Colchis (far end of the black sea), where King Aeëtes father of Medea, the son of the sun god Helios, took him in and treated him kindly. The golden fleece hangs from a tree which is guarded by a dragon.  Years later back and Greece Pelias the new king tells Jason the rightful heir to the throne and sends him to recover it. But he wants Jason to be killed (like a test) which does not happen.  The Argonauts arrive at King Aeetes' kingdom and Jason demands the return of the Golden Fleece; meanwhile, the king's daughter Medea falls in love with Jason. Medea decides to betray her father and help Jason to conquer the tasks that he stipulates for the return of the fleece. Jason promises to marry Medea in return for her help and she gives him some magic herbs and spells she also happens to be a witch. Jason passes his first task: to yoke together two fire-breathing bulls and plow a field with them. Then he sews the ground with dragons teeth, which give rise to warriors. With Medea's help, Jason defeats them by throwing a stone in the middle of the group, which sets them attacking one another. Finally, Jason uses Medea's drugs and incantations to put the dragon guarding the fleece to sleep. He and the Argonauts flee with Medea and the fleece. – told in ovid.

Medea kills her children

 Jason returns home to find his father (Aeson) extremely ill. Medea promises to restore his father's life. She gathers herbs for a dark ritual which heals Aeson and brings him youth. During Aeson's sickness, the daughters of Pelias had seized Aeson's throne, and Medea tricks them into killing Pelias under the pretence of restoring his life as well. She flees on her chariot pulled by winged dragons and returns to Corinth much later.  Very typical of his narrative, he skips over the major myths. The myth of Medea's children is said in a few lines, this is the myth she is most famous about.  When Medea comes back she discovers that Jason has taken a new bride, Glauce. Ovid says that this is a much better marriage than being with a barbarian. Medea kills her and Jason's own children and also murders Glauce in revenge before fleeing once again to Athens, where Aegeus (The father of Theseus, he grew up with his mother- Aethra somewhere else outside of Athens) gives her sanctuary and marries her.  As a token of recognition owns the sword of his father Aegeus, and he has to make his way back to Athens and slays a lot of people on the way. Theseus (similar to Heracles) is the founding figure of Athens.  Medea immediately recognizes Theseus as the son of Aegeus. Theseus is threatening to overrule when Medea’s son comes next in line. Medea gives him other tasks to perform which he passes and she tries to poisons him; however Aegeus recognizes his son by the sword and doesn’t kill him.  Soon war threatens: Minos of Crete declares war on Athens because his son, Androgeos, died on Aegeus' lands. In preperation for battle, Cephalus of Athens calls upon the people of Oenipia -- newly renamed Aegina -- for help. Aeacus (son of Zeus and Aegina) of Aegina promises to aid Athens, meanwhile relating the story of their city. He says that Juno struck them with a plague, which killed many, until he prayed to Jove, who had lain with the city's namesake, Aegina. Jove repopulated Aegina with a colony of ants who he turned into industrious men known as Myrmidons. These Myrmidons join Athens in battling Crete.  As Cephalus and the Myrmidons await a favorable wind to return to Athens, Cephalus tells the story of how he was married to Procris, daughter of Erechteus. After they had been married for two months, the goddess Aurora tried to seduce him. Cephalus refused, angering Aurora, who suggested as revenge that Procris was unfaithful to him. She allowed him to alter his appearance and test Procris' fidelity, which he does, eventually offering her a massive fortune for one night in bed. Procris hesitated and Cephalus revealed himself, sending Procris fleeing into the mountains. Eventually Cephalus and Procris made up and by way of apology Procris offered Cephalus the fastest hound in the world and a magic spear that always hits its mark and returns when it is thrown.  Cephalus also tells a tragic story about his spear, saying that he went hunting every morning with the spear and called to the breeze, "Aura," at the end of every day. Someone overheard him and told Procris that "Aura" was his lover, and so Procris hid herself during one of his hunts to see if it was true. Cephalus heard her rustling in the bushes and killed her with the spear, thinking she was an animal. She died in his arms as he explained the misunderstanding.