Introduction to Western Literature and Arts
Lecture Note-3: Ovis's Metamorphoses B1, B2
Quiz 3

Table of Contents

1. Structure of Ovid's Metamorphoses
2. Some mythological concepts behind the transformation
3. Reading Book 1: The Creation and the Four Ages
4. Reading Book 2: The Love of Gods and Goddesses

Structure of Ovid's Metamorphoses

[Answer the following questions briefly. Use only one paragraph for each question.]

1. What is the purpose (theme) of  Ovid's Metamorphoses
2. Give your Synopsis of the story of creation in Metamorphoses Book 1.
3. What is the significance of "chaos" and "order" in Book 1

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Some mythological concepts behind the metamorphoses

[Explain the meaning of the following terms.]
Themis
Moerae
Erinyes
Nemesis

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Reading Book 1: The Creation and the Four Ages

1. According of Ovid's Metamorphoses, what distinguish human from other animals?
2. Essay Question:
Compare the story of the flood in Summerian epic (Gilgamesh), Hebraic myth (Genesis), and Greco-Roman myth (Ovid's Metamorphoses, Book 1).  Discuss the following elements of the flood stories: a. The cause of the flood. b. The process of the flood. c. the meaning of the flood to human d. the relation of God (Gods, Goddesses) to human.

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Reading Book 2: The Love of Gods and Goddesses

Essay Question:
1. If the story of Lycaon's transformation is about the punishment for profanity, and the survival of Deucalion and Pyrrha from the flood is about gods's gift for piety, then what do the stories of the loves of the gods (Apollo, Jupiter) suggest to you about the quality of Greco-Roman gods? What is your opinion about this arrangement?

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Composed and Edited by Chen Chi-szu
Revised: 十月 22, 1998.