Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Reading Notes: Ovid's Metamorphoses I, Part A


This collection of stories about Jupiter (Zeus), some of the other gods and their dealings with humans was interesting.

I was surprised at the way it blatantly said Jupiter raped the two girls, and frustrated that Juno blamed not only her husband but the girls as well, when they did nothing wrong. The goddess Diana also blamed her follower for getting pregnant by Jupiter, when again, she did nothing wrong.

I thought the story about Paethon was sad, but I guess the lesson there was to not bite off more than you can chew, or be content with what you have. Though I didn't understand why the sisters were turned into trees at the end. Maybe to symbolize regrowth after the earth was caught on fire by the Sun's chariot. I'm really not sure.

Thinking about what kind of retelling I could do, I thought maybe something about the two girls that were wronged by Jupiter. I would like to write something that is more empowering for the women who were victims and instead of them thinking Jupiter "loved" them, they are able to do something to right the wrong.

Perhaps they could rally together the other gods to punish Jupiter for his rapist and adulterous habits, and Juno could help them. Then they themselves could ascend to Olympus and become goddesses themselves so that no man could ever touch them without consent again.

Bibliography: Ovid's Metamorphoses, books 1-4 by Ovid, translated by Tony Kline

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