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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
funny
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I remember buying this book in college as a "text book" for my Greek and Roman mythology class. Little did I know my husband had this book on his shelf to read for fun. I'm sure if I had been dating him at the time I would have gotten an A in the class instead of a B+.
Anyway, we only read sections of this book for class, so why did I decide to read the whole thing? Because I saw a book called "1001 Books You Should Read Before You Die" (or something to that effect) and this book was #2 right after Aesop's Fables. It took me like 10 years to finish this book because I read it so slowly.
Anyway, lots of Greek myths about mortals and Gods. And it seems like there was always incest, rape, or some form of curse put on someone throughout the whole thing. Not my ideal of a fun read, but it is a classic! My biggest beef was that the chapters were so long and each story merged into another one without a good segway or introduction, so that was confusing and hard to keep track of.
Let's just say I'm not going to continue with book #3, and I'll pick my own books that I want to read before I die. 🤪
Anyway, we only read sections of this book for class, so why did I decide to read the whole thing? Because I saw a book called "1001 Books You Should Read Before You Die" (or something to that effect) and this book was #2 right after Aesop's Fables. It took me like 10 years to finish this book because I read it so slowly.
Anyway, lots of Greek myths about mortals and Gods. And it seems like there was always incest, rape, or some form of curse put on someone throughout the whole thing. Not my ideal of a fun read, but it is a classic! My biggest beef was that the chapters were so long and each story merged into another one without a good segway or introduction, so that was confusing and hard to keep track of.
Let's just say I'm not going to continue with book #3, and I'll pick my own books that I want to read before I die. 🤪
April 2025 read: comparing with other translations, especially Martin's and Lombardo's (preferring the latter).
This translation felt a bit clunky - maybe prioritizing word for word translation rather than the poetics of the english language.
Interesting introduction!
« many contemporary thinkers, writers, and artists continue to find the Metamorphoses to be fruitful soil for exploring their own identities. A twenty-first-century artist such as Elizabeth Colomba, for instance, can adopt Ovid’s ancient subject matter to highlight the absence of Black women like herself from the European artistic canon, even as she claims a position for herself within it. Writers such as Rita Dove, Paisley Rekdal, and Nina MacLaughlin can similarly explore contemporary women’s struggles by rewriting and reimagining Ovidian myth, adopting Ovid’s own focus on psychological trauma and powerlessness. Or Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Jericho Brown can use the Ovidian figure of Ganymede as a way of exploring enslavement and its legacy in the American South, stripping away the comforting narratives in which many take refuge. »
« Despite the temporal distance that separates us from Ovid’s Rome, the Metamorphoses holds up a spectacularly kaleidoscopic lens to the modern world, one that helps us reflect upon our own (in)humanity, our vulnerability, and our capacity for change. Ovid poignantly explores the innate fragility of the human body, how subject it is to forces beyond our control, and he recognizes how traumatic such lack of agency can be. He illuminates how power works and how it can dehumanize both its wielder and its victim, and he invites us to consider how the objectifying gaze still remains an overwhelming presence in our culture. He treats the connections among desire, gender, and the body in surprisingly relevant ways, showing that what we think of as modern concepts such as gender fluidity and asexuality are hardly new concepts at all. He acknowledges that the body we are born with might not ultimately reflect who we are, and he reveals how sexuality, love, and desire are themselves social phenomena subject to metamorphosis. He reminds us that, no matter how voiceless we feel, humans will always strive toward expression and agency. And he never lets us forget that chaos may be unleashed into our world at any moment, and crisis is unavoidable, but equally that the world is resilient, and change is inevitable. »
Icarus Book VIII: lines 225-330
« As he advised and worked, the old man’s cheeks
grew wet. His hands were shaking. He gave kisses
he never would repeat. Aloft on wings,
he flies in front, afraid for his companion,
just like a bird that leads her tender fledgling
from their high nest into the air. He prompts him
to follow as he teaches deadly arts. »
« The boy began to revel in bold flight
and left his leader. Longing for the heavens,
he flew too high. The blazing sun, now near,
softens the fragrant wax that binds his wings.
The wax has melted! He is flapping bare
and wingless arms that cannot catch the wind!
And as his mouth cries out his father’s name,
it sinks into the sea named after him.
The wretched father—not a father now—
said, “Icarus! Where are you, Icarus?
Where can I find you?” “Icarus!” he kept
repeating. In the waves he saw the wings.
Cursing his arts, he buried his son’s corpse.
The one entombed there lent the land his name. »
Book X: Orpheus and Eurydice (lines 60-90)
« Through the still hush they take a sloping path—
arduous, dark, and thick with murky fog.
They weren’t far from the surface of the earth
when, scared that she might falter and intent
on seeing her, the lover turned his eyes.
She slipped back instantly. The wretch reached out,
attempting both to catch and to be caught,
but only grabbed thin air. The wife, now dying
again, made no complaint about her husband,
for what could she complain about except
that she was loved? She said one last goodbye
he barely heard, then fell back where she’d been. »
Book IV : Pyramus and Thisbe (lines 80-180)
« Your hand and love destroyed you, hapless boy.
I have a brave hand too, for this one deed,
and love, which will put force into my wounds.
I’ll follow you in death! I will be called
your death’s most wretched cause and its companion.
Only by death could you be torn from me,
but death won’t tear you from me. Both of us
implore our grieving fathers, mine and his:
Do not refuse to let us share a tomb,
joined as we are by our unwavering love
and by our final moments. Tree, your boughs
now shroud one piteous corpse. Soon they’ll shroud two.
Retain these marks of slaughter. Always bear
dark, mournful fruit as relics of twin carnage.’
