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Reading Ovid

Page 5

by Peter Jones


  Murphy, G. M. H. 1972. Ovid: Metamorphoses Book XI (Oxford: Oxford University Press)

  Otis, B. 1966. Ovid as an Epic Poet (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)

  Solodow, J. B. 1988. The World of Ovid’s Metamorphoses (Chapel Hill and London: University of North Carolina Press)

  Syme, R. 1978. History in Ovid (Oxford: Clarendon Press)

  Wilkinson, L. P. 1955. Ovid Recalled (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)

  Study section

  Brown, S. A. 2005. Ovid: Myth and Metamorphosis (Bristol: Bristol Classical Press).

  Fantham, E. 2004. Ovid’s Metamorphoses (Oxford: Oxford University Press)

  Fowler, D. 2000. Roman Constructions (Oxford: Clarendon Press)

  Hardie, P. 2002. Ovid’s Poetics of Illusion (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)

  Hardie, P. (ed.) 2002a. The Cambridge Companion to Ovid (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)

  Hardie, P., Barchiesi, A. and Hinds, S. (eds.) 1999. Ovidian Transformations (Cambridge Philological Society, Supplementary Volume 23)

  Map 1 Mainland Greece

  Map 2 The Western Aegean and Asia Minor

  Map 3 The Central and Eastern Mediterranean

  1 Deucalion and Pyrrha, Metamorphōsēs 1.348–415

  Background

  The universe has been created, but man has become greedy and aggressive. The Giants launch an attack on Jupiter, and his lightning strikes them down, but from the Giants’ blood springs a yet more savage race. Jupiter summons the gods and tells them that he has decided to destroy mankind; when the gods object, he promises to replace men with a better race. He sends a flood, which overwhelms the earth and kills everyone – except Deucalion and Pyrrha. Sailing in their little boat, they come ashore near Delphi on Mount Parnassus, the only place not yet submerged. Jupiter sees them and, realising what a god-fearing, right-minded and devout couple they are, he stays the flood, which slowly retreats. As the waves die down, the earth rises up – empty and bare.

  Deucalion was son of Prometheus (‘Forethought’), who was credited with making mankind out of the clay of the earth. Prometheus’ brother was Epimetheus (‘Afterthought’), and Pyrrha was his daughter. Prometheus and Epimetheus were sons of Iapetus, one of the gods known as the Titans.

  1.348–57: Deucalion realises that he and Pyrrha are alone and in danger

  †redditus orbis erat; quem^ postquam uīdit ^inānem

  et †dēsōlātās^ agere alta silentia ^terrās,

  †Deucaliōn lacrimīs^ ita Pyrrham adfātur ^obortīs:

  350

  ‘ō †soror, ō coniunx, ō fēmina sōla superstes,

  †quam commūne^ mihī ^genus et patruēlis orīgō,

  †dnde torus iūnxit, nunc ipsa perīcula iungunt.

  †terrārum, quāscumque uident occāsus et ortus,

  nōs duo †turba sumus; possēdit cētera pontus.

  355

  haec^ quoque †adhūc uītae* nōn est ^fīdūcia *nostrae

  ^certa satis; terrent etiam nunc †nūbila mentem.’

  1.358–62: Deucalion expresses his fears, should they be parted

  †‘quis^ tibi, sī sine mē fātīs ērepta fuissēs,

  nunc ^animus, †miseranda, foret? quō^ sōla timōrem

  ferre ^modō †possēs? quō cōnsōlante dolērēs?

  360

  namque ego (crēde mihī), sī †tē quoque pontus habēret,

  tē sequerer, coniunx, et mē quoque pontus habēret.’

  1.363–6: They are the sole remnants of the human race

  †‘ō utinam possim populōs reparāre paternīs

  artibus, atque animās fōrmātae^ īnfundere ^†terrae!

  nunc genus^ in nōbīs* †restat ^mortāle *duōbus –

  365

  sīc †uīsum superīs – hominumque exempla manēmus.’

  1.367–74: In tears, they decide to seek an oracle at the deserted temple

  dīxerat, et flēbant; †placuit caeleste^ precārī

  †^nūmen, et auxilium per sacrās^ quaerere ^sortēs.

  nūlla mora est; adeunt †pariter Cēphīsidas undās^,

  †ut nōndum ^liquidās, sīc iam uada nōta ^secantēs.

  370

  †inde ubi lībātōs^ irrōrāuēre^liquōrēs

  uestibus et capitī, flectunt †uestīgia sānctae^

  ad †dēlūbra ^deae, quōrum fastīgia turpī^

  pallēbant †^muscō, stābantque sine ignibus ārae.

