Metamorphosis

Written by Ovid in ??? Metamorphosis is a Latin narrative poem in fifteen books, describing the history of the world from its creation to the deification of Julius Caesar within a loose mythico-historical framework completed in AD 8

The Metamorphosis is a collection of stories about the character's transformations

• Book I: Cosmogony, Ages of Man, Gigantes, Daphne, Io;
• Book II: Phaëton, Callisto, Jupiter and Europa;
• Book III: Cadmus, Actaeon, Echo, Narcissus, and Pentheus;
• Book IV: Pyramus and Thisbe, Hermaphroditus and Salmacis, Perseus and Andromeda.
• Book V: Phineus, the Rape of Proserpina;
• Book VI: Arachne, Niobe, Philomela and Procne;
• Book VII: Medea, Cephalus and Procris;
• Book VIII: Nisos and Scylla, Daedalus and Icarus, Baucis and Philemon;
• Book IX: Herakles, Byblis;
• Book X: Eurydice, Hyacinth, Pygmalion, Myrrha, Adonis, Atalanta, Cyparissus;
• Book XI: Orpheus, Midas, Alcyone and Ceyx, Aesacus;
• Book XII: Iphigeneia, Centaurs, Akhillues;
• Book XIII: the Sack of Troy, Aeneas;
• Book XIV: Scylla, Aeneas, Romulus;
• Book XV: Pythagoras, Hippolytus, Aesculapius, Caesar.[1]

• The transformations of the character's indicate their inner essence. For instance the character who becomes a weeping stone.

Story of Arachne

Arachne is a very ordinary girl but she is a brilliant weaver and thinks herself equal or greater than Minerva, goddess of weaving. Minerva disguises herself as an old woman to try and and tries to dissuade her, telling Arache to say she inherited her skill from Minerva. She baulks at this idea and Minerva reveals herself and they get down to weaving two wonderful tapestries which are transformations in themselves. (Minerva) Gods transforming mortals into objects. Arachne's tapestry depicts gods as rapists or Gods turning people in to bulls. The competition is judged as a draw although Ovid describes Arachne's as the more exciting. Minerva hits Arachne with her shuttle three times. In sadness Arachne hangs herself and in pity Minerva turns her in to a spider using Hecate's posioned herbs. Is it to do with hubris, talent or ones lease on talent or the monstrosity of the Gods. In Metamorphosis no one interpretation is right. It is the story that is more important.

Freud and Metamorphosis

Ovid seems very Freudian