Pomona – Love? Denial?

Vertumnus and Pomona by Francesco Meizi (1493-1570). Pomona is often seen surrounded by fruit or a fruit platter. In the Metamorphoses, Pomona is pursued by many gods for her beauty. She scorns the love of these gods to remain devoted only to her garden. However, one of these gods, Vertumnus, does not give up easily. …

Envoi

And now I have completed my work,Which cannot be undone by the wrath of Jove,By fire or sword, or corrosive time. That final day,Which has power only over my body,May come when it will and end my uncertain Span of years. The better part of meWill be borne forever beyond the high stars,And my name …

Who Does Circe Think She Is?

Circe *oil on canvas (Depicted through Wikipedia) So in Ovid’s Metamorphoses we see that a lot of characters throughout stories are transformed into the weirdest things like spiders, trees (mainly trees), and animals. In Book 14, I focus more on the character Circe who is basically falling in love with men already in love and …

Quarantined on Cyclops Island!!!

Christian Segura 5-18-2020 CLAS 273 Quarantined on Cyclops Island!!!     I decided to talk about the mythological tale of Achaemenides being stranded on an island full of cyclopes because I feel it best relates to most of us being quarantined in one set location (hopefully not with people as scary as the cyclopes). This tale …

The Final Memes

I know his Roman name is Ulysses but: And this wasn't REALLY talked about in the Met but:

Is Caesar underrepresented in the Metamorphoses?

Julius Caesar may not have ever been an emperor in Rome but he was revered as being an even more important figure. One of the last stories in the Metamorphoses is entirely about how Caesar has become a god. I find it interesting how Ovid barely mentions much about Caesar’s military conquests and how important …

Heroes or Zeros? Ovid’s Views on Manliness in Books 12 & 13

The short section on ‘The Fall of Troy’ presents an almost anti-war sentiment, which stands in contrast to the tales of heroism and great deeds that preceded it. However, reviewing the ‘heroic’ tales, one sees that there is a subliminal message of the same kind present in the sad stories of ‘The Fall of Troy’ …

Down with the Cycnus

For being such a minor story, I thought that the fight between Achilles and Cycnus was a really interesting inclusion. Achilles is probably most famous for being completely invulnerable, except for his heel, since his mom held him by his heel when she dipped him in the river Styx as a baby. The Met doesn’t …

The Trojan Meme

Also! I forgot to post this meme last week but it's too good not to share: And finally, this is a couple books ago but I just found it and think we can relate: Hope y'all enjoy!

Polyphemus Defies Expectations. …Kinda?

Polyphemus is not unlike most other men in the Met. in that he thinks that he deserves whatever, or whomever, he wants. However, he is unlike the other men in the Met. because he does not seem to be physically violent towards the woman he has fallen in love with.  Galatea is in love with …