Week 2 - Greek Myths: Ovid I

Pyramus & Thisbe:

This was fantastic, I read it in under 5 minutes.  There was no double-reading to check for meaning.  It was crystal clear.  Reminded me so much of Romeo & Juliet.  Misunderstandings ripping a lover from one's arms.  I just really, really enjoyed this story.
http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/03/ovids-metamorphoses-pyramus-and-thisbe.html

Perseus & Andromeda: 

I wished I could've been Andromeda when I was younger.  She was beautiful and had a handsome man, son of the God Jupiter no less, pining for her.  I mean, hello!  A man who would move heaven and earth to save her and claim her love.
http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/03/ovids-metamorphoses-perseus-and.html

Perseus & Medusa: 

I've loved this story since I can remember.  My mom used to read this one to me a lot, a bit less gory though.  The fact that one look from Medusa can turn you to stone makes fighting her and retrieving her head quite difficult.  Being inventive enough to use the inside of the shield as a mirror to watch for her without actually gazing upon her is brilliant.  

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/03/ovids-metamorphoses-medusa.html

Looking back on this last bit of Reading Diary - B, it appears that I am a hopeless romantic.  hmm?
http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/search/label/Unit%3A%20Ovid%20I

IO: DEFINITELY A FAVE

• Io was returning from her father's stream when Jup/Zeus tried to entice her to take shade from the heat and sun in the woods.  He suggested if she was afraid of the beast's dens, then she could go in safety to the remote woods - protected by none other than the god who holds heaven in his hands 
• he tells her not to flee, but she is already in flight
• Jup/Zeus hid the earth with fog, caught up with her, & raped her (butt-head)
• Juno/Hera/Saturnia
• Juno/Hera/Saturnia looked down into Argos and saw the fog covering the land in broad daylight

• she knew Jup/Zeus was up to no good ... & was engaged in his usual "cheating/sexual" activity 
• she came down to earth and parted the fogs 
• Jup/Zeus sensing her arrival changed Io into a heifer 
• Saturnia/Juno/Hera approved of the looks of the heifer & asked whose she was
• Jup/Zeus lied to stop her questioning - saying she was born from the earth
• Saturnia/Hera/Juno claimed heifer/Io as a gift 
• Jup/Zeus agrees bec not to would be to raise suspicion & Hera/Juno/Saturnia is of his race

• Juno had Argus watch Io
• Argus had 100 eyes all around his head, that rested 2 at a time, so whenever he was turned, he was still looking at her
• Io/heifer could graze in the sun, but at nightfall she was penned with a rope around her neck
• she fed on leaves and drank muddy water
• when she wished to reach her arms out to beg Argus, she could not stretch her arms, as she had no arms to stretch 
• when she tried to plead, she only mooed 
• she saw her reflection in Inachus' river & saw her horns, she fled in fear of herself 

• her father (Inachus) & her sisters found her/heifer, & admired her, but did not know it was Io
• she drew her story in the ground with her hoof
• shocked, Inachus could not believe it was her and says "he had less sorrow when she was lost than finding her in this state" (paraphrase) 
• Inachus tells Io that he had been planning a marriage & a marriage-bed, hoped for grandchildren (said as a god he was unable to die, so would mourn forever)
• now you must gain a husband from amongst the heard and get you a son 
• Argus leads her back away from her father & sisters, and sits on top of a mountain, watching her 

• Jup/Zeus could no longer stand Io/Phoronis' suffering 
• Mercury dons his winged sandals, a cap, and his wand
• when he gets to earth he sheds the sandals & cap & keeps his wand
• he disguises himself as a shepherd and begins to play on his reed pipe, steeling female cows along the way
• Argus hears the music & invites Mercury to come sit next to him on the mountain with the best grass anywhere 
• it takes all day to lure ALL of Argus' eyes to sleep, once he does he taps each eye with his wand to induce deeper sleep
• Mercury then cuts of Argus' head saying, "you are overthrown" 

• Juno's special bird is a peacock -- NOTE NEXT BIT 
• Juno takes the eyes of Argus and places them into the feathers of her own bird & filled the tail with star-like jewels 
• Juno was furious, & set a blaze of fury in front of the eye of the "slut"
• drove her running across the world 
• the Nile put an end to Io's suffering 
• when she reached the Nile she craned her neck and pointed her face up to the gods, begging for the end of her suffering 
• Jupiter grabbed Juno & tried to calm her, telling Juno that Io would never be a source of pain from this day forward 
• called the Stygian waters to witness what he was promising 
• As Juno calms down, Io reverts back to her human form 

PHAETHON & THE SUN:

• description of The Sun's palace (Phoebus) 
• raised columns, with gold & bronze
• on the doors (engraved by Mulciber--god Vulcan) waters, the globe, & the sky
• sea contained Triton, Proteus, Agaeon crushing 2 whales together, & Doris with her daughters, brushing their green hair
• above this -- 6 zodiac signs on each door (12) 
• describes Phoebus' garb
• purple robe
• throne shining with emeralds 
• to both sides - Day, Month, Year, Century, & equally spaced hours
• Spring with crown of flowers
• Summer - garland of ears of corn
• autum - stained by grapes
• Winter - had white hair 
• Sun sat in the middle of them all 

