Lecture 18: The Aeneid and Mythologizing the Present in Ovid’s Metamorphoses

Ovid’s In nova “Of bodies changed to other forms I tell; You gods, who have yourselves wrought every change, Inspire my enterprise and lead my lay In one continuous song from nature’s first Remote beginnings to our modern times.” A history of the (mythological) universe by looking at transformation Adoption & Adaptation of Greek myths

Ovid’s Aeneid: The Underworld Vergil Ovid Past, Present, and Future mingle Aeneas sees warriors from the Trojan war, Dido, his father, future Romans Aeneas’ future quest is clarified “Aeneas did her [the Sibyl’s] bidding and saw the rices of Hell’s frightful realm and his own ancestors and the aged ghost of great-hearted Anchises; he learnt too that region’s rules and what new perils he must face afresh in war. …. Retracing thence his weary steps he eased his journey’s toil in converse with his guide…”

The Sibyl’s Story Ovid’s focus in his “Little Aeneid” is on what? “Know, lest you should err in ignorance, I once had offered me eternal life, life without end, if I lost my virginity to Phoebus’ love. Hope for that and meaning to corrupt my hear with bribes, ‘Choose, Sibyl, what you will”, he said, “and you shall win your choice.” Ovid’s focus in his “Little Aeneid” is on what? Cf. Acis & Galatea, Scylla

More tales of change Hippolytus to Virbius – From Greek to Roman Vertumnus & Pomona – how does V. embody his name? Aesculapius The importance of Apollo (cf. Apollo and Daphne) Moved from Greece to Rome

Caesar’s transformation & the progress of Ages “…Venus stood within the senate-house, unseen of all, and snatched from Caesar’s corpse the new-freed soul Before it could dissolve into the air, And bore it up to join the stars of heaven, And, as she bore it, felt it glow and burn. She launched it from her bosom. Up it flies Above the moon, a tress of flaming fire Streaming behind, and shines as a bright star. Now, seeing the achievements of his son, He grants them greater than his own, well pleased To be surpassed. …Even so did Atreus yield to Agamemnon’s claim of honour, So Aegeus to Theseus, Peleus to Achilles; Indeed to choose an instance to must match Them both, Saturn is less than Jove.”

Coinage, Divus Julius

The Importance of Julius Caesar From man to god – or man to myth? His comparison to Augustus is related with what simile? How is the story of Julius Caesar different from other tales in the Metamorphoses? Is there any precedent for Ovid’s treatment of Caesar? Does it remind you of anything?