She spoke and held the sword, still warm with blood,
low to her chest, then fell on its sharp point.
Her prayers did sway the gods. They swayed the fathers.
The berries turn a dark shade when they’re ripe,
and in a single urn those ashes rest. »
Epilogue: lines 935-950
« I’ve made a masterpiece Jove’s wrath cannot
destroy, nor flame, nor steel, nor gnawing time.
That day, which governs nothing but my body,
can end at will my life’s uncertain span.
And yet my finer half will be eternal,
borne among stars. My name can’t be erased.
Where Roman power spreads through conquered lands,
I will be read on people’s lips. My fame
will last across the centuries. If poets’
prophecies can hold any truth, I’ll live. »
This translation felt a bit clunky - maybe prioritizing word for word translation rather than the poetics of the english language.
Interesting introduction!
« many contemporary thinkers, writers, and artists continue to find the Metamorphoses to be fruitful soil for exploring their own identities. A twenty-first-century artist such as Elizabeth Colomba, for instance, can adopt Ovid’s ancient subject matter to highlight the absence of Black women like herself from the European artistic canon, even as she claims a position for herself within it. Writers such as Rita Dove, Paisley Rekdal, and Nina MacLaughlin can similarly explore contemporary women’s struggles by rewriting and reimagining Ovidian myth, adopting Ovid’s own focus on psychological trauma and powerlessness. Or Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Jericho Brown can use the Ovidian figure of Ganymede as a way of exploring enslavement and its legacy in the American South, stripping away the comforting narratives in which many take refuge. »
« Despite the temporal distance that separates us from Ovid’s Rome, the Metamorphoses holds up a spectacularly kaleidoscopic lens to the modern world, one that helps us reflect upon our own (in)humanity, our vulnerability, and our capacity for change. Ovid poignantly explores the innate fragility of the human body, how subject it is to forces beyond our control, and he recognizes how traumatic such lack of agency can be. He illuminates how power works and how it can dehumanize both its wielder and its victim, and he invites us to consider how the objectifying gaze still remains an overwhelming presence in our culture. He treats the connections among desire, gender, and the body in surprisingly relevant ways, showing that what we think of as modern concepts such as gender fluidity and asexuality are hardly new concepts at all. He acknowledges that the body we are born with might not ultimately reflect who we are, and he reveals how sexuality, love, and desire are themselves social phenomena subject to metamorphosis. He reminds us that, no matter how voiceless we feel, humans will always strive toward expression and agency. And he never lets us forget that chaos may be unleashed into our world at any moment, and crisis is unavoidable, but equally that the world is resilient, and change is inevitable. »
Icarus Book VIII: lines 225-330
« As he advised and worked, the old man’s cheeks
grew wet. His hands were shaking. He gave kisses
he never would repeat. Aloft on wings,
he flies in front, afraid for his companion,
just like a bird that leads her tender fledgling
from their high nest into the air. He prompts him
to follow as he teaches deadly arts. »
« The boy began to revel in bold flight
and left his leader. Longing for the heavens,
he flew too high. The blazing sun, now near,
softens the fragrant wax that binds his wings.
The wax has melted! He is flapping bare
and wingless arms that cannot catch the wind!
And as his mouth cries out his father’s name,
it sinks into the sea named after him.
The wretched father—not a father now—
said, “Icarus! Where are you, Icarus?
Where can I find you?” “Icarus!” he kept
repeating. In the waves he saw the wings.
Cursing his arts, he buried his son’s corpse.
The one entombed there lent the land his name. »
Book X: Orpheus and Eurydice (lines 60-90)
« Through the still hush they take a sloping path—
arduous, dark, and thick with murky fog.
They weren’t far from the surface of the earth
when, scared that she might falter and intent
on seeing her, the lover turned his eyes.
She slipped back instantly. The wretch reached out,
attempting both to catch and to be caught,
but only grabbed thin air. The wife, now dying
again, made no complaint about her husband,
for what could she complain about except
that she was loved? She said one last goodbye
he barely heard, then fell back where she’d been. »
Book IV : Pyramus and Thisbe (lines 80-180)
« Your hand and love destroyed you, hapless boy.
I have a brave hand too, for this one deed,
and love, which will put force into my wounds.
I’ll follow you in death! I will be called
your death’s most wretched cause and its companion.
Only by death could you be torn from me,
but death won’t tear you from me. Both of us
implore our grieving fathers, mine and his:
Do not refuse to let us share a tomb,
joined as we are by our unwavering love
and by our final moments. Tree, your boughs
now shroud one piteous corpse. Soon they’ll shroud two.
Retain these marks of slaughter. Always bear
dark, mournful fruit as relics of twin carnage.’
She spoke and held the sword, still warm with blood,
low to her chest, then fell on its sharp point.
Her prayers did sway the gods. They swayed the fathers.
The berries turn a dark shade when they’re ripe,
and in a single urn those ashes rest. »
Epilogue: lines 935-950
« I’ve made a masterpiece Jove’s wrath cannot
destroy, nor flame, nor steel, nor gnawing time.
That day, which governs nothing but my body,
can end at will my life’s uncertain span.
And yet my finer half will be eternal,
borne among stars. My name can’t be erased.
Where Roman power spreads through conquered lands,
I will be read on people’s lips. My fame
will last across the centuries. If poets’
prophecies can hold any truth, I’ll live. »
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
This translation was not my favorite. It didn't keep the rhyme, cadence or scheme of the one I read as a young adult. I'm sure it is properly translated, but it is not well done in the spirit of the original. If you prefer prose to poetry, this might be for you.
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes