Re-tell the Ovidian Tale of Midas-Metamorphosis
Ovid’s versions of Mythological Tales
- What is Ovid “doing to” traditional MYTH in The Metamorphoses?
As a class we have been discussing the ways Ovid has:
-Rather than praise, mocked the gods—shown them to be irrational, cruel, unjust, and flawed; human!
-Rather than honor, made fun of heroes—shown them to be just as flawed and normal as we
-Rather than write a national epic that celebrates the destiny of a nation through battles (as Virgil did), focused
on personal moments—the inner struggles, the concrete, small details in human life to understand our
humanity
-Rather than celebrate “ennobling” martial heroic values, in his epic Ovid explores the power of Erotic Desire in
the world, especially how it can delude, degrade, and dehumanize us
-Rather than teach grand morals, questioned universal morals, especially Justice (can there be any?).
-Indeed, Ovid’s universe is AMORAL, and he deliberately disorients us. He works hard to build our sympathy
for humans who break taboos (betrayal, even incest)
-Rather than elevate the past, shown it to be just like the present: nothing special, “little,” perhaps even corrupt
-Rather than write solemnly and seriously, been playful, humorous, and wittily inventive. Indeed, sometimes he
just wants to entertain us:
-comic turns and surprises that play with our expectations
-unglamorous retellings undercut our sympathies
-the gross out: exaggeratedly over-the-top violence or breaking -taboos—repellant yet still (somehow)
fascinating