Essay: Assessment of the Ovid's Metamorphoses (Books 8-10) Reading Unit

This week I read the Ovid's Metamorphoses (Books 8-10) reading unit and I don't know if I could be happier! The stories I read this week were really interesting because they were mostly Greek myths that I had never heard of before. Last week, I did a reading unit over Aesop's fables and while a few were new to me, many of them I had heard of before. I like making new discoveries (especially when the experience is positive) so this unit was a good fit for my interests. The myths in this weeks unit were a little odd, with plots including things like male lovers of the (male) gods, incest, and sexual attraction to inanimate objects. Yes, it was a little weird, but you have to expand your horizons! You don't usually read stories like these, so it brought a new dimension to the readings I've done for this class and for personal enjoyment.

There were a few times I wish I had known more about the backgrounds of certain myths. The previous unit included complete notes from Dr. Gibbs, but this unit did not (This was made clear beforehand but I decided I was comfortable reading the unit without them). One example where I feel like background information might have helped the story make more sense to me was the story of Ceres and Erysichthon. I have no idea why Erysichthon cut down Ceres' favorite tree. Is he just a bad guy? Did they quarrel before this story took place? I just don't understand his motivation. The story of Ganymede and Hyacinthus might benefit from some information about homosexuality in Greek culture. I'm not sure what the prevailing opinion about the practice was in ancient Greece. I know it was at least somewhat acceptable in some places but also not acceptable in other places. I would have liked just a little bit of history or a link to a website where I could read more about it.

Erysichthon fells Ceres' favorite tree (Ovid Illustrated website)

What I learned from this unit is that I need to read more about Greek mythology because I really enjoyed this unit. What has always scared me off from Greek mythology is the style it is usually written in (epic poem form) and the generally large vocabulary needed to understand what is going on. However, reading these myths proved to me that there are readable versions of Greek myths; you just have to find them. While the warning given before the unit worried me initially (i.e. "Just remember that you are reading a poem intended for a sophisticated literary audience in ancient Rome; you were not Ovid's intended audience!"), I found that I had no difficulties whatsoever with the language of the stories.

I would highly recommend this reading unit to anyone who is interested in it, with the only precaution being that you need to be prepared for a little weirdness as there are stories about somewhat taboo subjects like I mentioned before [i.e. incest, homosexuality (if that kind of thing bothers you), and sexual attraction to inanimate objects]. If none of those scare you off, you should enjoy this unit much like I did. :)