The poem "Metamorphoses" (Ovid): content, analysis

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Today we will talk about such a stunning monument of ancient art as "Metamorphoses". Ovid was able in fifteen volumes not only to show the entire mythology of his time, but also to illustrate through this prism the life of the people around him.

Read on and you will get acquainted with such a facet of ancient society as the attitude towards love. You will learn not only what types the Greeks and Romans divided this feeling into, but also understand the example of the actions of deities and heroes in its incarnation.

Publius Ovid Nason

One of his most famous works - "Metamorphoses" - Ovid finished in exile. The poet unequivocally in his memoirs does not speak about the reason for falling into disgrace. Researchers believe that because of the verses that did not agree with the opinion of the emperor.

So, who is this Roman who could ignite with love elegiesthe capital of the Roman Empire, become famous and end his life in exile among the Sarmatians and Getae.

Publius Ovid Nason was born in the mountains of Central Italy. His family belonged to one of the Sabine tribes, the Pelegni. His father was rich, belonged to the "horsemen", as the poet himself says. Thanks to the sufficient prosperity of the family, the boy is educated in the best schools in the capital.

After Ovid traveled to Greece, Asia Minor and Sicily, made friends with Horace and Propertius, saw Virgil. Early enough he began to write poetry. The first work was "Heroides", but he burned them to "cleanse" the rough style.

From the surviving works, we know "Love Elegies" as the earliest. Thanks to them, Ovid became famous in Rome. The next work was called "The Science of Love". In fact, this is the first ever book on the now popular "pickup". In it, the poet gave recommendations first to men on how to behave and achieve women, and then to girls.

It is believed that it was for the "Science of Love" that August sent him into exile. It was there, on the Black Sea coast, that Ovid ended his famous Metamorphoses.

The concept of love in antiquity

Ancient Greeks, like other ancient peoples, were closer to nature. They tried to understand themselves deeper and through the prism of feelings they learned the world around them. Even Aristotle singled out six types of love with their own names. We will talk about them now.

The first was "ludus" - a game of love. It is characterized as pure attraction, without feelings. Experiencing such sensations, one of the partners seeks toselfish satisfaction of their own physiological desires. Thoughts and emotions of another person are not interesting to him. This kind of love occurs quite often, but after the storm of passions subsides, those who took "ludus" seriously will be left with nothing.

All such manifestations of emotions and shows Ovid. "Metamorphoses", a summary of which will be given below, will allow you to plunge into the emotional sphere of the ancient world.

Next comes "eros" - sensual relationships. In the modern world, such relationships are called romantic. Imagine that in communication with a partner you have a constant candy-bouquet period.

"Mania" - an obsession with the object of passion. Constant suffering, reproaches and scenes of jealousy from one of the partners. This is a perverted concept of feelings, when at the psychological level there is a combination of feelings of love and pain.

The next type is "pragma". This is where the concept of pragmatism comes from. In such a relationship, feelings and emotions fade into the background. First of all, the partner is interested in the practical side of the future life together. Does the wife cook well, does the husband earn a lot.

"Storge" is similar to "philia" - tender love-friendship. Mutual understanding, help, warm equal relations. If you want an explosion of feelings and renewal of emotions, you will never get them here.

The last kind is agape. It is considered the highest stage of manifestation of love. The first Christians called it divine. This feeling is characterized by completededication. A partner lives only for the other person. He sees his happiness solely in the joy of the second half.

The Essence of "Metamorphoses"

Let's now talk about why Ovid wrote Metamorphoses. Daedalus and Icarus, for example, which we know about from legends, became famous solely thanks to this great poet.

He took the surrounding reality, political, social, economic relations between people and states, and expressed them in the allegorical form of ancient mythology.

The exact translation of the title of the poem is “transformation, transformation”. That is what the essay is about. Ovid had such a powerful talent that the thoughtful reader feels the effect of personal presence on the events taking place.

The poet cuts off all unnecessary details, and shows the changes in the form of the process, hiding the final result to the last. With proper visualization skill, the reader becomes a spectator.

