‘Metamorphoses’ - Ovid
By Kate Norrish
Staff Writer
I would like to start this article by apologizing to any Greek mythology fans reading this, because this is the only time in “The Book Report” where I will be talking about literature from the Greek Classical era. I have a confession to make - I find the study of ancient Greece and Rome really boring, probably because I have heard the same facts repeated over and over again since I was in elementary school. “Metamorphoses” is the only major exception I’ve been able to find. Written in the 8th century by Ovid, I would be surprised if you didn’t know at least a little about this book’s plot through the grapevine. It features a number of famous Greek myths, such as Cassandra, who could predict the future, and my favorite - by which I mean the myth that I don’t mind hearing over and over - Arachne the spider woman. I should also note that none of those myths include a guy turning into a giant beetle, a fact which has confused literature students for decades. This book begins when humanity does - sort of. Before the actual plot starts, Ovid, speaking as the narrator, asks the gods to help him write the book. I don’t know if that was a trope in literature of the era, but I found it to be an interesting plot point, which I interpret to be a way for the narrator to admit his bias. After that, we are told about the gods being created, which is also something that I found jarring in the best possible way. Because most of the classic literature I read is European, the concept of gods being born as a plot point - at least in a non-metaphorical way - is refreshing to see when much of my personal canon was created by Christians who believe that God has always existed. Humans are then created, and the development of the world springs from there. The point of the book is to show us how the workings of the world as they currently exist began. There is an almost Lovecraftian feel to this book. Perhaps it’s because of the uncanny similarities it has with The Bible, but I also think it’s because Ovid repeatedly reminds us of all the weirdest parts of being a living thing. The whole book is ethereal, David Lynch levels of surreal, and gives us no break from that craziness. There is an eerie sense of mystery as to why the world is no longer like the one Ovid portrays, even though I am also left wondering if the ancient Greeks believed that the world never fully changed from this state. For example, in one of my favorite essays that I have written in college so far, I wrote about how you can interpret rabies as a big part of how this book views the behavior of animals, including humans. This is because some of the oldest texts we have are about rabies, and many, many moments in the book reflect how a rabid animal would behave. When Io is turned into a cow by Hera to keep Zeus from seeking a romantic relationship with her, she behaves like a rabid cow - solemn, fearful, and lazy. The boundary between humans and animals is possibly the most major part of this book, and it makes me curious how ancient Greek society as a whole saw those boundaries. While “Metamorphoses” did sometimes give me the same sense of boredom as other Greek tellings, its style, as well as the fact that much of the book is both connecting myths together and showing atypical versions of them, diluted that feeling a little. Rest in peace to those who confused Ovid with Kafka, but they’re both good. If you’re like me and are sick of Greek mythology, this is the book you should get a hold of. I’m still not a fan of hearing these stories, but at least this will give you a rebuttal when your friends once again start bugging you about how Greek mythology is actually pretty fun. Any Greco-Roman history fans now have permission to smite me.
