Reading Notes: Ovid's Metamorphoses: (Books 1-4), Part A

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Mount Parnassus in 1821 by Edward Dodwell (Wikimedia)

Week 4 Part A: Ovid’s Metamorphoses: (Books 1-4)

Deucalion and Pyrrha:
  •  Jupiter = Greek Zues; Neptune = Poseidon; Early flood myth. D and P only survivors. Themis = God of Law and order. D son of Titan god Prometheus, Pyrrha daughter of Titan god Epimetheus and wife Pandora.
  • Interesting paragraphs. Action packed, seems to come from verbs, and does not feel passive. “The world is drowned.” All animals die except for ocean dwellers. Possible use for trickster animal experiencing flood.
  • Transfer to passive voice now as focus settles on story.
  • D and P come to rest on a mountain, Mount Parnassus that peaks above clouds in completely flooded world, really cool opportunity for descriptive imagery – link to limbo type world
  • Jupiter clears clouds and Neptune calms the sea/Triton arises from ocean and blows conch returning rivers and streams to return – cool imagery 
  • Probably want to retell this one with the addition of some heavy descriptive imagery. The story has incredible potential for this with the plot, but leaves imagery out.
  • Magic conch basically reversing flood, Earth also rises, slime clinging to trees, Some imagery but could expand
  • Deucalion and pyrrah looking out at emptiness and incredible silence
  • D wants to be as Prometheus and re-sculpt mankind from the clay
  • Springs of Cephisus, temple of Themis swamped, ask how can repair mankind
  • Themis moved asks them to scatter bones of great mother behind them, fear at first, realize great mother earth and bones are stones of earth. 
  • Give it a try and stones become marble statues and then become people
  • Moral of toughness of race and ability to endure hard labor derived from origin in stones
I want to retell this story keeping central plot portions (Angered gods and flood; survival and experience of D and P on mountain; Nept and Jupt calm everything; Emptiness; ask for forgiveness; rebirth of man) and retell by enhancing imagery, something that is a bit neglected here. This will be my spin: retelling through imagery rather than (nearly) pure action of original writing.

Bibliography
"Deucalion and Pyrrha" from Ovid's Metamorphoses, translated by Tony Kline (Story Link) (Book Link)

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