Ovid, Metamorphoses, Books 6 and 8 (Raeburn trans., Book 6 (Arachne and Niobe, 208-225; Tereus, Procne, & Philomela, 230-43); 8 (Scylla & Minos, Cretan Labyrinth, Theseus & Ariadne, Daedalus & Icarus, Calydonian Boar, 292-320), Proteus & Erisychthion, 329-6).)

        Raeburn describes the theme of Book 6 as picking up a sequence of presumptuous mortals punished by vengeful gods, which began in Book 5 (208-9).  The translator's point might be well taken, but one can imagine many of those transformed mortals exclaiming about the gods' petty jealousy.  Is there a point at which the balance tips in your sense of justice from the mortals' rightful ambition to something so outrageous as to reasonably offend the gods?  Though it might sound impious to suggest that gods should be subject to rational judgment, first Plato, and then Virgil, held them to that test and found the ancients' explanation of the gods wanting in justice.  With Ovid, we are on the verge of this new era in theological thinking.  Where does it take you?

        Book 8 seems to concentrate on humans' injustice to each other.  Central to the narrative is the hunt for the great wild boar of Calydon.  As Raeburn points out, this narrative had been very popular in Homeric times, and it shows up in vase paintings, architectural details, and pottery.  What about the narrative do the artists all pay attention to, and how do they show us what we are supposed to care about in the images?  Has Ovid, perhaps, seen similar images?  Remember that, like Longus, Ovid likes ekphrasis, describing often imaginary works of art as a way to get readers to see scenes from his narrative.  Look for passages that begin "Imagine . . . " or "Suppose . . . " connected with his narrative with the simile's "so" or "as."  These may develop further Ovid's expression of an aesthetic theory in practical use (in effect telling readers, "this is how art should be made beautiful").

1)  How would Arachne's behavior be explained by a Classical Greek? What might it mean as an allegory of the artist?  (Also see the common topos of "the spider and the bee" as models for bad and good artists, for example in Jonathan Swift's "Battle of the Books.")

2)  How is Niobe's problem related to Arachne's, and how might you compare their punishments?

3)  What signs does Ovid look for to explain an unhappy marriage like Tereus and Procne?  How does he explain Tereus' behavior, and how might that relate to a Roman point of view?

4)  How might the conditions of Procne and Philomela describe  how women's voices are controlled by their relationships?  How  does Philomela regain the power to communicate to her sister, and  what might Ovid mean by that?

5)  Compare Medea's "soul struggle" with the speech Euripides gave her in which she debated killing her children.  How does Ovid's version resemble Euripides', and how does its content and context differ?  What changes has O made in our reception of Medea?

6)  As Jason goes through the tests before he can have the Golden Fleece, how does O represent Medea's role in Jason's success?  How does this affect your picture of their relationship?

7)  How does O deal with Medea's "barbarian" identity?  When does he raise it as an issue in her relationship with Jason? 

8)  What does Jason ask Medea for when they return with the Golden Fleece, and how does this shape her character her in ways which differ from Euripides' Medea?  Especially, how does Ovid's version of the killings of Glauce, the princess, and Jason's sons, take on a new significance in the context of Medea's dealings with Pelias?

9)  By what method does O introduce additional mythic materials into his narrative of Medea's flight to Corinth, and what dangers or advantages do you see in his method?

10)  How does Scylla, in her fury, analyze the unfortunate marriage of Minos and Pasiphae?  What might this mean about the relationship between human form and human qualities?

11)  Ovid takes special care to describe Daedalus' plan for the labyrinth.  What relationship might it have to Ovid's own project in Metamorphoses?

12)  Daedalus and Icarus long have been seen as models for proper and improper (but attractive) conduct of human inventive powers.  What general principles could you derive from their behavior and its consequences, and how might Horace have interpreted it?

13)  Why is the invasion of a wild boar an appropriate consequence of the failure to honor Diana?  (Compare Acteon.)

14)  Why do they quarrel over the Calydonian boar, and what are its consequences  for Meleager?  In Althea's speech, with whom does she argue? Explain the structure of this speech?

15)  What is Proteus and where have we met him before?  Why is he identified with the sea?

16)  Who is Erysichthon's daughter's husband, and where have we met him before?  Why is she an appropriate mate for this man?

17)  Compare the blasphemy of Erysichthon with those of Pentheus, Minyas' daughters, Arachne, and others?  Note the invention of the allegorical figure, "Hunger."  What do the attributes of Hunger mean, when interpreted?  Why is Hunger female in this story?