Essay: Embracing Life's Terminus in Ovid's Metamorphoses (Books 8-10)

Image by John Flaxman (1879)

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There's a definite theme to this section of Ovid's tale: the presentation of the end of life, or the end of existence. Regardless in what form it takes, the characters in this portion of the tale all find themselves in the presence of death at some level: spiritual, physical, mental, or emotional.

Starting with the story of Daedalus and Icarus, the plot unfolds to give hope that duo of father and son can somehow make an escape from their captivity on the island of Crete. However, due to the emergence of Icarus' euphoria of his new wings, he becomes overzealous and flies too close to the sun. He then falls to his death in the sea.
In the context of the time and culture that this story is told in, I would think that the significance of the death of Icarus would be to be thankful for freedom but avoid "drowning" yourself in the sensation.
(Here's a link to the story)

The poem then moves on to visit the instance of Philemon and Baucis: they're an old couple that have lived in poverty most of their lives, yet have remained very in love with each other and faithful to the gods. Jupiter and Mercury, in disguise as mortal passerbys, visit the marsh town that Philemon and Baucis reside in to test the strength of the spiritual belief of the town. The two gods are disappointed when all the doors to all houses in the village remain shut for them. However, Philemon and Baucis let the two disguised gods in, and trouble themselves with serving them dinner, despite their old age and lack of resources. Jupiter and Mercury reveal themselves and make the elderly couple the keepers of their temple for the end of their days, so that they need not suffer the pains of poverty ever again. They do this until their deaths: they pass at the same time, so that one doesn't live without the other, and they have two fruitful trees growing over their graves in their honor.
This tale points to a very traditional way to use the instance of death: even in old age, you should be content and true with yourself during the spiritual journey that you have taken in your life.
(Here's a link to the story)

The next story is that of Erysichthion, a man scornful of the gods, who most notably struck down the most sacred tree in Ceres' woods. The reason he does so is not clear, but perhaps it is purely his sense of irreverence for the gods. In any case, Erysichthion takes an axe and a squad of servants to Ceres' woods and begins to cut down this great oak. This tree is a symbol of worship to the Nymphs, an Earthly manifestation of Ceres herself. The Dryads live by it, using it as a way to channel the divine commune they have with the Goddess. Upon receiving the sound chops from the axe head, the tree begins to fall and a Nymph cries out to Erysichthion, begging him to stop. But the proud man does not cease; he continues until the tree is felled. As a result, in the next story in the unit, a chain of events is set off that turns out to be Erysichthion's undoing.
This story uses the death of the oak for a specific lessen: revere all that the gods have created, including manifestation, if only to see past your own selfish whims.
(Here's a link to the story)

The death of Hercules is an oddly gruesome one: the shirt of Nessus the centaur possesses a poison that slowly boils the blood and peels the skin off its host's musculature. Despite his great strength and courage, Hercules cannot bring himself to overcome the poison that has been inflicted on him. As death begins to take him, he laments his glory and life's journeys. After a long time of mad wandering, Hercules finds his end in a funeral pyre. The people whom Hercules was known to come from far and wide to grieve for the hero, and their cries do not go unnoticed. Zeus, upon judgement of Hercules' efforts in life to establish justice and good in the world, grants the hero the gift of immortality. This allows Hercules to shed his mortal body, and join his Olympian family in the celestial regions of their home.
I think the conditions of Hercules' death are very unusual: he is given the shirt of Nessus by his wife, who suspected him of having an affair with another woman. His wife, not knowing that the shirt was lined with poison, give it to Hercules as a sign of faithfulness to him. This background leads me to think that the lesson in the death of Hercules is that: no good deed will go unpunished, but when all is said and done, the gods are the ones who pass final judgement.
(Here's a link to the story)


(Here's a link to the unit)

Storytelling Week 3: Philemon and Baucis

A couple in the fog...

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Waking in their normal routine, the couple of Philemon and Baucis prepared each other's meager meal of oats. Neither of them expected more or less: they were a impoverished young couple in their early thirties, but had been together for a long time. Yet throughout their financial and practical hardships, their love for each other had kept the other alive. From through the window of their small hut, Philemon noticed that there was a soup-thick fog out that day, and the marsh town that they made their stead seemed eerily quiet. There was not even the sound of the daily fighting and discontent of the townsfolk. Philemon exclaimed, "Nelephon's not even on his feet yet, and he's usually right at work at the forge before anyone has even woken." It was true: not a single soul seemed to be out and about, even though it had been some hours after sunrise.