  1.375–80: They prostrate themselves and ask for help

  ut templī tetigēre †gradūs, prōcumbit uterque

  375

  †prōnus humī, gelidōque^ pauēns dedit ōscula ^saxō,

  atque ita †‘sī precibus^’ dīxērunt ‘nūmina*^iūstīs

  *uicta †remollēscunt, sī flectitur īra deōrum,

  dīc, †Themi, quā^ generis* damnum reparābile *nostrī

  ^arte †sit, et mersīs^ fer opem, mītissima, ^rēbus!’

  380

  1.381–9: The goddess Themis gives them baffling instructions

  mōta dea est, sortemque dedit: ‘discēdite †templō,

  et uēlāte caput, cīnctāsque^ †resoluite ^uestēs,

  ossaque post †tergum magnae^ iactāte ^parentis!’

  †obstipuēre diū; rumpitque silentia uōce

  Pyrrha †prior, iussīsque deae pārēre recūsat,

  385

  †detque sibī ueniam pauidō^ rogat ^ōre, pauetque

  laedere iactātīs^ †māternās* ^ossibus *umbrās.

  intereā repetunt caecīs^ †obscūra* ^latebrīs

  *uerba datae sortis, †sēcum inter sēque uolūtant.

  1.390–7: Deucalion guesses at the oracle’s meaning

  inde †Promēthīdēs placidīs^ Epimēthida ^dictīs

  390

  mulcet, et ‘aut †fallāx’ ait ‘est sollertia nōbīs,

  aut (pia^ sunt nūllumque nefās †^ōrācula suādent!)

  magna parēns †terra est; lapidēs in corpore terrae

  ossa †reor dīcī; iacere hōs post terga iubēmur.’

  coniugis †auguriō quamquam Tītānia mōta est,

  395

  spēs tamen †in dubiō est: adeō caelestibus^ ambō

  †diffīdunt ^monitīs; sed quid temptāre nocēbit?

  1.398–402: They take a chance and start throwing stones behind them

  †dēscendunt, uēlantque caput, tunicāsque recingunt,

  et iussōs †lapidēs sua post uestīgia mittunt.

  saxa^ (quis hoc †crēdat, nisi sit prō teste uetustās?)

  400

  pōnere †dūritiam coepēre, suumque rigōrem

  †mollīrīque morā, ^mollītaque dūcere fōrmam.

  1.403–15: A new race is formed

  mox ubi crēuērunt, nātūraque mītior †illīs

  contigit, †ut quaedam^ – sīc nōn ^manifesta – uidērī

  ^fōrma potest hominis, sed †utī dē marmore ^coepta,

  405

  nōn †^exācta satis, rudibusque* ^simillima *signīs.

  †quae^ tamen ex illīs aliquō* ^pars ūmida *sūcō

  et ^†terrēna fuit, ^uersa est in corporis ūsum;

  quod †solidum est flectīque nequit, mūtātur in ossa;

  410

  quae^ modo †^uēna fuit, sub eōdem nōmine mānsit;

  inque breuī †spatiō, superōrum nūmine, saxa

  missa uirī manibus †faciem trāxēre uirōrum,

  et dē fēmineō^ reparāta est †fēmina ^iactū.

  inde genus †dūrum sumus experiēnsque labōrum,

  et †documenta damus quā^ sīmus ^orīgine nātī.

