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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
Although I can't say much on the translation - I have only read this one.
This remains as what I think is the best piece of literature history has ever produced.
This remains as what I think is the best piece of literature history has ever produced.
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've been working my way through a list of "classics" that I didn't get to in high school or college, and this was the last one on my list from the "ancient" period. Now I'm wondering why I put it off for so long, because it is definitely one of the more enjoyable classics I've read from this period!
Metamorphoses is an epic poem broken up into 15 books, and each book's mythological stories are loosely connected by theme. The book proceeds roughly chronologically from the creation of the earth to the founding of Rome and Ovid's present day. The theme that runs throughout is change, or metamorphoses.
If you can think of a Greco-Roman myth, it's probably in here, from Diana turning Actaeon into a stag to be torn apart by his own dogs to the story of fleet-footed Atlanta being tripped up by the golden apples. You even get a touch of Egyptian mythology thrown in from time to time. The very last book is more philosophical and contains a surprisingly modern and cogent argument for vegetarianism from the ancient mathematician and scientist Pythagoras.
I purposely sought out Raeburn's translation because it's supposed to be more accessible for the modern reader, and I definitely appreciated his thorough notes. Highly recommended!
Metamorphoses is an epic poem broken up into 15 books, and each book's mythological stories are loosely connected by theme. The book proceeds roughly chronologically from the creation of the earth to the founding of Rome and Ovid's present day. The theme that runs throughout is change, or metamorphoses.
If you can think of a Greco-Roman myth, it's probably in here, from Diana turning Actaeon into a stag to be torn apart by his own dogs to the story of fleet-footed Atlanta being tripped up by the golden apples. You even get a touch of Egyptian mythology thrown in from time to time. The very last book is more philosophical and contains a surprisingly modern and cogent argument for vegetarianism from the ancient mathematician and scientist Pythagoras.
I purposely sought out Raeburn's translation because it's supposed to be more accessible for the modern reader, and I definitely appreciated his thorough notes. Highly recommended!
adventurous
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
4.25/5stars
read for my masters, not bad, def will be helpful in my shakespeare studies
read for my masters, not bad, def will be helpful in my shakespeare studies
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Kind of cheated on this one. Read until ~300 and then skipped through only the stories with the characters I'd already heard of. But yeah I don't see the vision. On the longer stories, the scene setting feels great because there's so much detail but it's uncomfortable to read today. It's the written equivalent of hitting your ear wrong. I'm sure this is the greatest book/poem of Antiquity but I don't actually believe that people today still love it more than anything else. I feel the same way about them as I do people who think 2001 A Space Odyssey is the best space movie of all time. You don't buy that man; it was just a great feat of its period.
A good few funny little jokes in it though.
A good few funny little jokes in it though.