Lesson Objective to become familiar with the content of the Building of the Labyrinth, by Ovid

Lesson Objective to become familiar with the style of the Building of the Labyrinth, by Ovid

The Building of the Labyrinth Ovid, Metamorphoses Bk 8 The Building of the Labyrinth

The building of the labyrinth (Met. 8.152-168) The first passage tells how, Minos, king of Crete, returned from a successful war against Athens to find that, in his absence, his wife Pasiphae had fallen in love with a bull and, as the result of their appalling union, had given birth to the Minotaur. In order to remove this blot on his family, Minos employed the famous inventor Daedalus to construct a building in which the hideous creature could be hidden away. vota Iovi Minos taurorum corpora centum solvit, ut egressus ratibus Curetida terram contigit, et spoliis decorata est regia fixis. creverat opprobrium generis, foedumque patebat 155 matris adulterium monstri novitate biformis; destinat hunc Minos thalamo removere pudorem multiplicique domo caecisque includere tectis. Daedalus ingenio fabrae celeberrimus artis ponit opus turbatque notas et lumina flexa 160 ducit in errorem variarum ambage viarum. non secus ac liquidis Phrygiis Maeandrus in undis ludit et ambiguo lapsu refluitque fluitque occurrensque sibi venturas aspicit undas et nunc ad fontes, nunc ad mare versus apertum 165 incertas exercet aquas: ita Daedalus implet innumeras errore vias, vixque ipse reverti ad limen potuit: tanta est fallacia tecti.

vota Iovi Minos taurorum corpora centum solvit, ut egressus ratibus Curetida terram contigit, et spoliis decorata est regia fixis. creverat opprobrium generis, foedumque patebat 155 matris adulterium monstri novitate biformis; destinat hunc Minos thalamo removere pudorem multiplicique domo caecisque includere tectis. Daedalus ingenio fabrae celeberrimus artis ponit opus turbatque notas et lumina flexa 160 ducit in errorem variarum ambage viarum. non secus ac liquidis Phrygiis Maeandrus in undis ludit et ambiguo lapsu refluitque fluitque occurrensque sibi venturas aspicit undas et nunc ad fontes, nunc ad mare versus apertum 165 incertas exercet aquas: ita Daedalus implet innumeras errore vias, vixque ipse reverti ad limen potuit: tanta est fallacia tecti.

Ovid, Metamorphoses, The Building of the Labyrinth, lines 152-4 vota Iovi Minos taurorum corpora centum solvit, ut egressus ratibus Curetida terram contigit, et spoliis decorata est regia fixis. As a vow to Jupiter, Minos paid a hundred bodies of bulls, when, after disembarking from his boat, he touched Cretan land, and his/the palace was decorated with spoils (which had been) fixed up.

Ovid, Metamorphoses, The Building of the Labyrinth, lines 155-8 creverat opprobrium generis, foedumque patebat matris adulterium monstri novitate biformis; destinat hunc Minos thalamo removere pudorem multiplicique domo caecisque includere tectis. The disgrace of his family had grown and the foul adultery of the mother was obvious from the strangeness of the two-formed monster. Minos decides/determines to remove the shame from his marriage bed and to shut it in a labyrinthine home and secret buildings.

Palace of Knossos – flourishing 2000 BCE

Ovid, Metamorphoses, The Building of the Labyrinth, lines 159-61 Daedalus ingenio fabrae celeberrimus artis ponit opus turbatque notas et lumina flexa ducit in errorem variarum ambage viarum. Daedalus, most famous for the talent of a craftsman’s skill, sets up the work and confuses the directions and leads the eyes into error with the wandering complexity (flexa ambage) of different routes.

Ovid, Metamorphoses, The Building of the Labyrinth, lines 162-166 non secus ac liquidis Phrygiis Maeandrus in undis ludit et ambiguo lapsu refluitque fluitque occurrensque sibi venturas aspicit undas et nunc ad fontes, nunc ad mare versus apertum incertas exercet aquas: Not otherwise than the River Meander plays in clear Phrygian waters and, with ambiguous gliding, flows backwards and flows forwards and, meeting itself, sees waters about to come and turning now towards its source, now towards the open sea, it keeps its uncertain waters in motion;

Ovid, Metamorphoses, The Building of the Labyrinth, lines 166-168 ita Daedalus implet innumeras errore vias, vixque ipse reverti ad limen potuit: tanta est fallacia tecti. in this way Daedalus fills innumerable routes with confusion, and scarcely was he able to return to the entrance himself: so great is the deceptiveness of the building.