Philemon and Baucis tried to maintain their normal routine, and not let the mystery of the ghostly emptiness lead them astray. As every morning, and before every night, they both traveled to the temples of Jupiter and Mercury on the hill that overlooked the village to make their respects. After lighting the incense at the altars, the couple synchronized prayed "Most high ruler Jupiter and his best scout messenger Mercury, please hold us our lives together so that we may persevere another day to do our best in your names and for the best of our village, the members of whom have become so unjust to one another in their faults. Praise to the Gods, for peace and good will!"

They exited the temple, noticing that the fog had now moved to cover the entire hill as well as the town. They could see nothing beyond thirty paces, and they started to realize that no mortal soul in the village was left except them. And they were fearful. "Did we anger the gods? What is this new devilry?" Baucis whispered, her voice carrying through the empty, lifeless streets that they both knew so well.

Soon they could not ignore their predicament. "We must leave this town, before we are swallowed up by whatever has taken our neighbors." Baucis declared. Being in full agreement, they both started packing their belongings immediately, but only what they could carry without a mule or a carriage. As they began the last stages of their preparations, the couple heard a pair of deathly screeches out in the fog, which had now become darker from the turn of late afternoon. As Philemon went to the front entrance to investigate, he pleaded with Baucis to stay safe in their bedroom and away from the windows.

Philemon looked through the crack of the doorway out into the foggy village. Then the pair of screeches came again, and Philemon's panicked gaze darted to the sky in the direction of the calls. There in the fog, against the dying light of the sun, were the forms of two birds: an eagle and a robin. However, both of these forms were monstrous in size, and in no way normal to their natural forms. Philemon's grip on the door slipped, causing the wood to crackle. Another screech cut through the haze, and the heads of both the eagle and the robin jarred in Philemon's direction.

Philemon sprinted back to the where Baucis had hidden, whispering to her,"We must find out if any of our neighbors are still among us." Baucis had gathered her dagger and her husband's sword and they stealthily left their home through the back window, just as they both heard the crackling of talons on falling ornaments and dishes from their kitchen.

The couple searched traveled through the residences of all their neighbors like shadows, hoping not to be seen, yet still hearing the blood-curdling screeches through the fog. In all the homes of their fellow townsfolk, the couple found all possessions unattended, and the alters of the gods Jupiter and Hermes removed. "Is this why this spell has befallen us? Because all this time our neighbors were not appreciative of the gods?" Philemon queried. "Come my husband, we must leave before we are taken as well. We must retreat to the safety of the temple."

So the couple sprinted up the hill yet again, seeking the protection of their deities. Once they set down the few belongings they brought, the heavy beating of wings sounded outside, and wind from the entrance of the temple blew fiercely against the pillars and against the faces of the couple. Then silence. After several moments, the clacking of talons against the cold, marble floors echoed all the way up to the altars that the two huddled against. Baucis, whispering desperately to Philemon "Should the dark forms take me first, I wish you to take my things and save yourself.", clinging to her husband more tightly. "No!" replied Philemon,"I would rather neither of us have to live through the agony of facing the world alone." There then stood the two massive raptors, blood on their beaks and talons, the smell of human flesh blowing from their nostrils. Baucis in a fit of frightened madness, offered her and her husbands rations of food as an offering to the altar receptacle, and they both pleaded "Just and powerful Jupiter please deliver us from this fate; we offer you our last rations. If we must be taken, all that we ask is that we are taken together under your guiding wing." Just as the shadows of the massive birds were about to overtake them both, the specters faded, and so did the fog. Then, a singular, powerful, yet soothing voice rang from the top of the altar "Faithful servants of Jupiter and Mercury, you have done well in this time. We thought your town had been devoid of appreciation for the bounty we bring to sustain it year after year, and also devoid of the love for one another as your neighbors have ignored each other's happiness and grievances. But you have proven us wrong. Please, as new persons find stead here, take yourself as new heads of this town. And live in prosperity, without desperation, for the remainder of your existences. Let it be known that, to your gods, your fellow neighbors, and to each other, you both have the indomitable virtue of a good heart."

Author's note:
   The original story of Philemon and Baucis is about an old couple that lived in a marsh town that had no reverence for the Greek Gods. The couple had been together since they were very young, and despite their impoverished state of living, they were still very happy and very much in love with each other. One day, the gods Zeus and Hermes decided to go down to the village disguised as mortals to test the generosity of the village people. At every door that they come to, they are rejected by the residents. The two gods are contemplating destroying the village after seeing that their temples there have been relatively unkempt. But they decide to give one more chance to the village and visit the meager home of Philemon and Baucis. The couple welcome the two disguised gods warmly and go through the tremendous effort of preparing them an elaborate meal and places to rest. The gods, seeing the old couple's generosity, make Philemon and Baucis keepers of their temples, and ensure that they never again live in poverty for the rest of their days.
   For my story, I wanted to try my hand at a horror story. I used the symbols of the eagle and the robin as manifestations of Jupiter and Mercury taking their rage on the marsh village. I changed the reason that the gods were so angry in comparison to the original tale: in my version the Gods are solely angry at the town for their lack of reverence for their divinity. I thought this would add to the horror aspect because I find that there's a lot to be scared of when the gods of fairy tales are angry.