  415

  Learning vocabulary for Passage 1, Deucalion and Pyrrha

  adeō to such an extent, so

  anim-a ae 1f. soul, spirit, breath

  cingō 3 cīnxī cīnctum surround, encircle, gird up; pass. be situated, lie round

  coniunx coniug-is 3m/f. wife, spouse

  crēscō 3 crēuī c
rētum grow, be born, increase, swell, advance

  de-a ae 1f. goddess

  dēscendō 3 dēscendī dēscēnsum descend, go down

  dict-um ī 2n. word, saying

  dūr-us a um hard, tough, robust, harsh, severe, strict

  faci-ēs – 5f. looks, appearance, sight, beauty, face

  fāt-um ī 2n. fate, destiny, death

  fēmine-us a um woman’s, feminine, female

  flectō 3 flexī flexum bend, curve, avert, steer

  fleō 2 flēuī flētum weep

  fōrmō 1 shape, form, mould

  gelid-us a um cold

  humī on the ground

  iaciō 3 iēcī iactum throw (away), hurl; pile up

  in dubiō = in doubt; dubi-us a um uncertain, doubtful, ambiguous

  inde from there, as a result, hence

  īr-a ae 1f. anger, rage, wrath

  iungō 3 iūnx-ī iūnct-um join

  iuss-um ī 2n. injunction, order, command

  iūst-us a um just, righteous, lawful, fair

  lacrim-a ae 2f. tear

  mātern-us a um mother’s, maternal

  molliō 4 soften, calm, weaken, appease, allay, tame

  monit-a ōrum 2n. pl. advice, warning, precepts

  mortāl-is e mortal, human

  nāscor 3 dep. nātus be born, arise, come into being, be suited; nāt-us a um can = (x years) old; son/daughter of + abl.

  nefās n. wrong, crime, sacrilege, horror

  nōt-us a um usual, well-known, familiar

  nūbil-um ī 2n. cloud, mist; cf. nūb-ēs is 3f. cloud

  nūmen nūmin-is 3n. power, divinity

  ops op-is 3f. help, aid

  ōrācul-um ī 2n. oracle

  orb-is is 3m physical world

  orīgō orīgin-is 3f. birth, origin

  os oss-is 3n. bone

  ōscul-um ī 2n. kiss

  patern-us a um father’s, paternal

  paueō 2 be frightened, fear

  pauid-us a um terror-struck, fearful

  pi-us a um holy, dutiful, faithful, just

  pont-us ī 2m. sea

  possideō 2 possēd-ī possess-um hold, possess

  prec-ēs -um 3f. pl. prayers

  precor 1 dep. pray to, entreat

  prior -is former, earlier (of two), having prior place, elder

  quī- quae- quod- cumque who/which/what-ever

  repetō 3 repetīuī repetītum return/go back to, recall, repeat, attack again

  sānct-us a um sacrosanct, sacred, holy, blessed, upright, pure

  sax-um ī 2n. stone

  soror-is 3f. sister

  sors sort-is 3f. oracle, lot

  suādeō 2 suāsī suāsum recommend, urge, advocate

  super-ī ōrum 2m. powers above, gods

  temptō 1 try out, test, investigate, examine, try

  terg-um ī 2n. back, rear, far side

  trahō 3 trāxī tractum attract, bring in my wake; drag, draw after, carry off, acquire, extend

  uēlō 1 veil, cover, conceal

  uestīgi-um ī 2n. footstep, footprint, track, walk, trace

  uest-is is 3f. clothes, dress, cloth

  und-a ae 1f. wave, water

  ūs-us ūs 4m. use, employment, function, utility, need

  uterque utriusque both, each (cf. uter utr-a um)

  utinam would that, O that (+ subj.)

  Study section

  1. Write out and scan ll.363–6, 408–15.

  2. At 398, many texts prefer to print discēdunt. Why? See 381. How might one defend dēscendunt?

  3. What picture does Ovid present of the relationship between Deucalion and Pyrrha, and how does he do it?

  4. Take any five lines, consecutive or not, and explain why they give you pleasure.

  5. Here are two versions of the story by the Greek myth-collector, Apollodorus (third century BC) and the Latin myth-collector, Hyginus (probably second century AD). How is Ovid’s version different, and with what result?

  Apollodorus

  ‘Prometheus’ son was Deucalion . . . he married Pyrrha, the daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora (the first woman made by the gods). And when Zeus had it in mind to destroy the race of bronze, Deucalion, on Prometheus’ advice, constructed a chest, filled it with provisions and got on board with Pyrrha. Zeus’s storms flooded the greater part of Greece . . . but Deucalion, floating in the chest over the sea for nine days and nights, drifted to Parnassus, and there, when the rain stopped, he landed and sacrificed to Zeus God of Escape. And Zeus sent Hermes to him and allowed him the choice of whatever he wanted; and Deucalion chose to have people. On Zeus’s orders, he took up stones and threw them over his head, and the stones which Deucalion threw became men, and the stones which Pyrrha threw became women. This is how people came to be called people (Gk. laos), from (Gk.) laas, a stone.’

  Apollodorus, Library 1.7.2

  Hyginus

  ‘After the flood . . . the whole human race perished except for Deucalion and Pyrrha, who took refuge on Etna, said to be the highest mountain in Sicily. Since they could not live on account of their loneliness, they asked Jupiter either to provide humans or drown them too. Then Jupiter ordered them to throw stones behind them. Those thrown by Deucalion became men, those by Pyrrha, women. For this reason they are called laos, since laas in Greek means “stone”.’