• Phoebus asked son why he was there
• Phaethon asked for his father to tell him if he was his father, and to allow him to use the name 
• Phoebus said he was his son, that his mother had not lied 
• Phoebus said to banish his doubts, he could ask for any favor and asked the Stygian Lake to witness the promise 
• before Phoebus could even sit back in his char, Phaethon had asked to ride his chariot and control the winged horses for a day 

• Phoebus regretted the oath
• he told Phaethon it was unsafe - that he is mortal and the thing he asks is not mortal 
• He told Phaethon that only he had the power to control the chariot of fire 
• not even Jup/Zeus could drive the horses 
• Phoebus says: the first part of track is steep, horses have trouble with it

• when coming over the top, the view of earth below still startles him
• the end of the track is steep & needs good control 
• even Tethys (aquatic sea goddess) fears that Phoebus might dive into the waves 
• the sky overhead turns (dizzying) 
• must move the opposite way, but still he gets dizzy 
• Phoebus asks what Phaethon would do with the chariot 
• He tells Phaethon that he still must avoid, after all of the above: 
• horns of Taurus
• the archer Sagittarius
• the Leo lion jaw 
• the pincer's of Scorpio
• the claws of Cancer the crab
• Phoebus says Phaethon would not be able to control the horses, because he barely can
• Phoebus tells him, that he is not the one giving the gift of death, there is still a chance for Phaethon to rescind his request 

Phoebus asks if it isn't enough of proof that he is his father in that he is worried for Phaethon

• ask for something else...anything else on the great earth, sky, and sea
• Phoebus says "Phaethon you ask for punishment as your reward!" 
• MAKE A WISER CHOICE 
• Phaethon still wanted the chariot 
• chariot: 
• axle of gold
• gold chariot pole
• golden rims
• silver spokes
• chrysolites & gemstones set in the chariot, set in zodiac order

Phoebus rubbed an ointment on Phaethon's face to protect from the flames & begged his son to not use the whip so much as reining the horses in, because they run fast enough already 

• do not take a path straight through the 5 zones of heaven
• the way the track is set up, it avoids the poles
• he asks him to not sink lower so that the heat & cool remains balanced 
• if he goes too high he will scorch heaven
• too low, and he will scorch earth
• do not go too far left or right 
• he tells Phaethon that it is time
• either seize the reins or change your mind

• the weight of Phaethon was lighter than Phoebus & the horses were unaccustomed to this 
• they immediately ran off the track
• Phaethon could not find the track, running wild through the heavens 
• the stars grew hot 
• Dragon, Draco, (in the frozen pole) became hot and even he, Bootës, fled in confusion

• Phaethon looks down on earth, terrified, & wishes he wasn't Phoebus' son, only Merops' son
• when Phaethon saw Scorpio, in fear of the stinger, he dropped the reins 

• when the horses realize Phaethon has let go of the reins, they veer further off course
• the chariot is running below the Moon's horses, and the clouds boil & smoke 
• the earth then bursts into flames 
• cities destroyed
• forests destroyed 
• whole nations & people destroyed 

• the Earth asks, if she has angered the king of the gods, then please do it quickly with lightning bolts, much quicker & less painful than this torture 
• the earth asks, ok, if i deserve this, fine, but does your brother, the Sea, deserve it
• if the Earth and the Sea are deserving of this, look at your heavens... they burn too 
• she begs... SAVE WHATEVER IS LEFT .... THINK OF THE COMMON INTEREST 

• Jup/Zeus heard the Earth's pleas 
• he lifted up a lightning bolt & removed Phaethon from the chariot & killed him 
• the horses pull from from the chariot 
• Phaethon falls on fire to the earth 
• claimed by the river god, Eridanus 
• here the Italian nymphs take his body and carve this into the rock: 
• here Phaeton lies, who the sun's journey made, dared all though he, by weakness was betrayed 
• Phoebus mourned his son, & there was a day without light 
• Phaethon's mother searched the world over for her son or his bones, she found his bones, but found that they were already buried 
• the Heliads (who were Clymene & Phoebus' daughters -3) cried for their lost brother

• the sisters had mourned for 4 years and wanted to die
• Phaethüsa (oldest) tried to jump to her death, ankles stiffened
• Lampetia tried to go to Phaethüsa, but was rooted 
• the 3rd tore at her hair & pulled out leaves
• the sisters were slowly covered in bark until nothing but their mouths were outside 
• their mother, Clymene, kissed each one and tried to rip the bark off, but found blood
• the daughters told her she was tearing skin & bid their mother farewell 
• they were then completely covered in bark 
• their tears still fall, as amber 

• was related to Phaethon through his mother 
• was upset the way Jupiter handled the whole situation 
• he wanted to be away from Liguria 
• he filled Eridanus' - woods where the sisters had roamed 
• his grief was so great he turned into a swan 
• he wanted to be away from the fire & live in the floods 

• Phaethon's father hated the light, himself, & the day
• refused to light/heat earth
• Phoebus calls out Jupiter - that he handled it wrong, that he should try to steer the horses & put down the lightning bolts that took his son 
• the gods all come to comfort Phoebus/Sol & Jup/Zeus threatens him
• then Phoebus lashed his horses, blaming them for Phaethon's death 

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/03/ovids-metamorphoses-pyramus-and-thisbe.html

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/search/label/Unit%3A%20Ovid%20I

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/03/ovids-metamorphoses-io.html