Bibliography:
Story original title: Philemon and Baucis, Author: Ovid, Published: near the beginning of AD
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Reading Diary B: Ovid's Metamorphoses Books 8-10

Philemon and Baucis Prepare a Meal for Jupiter and Mercury

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In this unit Ovid's books 8 through 10 are reviewed, and they give an overall sense of lingering fate. However, this doesn't necessarily mean that this is an entirely sorrowful part of the poem; there are in fact a number of parts to this unit that offer a sense of hope for a good ending to life of the characters that are featured here.

Starting with the story of Daedalus and his son Icarus, it starts out as an escape story where Daedalus finally conceives of a way to escape the island of Crete and the authoritarian rule of the King Minos. Daedalus is quite successful in his endeavor make an a pair of mechanized wings (made of feathers and wax) to help them escape. However, his son, reveling too much in the newly realized freedom that the winds bring him, flies to high and too far, allowing the sun to melt the wax and relieve the affixed feathers. This is a message that freedom does not mean that life should be taken without restraint, because if that becomes the case, one can be assured that they will feel the full gravity of their faults. (link to the story)

The poem then transitions to a story with a more pleasant end to the protagonists: the tale of Philemon and Baucis. This couple of man and wife have lived long together in Phrygia from their young days to old age, happily and wholesomely despite their impoverishment. When the gods Jupiter and Mercury decide to visit upon the town in disguise as mortals, they are disappointed by the lack of generosity and welcoming spirit of most of the community. However, Philemon and Baucis welcome them in, tirelessly prepare them food and drink despite their old age and lack of resources. As a result, they are given the honor of serving at the temple of Zeus and Mercury for the rest of their days, and the two gods plant the most fertile trees over their graves. Again, this story carries a message: even if you have very little to offer, offer it anyway, because you may be surprised the bounty that your basic generosity might inspire. (link to the story)

And then comes the story of Hercules and his fall due to the shirt of Nessus. The half-Olympian's wife is the one who gifts the shirt to him, unknowing that it carries a poison that boils the blood and tears the flesh of any who contact it. It's by this token that Hercules dies agonizingly, but for his trouble, he is allowed to return to Olympus as a true god. There's not really a message in this tale unless you adopt the ideology that the culture of the poem features: though the fate of even the mightiest beings may come to pass at the hands of the gods or mortal man, there will be compensation for those who have lived their life honorably and in service to their celestial progenitors. (link to the story)

(Here's a link to the unit page)

Reading Diary A: Homer's Odyssey Books 9-12

Odysseus sailing back home

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I like this epic because of the theme that I keep returning to: unique, mortal beings summoning all their abilities and wits to combat the supernatural or mythical challenges that they face. These mortals do this only to fulfill their own mortal wishes and desires, but then again that's all they have.

However, starting with the story of the Cyclops is an example of how even superhuman efforts by mortal men often come at the cost of time and the lives of others (sometimes those they care about). Odysseus has to play coy, yet honest, with the Cyclops by making offerings of gifts and services to catch his enemy of guard. Meanwhile, the Cyclops eats his fellow man, Odysseus being able to smell raw human meat on the monster's breath. Despite this caveat, he knows that he is saving more of his crew's lives this way.

Odysseus also uses his power of will to resist the magically augmented allure of Circe. By "resist", I do not mean remain faithful to his wife necessarily, but he does it for the survival of his crew. Nonetheless, he does put his mind first before succumbing to Circe's baits, and that alone does show that he is actions are not the superficial/instinctual drive for gratification after a long campaign away from his wife and home. Odysseus even goes one step further and demands that Circe show his men in their original form before he even dares partake in food or drink.

And even after we see Odysseus and his men escape Circe's land, we are reminded of how human Odysseus actually is when he visits the domain of Hades. Here he is haunted by the ghosts of his men, Elpenor and Teiresias, and many other souls. This is also where we see another side to Odysseus' resilience to the powers of the supernatural; he does not allow the grief of this experience to drown him in the river Styx.

Here is a link to the table of contents page for the unit