  Hyginus, Genealogiae 153

  Vocabulary and grammar

  348 reddō 3 reddidī redditus restore to view, return

  *orb-is is 3m. physical world. See p. 20 n.3

  quem . . . uīdit: quem refers to the world, i.e. ‘after he [i.e. Deucalion] saw it’, a connecting relative, RL107; for relatives generally, see RL106, W17; uīdit also controls agere . . . terrās, an acc. and inf. i.e. ‘and [after he saw] that the dēsōlātās terrās agere alta silentia . . .’ etc., RL98–9, W25

  inān-is e empty

  349 dēsōlāt-us a um deserted. An impressively doom-laden word, with its four heavy syllables, to be followed by an alta silentia

  silentia agō be silent (lit. ‘pass-time-in silences’). Note silentia, ‘poetic’ pl., where we would expect s

  350 Deucaliōn 3m. Greek nom. s., Deucalion

  *lacrim-a ae 2f. tear. For the scansion, see Metre 2(c)

  adfor adfārī 1 dep. address

  obortus: 4th p.p. oborior 4 dep. spring up, well up (abl. abs. with lacrimīs, RL150–1, W24)

  351 *soror -is 3f. sister (first cousins, actually: see below). Note the three word-groups (‘tricolon’), beginning with the same word ō (‘anaphora’), increasing in length (‘rising’) and without a word for ‘and’ (‘asyndeton’). These are common rhetorical features in Ovid

  *coniunx coniug-is 3m/f. wife, husband. The o scans heavy because it is followed by two consonants, n + consonantal i (=j, cf. ‘conjugal’; see Metre 5). The derivation is con (=cum) + iungō, cf. iūnxit, iungunt below

  superstes superstit-is surviving

  352 quam: object of iūnxit, iungunt

  patruēl-is e from a paternal uncle. Pyrrha was the daughter of Epimetheus, brother of Deucalion’s father Prometheus. For the scansion, see Metre 2(c)

  genus . . . orīgō . . . torus: the subjects of iūnxit (353); they develop soror and coniunx (351) in slightly different terms. As often in Latin, even though there are plural subjects, the verb is in the singular. This forms another tricolon, but is capped by a fourth item, nunc . . . iungunt (making a tetracolon), strongly contrasting past and present

  *orīgō orīgin-is 3f. birth, origin

  353 nde: is not a diphthong; the two vowels are slurred into one (‘synizesis’)

  tor-us ī 2m. marriage-bed. -us scans heavy because the next word, iūnxit, begins with consonantal i

  *iungō 3 iūnx-ī iūnct-um join. Note the rhetorical contrast of dnde . . . nunc and torus . . . perīcula. The different forms of iungō exemplify the figure of speech known as polyptoton (see the Glossary of Technical Literary Terms)

  354 terrārum: ‘[and] of the lands, whichever (object) occāsu
s et ortus (subjects) uident . . .’

  *quī/quae/quod- cumque who/which/what-ever

  occās-us ūs 4m. setting

  ort-us ūs 4m. rising (of the sun)

  355 turba: i.e. the sum total, the whole lot – a fine example of Ovid’s wit in combining such contrary ideas

  *possideō 2 possēd-ī possess-um hold, possess

  *pont-us ī 2m. sea. More fine balance – nōs (A) turba (B) sumus (C) – possēdit (C) cētera (B) pontus (A). This ‘reversed’ order is known as ‘chiasmus’. It is common in Ovid. Note cētera – n. pl.: everything, not just humans, has been submerged

  356 adhūc . . . nōn: not yet

  fīdūci-a ae 1f. trust, faith (in [the chances of] nostrae uītae)

  357 *nūbil-um ī 2n. cloud, mist

  Learning vocabulary

  coniunx coniug-is 3m/f. wife, husband, spouse

  iungō 3 iūnx-ī iūnct-um join

  lacrim-a ae 2f. tear

  nūbil-um ī 2n. cloud, mist

  orb-is is 3m. physical world

  orīgō orīgin-is 3f. birth, origin

  pont-us ī 2m. sea

  possideō 2 possēd-ī possess-um hold, possess

  quī/quae/quod- cumque who/which/what-ever

  soror -is 3f. sister

  358 quis . . . quō (360) . . . quō . . . (362): note the tricolon of three questions, each clause this time becoming shorter. quis, usually ‘who?’, can be used as an adjective, as here (quis . . . animus ‘what . . . state of mind?’, RLI4, W19)

 

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