Jordan Hernandez, Metamorphoses

Metamorphoses by Ovid begins with the creation story. It is said that the earth and the sky are created but there is some uncertainty concerning how man was created. The story progresses by introducing and explaining the different ages of mankind, including the golden, silver, bronze and iron ages. With each successive age, humanity becomes more and more corrupt, which angers the gods, particularly Jove, or Jupiter. The impression left upon him by Lycaon incites him to unleash the flood that destroys life on earth except for Deucalion and his wife. They are then left with the responsibility to repopulate the earth. The story goes on to describe the fate of Daphne and Io, who were each transformed into a laurel tree and cow respectively. This is why I did not enjoy this story. I felt as though it dragged on and the story line was all over the place. I was expecting it to concentrate on the flood and the reasons for the flood and Gods wrath, like genesis and the epic of Gilgamesh. I guess I just wasn't that interested in the rest of the story once the flood story was over. This week in class we discussed the the many similarities and differences amongst the three creation myths. It was definitely interesting to draw comparisons between each story.