But the problem of love is most fully expressed in Metamorphoses. This is the poet's favorite theme. He was able to express in great detail her intricacies.

You will notice how gradually by the end of the composition the actions of the characters become deeper, more conscious and spiritualized. Let's look at these issues using examples from the work.

Daphne and Apollo

The poem "Metamorphosis" begins with a scene of all-consuming passion. The sun god, blinded by passion, falls in love with a nymph. Daphne does not want to become the object of his desire and quickly runs away.

With his characteristic humor, Ovid depicts Apollo as a Gallic dog, who, having forgotten his dignity, rushes after a hare. And he compares his feelings with a sudden fire in a wheat field. It is these metaphors that show the depth of the poet's life experience and his powers of observation.

The story ends with the fact that the nymph, despite the pleas of Phoebus that he is the son of Jupiter, and not a simple shepherd, asks for protection from his father. Peneus, the god of the river, turns his daughter into a tree on the bank of the stream. Apollo, seeing this turn of events, vows to make the laurel evergreen. In addition, he decorates his forehead with his wreath.

Jupiter's Lovers

Researchers have not yet fully understood all the intricacies offered to the reader by Metamorphoses. Ovid is compared with the author of "A Thousand and One Nights", because the poet in his poems weaves the plots of different parts of the work. The ignorant in ancient mythology will not understand many events and comparisons from the first time. Therefore, "Metamorphosis" is better to read several times.

For example, Jupiter, being the main deity of Olympus, has an inexhaustible desire for sensual love and passion. He is in constant confrontation with the jealous and petty wife Juno. Many scholars believe that it was these images that angered the Roman emperor and caused Ovid's exile.

So, in the work we see several stories related to Jupiter. He falls in love with Io, and in order to save her from the wrath of his wife, he turns the poor girl into a cow. Also, the god is often depicted as drunk on nectar. In scenes like this, he acts likethe lowest plebeian.

In plots with Zeus, Ovid often touches on issues of violence. For example, in order to achieve Callisto, he has to turn to Diana, the goddess that this priestess serves. He then forces the chaste girl into an affair.

Thus, in the image of the heavenly ruler, the poet shows the lowest manifestation of such a kind of love as "ludus".

Levkotoya and Helios

Not only to annoy the emperor, wrote Ovid's Metamorphoses. A summary of the stories that follow will let you know that he speaks with derision of the customs of the free classes of his day.

So, the sun god has a jealous admirer, Klitia, daughter of Tethys and the Ocean. Helios himself falls in love with a mere mortal girl Levkofeya, the daughter of the Persian ruler Orkham.

But a stupid and jealous envious woman informs the king that his daughter has lost her chastity in the arms of a stranger. An angry Orkham orders to bury the girl alive (by the way, such a custom really existed in the east).

Helios, heartbroken, seeks to help his beloved in some way. He transforms her into a levkoy (or white violet), a fragrant flower that turns during the day after the sun.

Narcissus and Echo

Metamorphoses themselves begin to change from this story. Ovid moves from the violent and selfish love of immortal celestials to the more pure, innocent and mundane feelings of ordinary people.

The plot of the failed happiness of Narcissus and the nymph Echoshows high emotions, inaccessible to the gods. So, the young man has unearthly beauty. But the trouble is that he loves only his own reflection. Wandering around Greece, Narcissus comes to a lake, hidden more often than a forest, surrounded by mountains.

The water in it is so pure that the young man can't just tear himself away from what he sees in it. The conflict lies in the fact that the nymph Echo notices him and falls in love with him without memory. But the girl can't speak her mind. She was cursed by Juno for her talkativeness, which Echo interfered with following Jupiter.

Now the poor nymph can only repeat the end of another person's phrase. But still, inspired by love, the girl manages to confess her feelings to Narcissus. He does not reciprocate, as he does not see anyone but his own reflection. In the end, the guy turns into a flower of the same name on the shore of the lake.

It is noteworthy that, according to the myth, he does not stop admiring himself and at Hades. There Narcissus looks into the waters of the Styx.

Pyramus and Thisbe

If it seems to you that the story of Romeo and Juliet was invented by Shakespeare, you are mistaken. Publius Ovid Nason knew this story. "Metamorphoses" describes the tragic events in the life of Thisbe and Pyramus.

They are a young girl and a boy who lived next door. Parents forbade them not only to show feelings for each other, but even to meet. The guys communicated through a hole in the wall of the house.

One day they secretly agreed to meet outside the city, near a crypt. But Thisbe, on the way there, saw a lioness, got frightened and lost her shawl. She herself hid in the agreed shelter. Pyramuswent to his beloved and saw the girl's torn shawl on the road. He recognized her and, thinking that she was dead, stabbed himself with a dagger.

When Thisbe found him, he killed himself with the same weapon. This plot in the work is the first in which the gods do not take part at all.

Hermaphrodite and Salmacis

Publius Ovid Nason's "Metamorphoses" was not conceived as a linear composition. It has unexpected twists and turns, returns to past events. The story of Salmacis and Hermaphrodite is one of these.

The first was a mountain lake nymph. But in her charming beauty was combined with unsurpassed laziness. All the girl did was narcissism and preening.

One day Hermaphrodite came to the lake. The young man, being the son of Aphrodite and Hermes, had a stunning appearance and athletic build. The nymph fell in love with him unconsciously.

She asked the gods to unite them into one. When the young man swam, Salmakida wrapped around him, and the celestials fulfilled her will. Since that time, Hermaphrodite has become a bisexual creature. Here is a flashback to the theme of violence, previously mentioned in connection with the gods.

Mullet and Procris

Many different manifestations of love told readers Ovid. "Metamorphoses", which we briefly analyze in our article, also show tragedy without transformation.

This happened in the history of Cephalus and Procris. These are two ordinary people, a married couple. But they got into disagreements because of the husband’s doubts about the fidelity of the chosen one, which she instilled in himAurora.

With his scenes of jealousy, Kefal drives the girl into a frenzy, and she runs away from him. But after repentance, it returns.

Now it is not God who comes into play, but human helpfulness and narrow-mindedness. A servant tells Procris that he heard her husband calling Aura, goddess of the cool breeze.

The girl decides to follow her husband, hiding in the bushes nearby. Cephalus thought it was a beast sneaking up and killed his wife with a dart.

In this case, we see nothing less than a tragedy due to the blindness of jealousy.

Baucis and Philemon

And Ovid Nason speaks about "agape" in his work. "Metamorphoses" mentions this most perfect kind of love in the form of Philemon and Baucis.

This is a poor but pious married couple. They spent their whole lives together, grew old and lived out a century in a small hut.

Once Hermes and Jupiter came to visit them. In obedience to tradition, the hosts set the table with everything they had. They emptied their own bins, but satisfied all the requests of strangers. In gratitude for such a warm and hospitable welcome, the gods rewarded the old people with the fulfillment of desires.

Baucis and Philemon asked to death to be the guardians of the temple, which the celestials erected on the site of their hut, and to depart to another world in one day. As a result, after several years, they turned into two trees near the sanctuary. Husband - in oak, and wife - in linden.

Keik and Alcyone

In this story, Ovid's poem "Metamorphoses" makes a U-turn from the divine decline of morals toex altation of mortals.

This couple is a pious king and queen. He is the son of Aurora, she is the daughter of Eol. One day, Keik goes on a voyage and dies in a storm.

The story is inserted into the story about the message of Alcyone's disappointing news through a dream.

As a result, the couple turns into seagulls, and the comforted wife and the resurrected husband fly away happily together.

Vertumn and Pomona

The love story of the garden nymph Pomona and the god of the seasons Vertumna. The latter is depicted as a classic elegy hero. He is completely devoted to the object of his adoration. In the end, the young man still seeks reciprocity from his beloved.

The poem "Metamorphoses" ends on such a happy note. Ovid, whose analysis of the work we tried to cite in our article, expresses in this plot the apotheosis of the triumph of the feelings of ordinary people and demigods over the selfish desires of celestials.

Thus, today we not only talked about the passions in ancient society, but also analyzed this sphere of life using examples from the work of the Roman poet Ovid.