Willie Ho

I did not enjoy reading the Metamorphoses by Ovid. Not only was its length intimidating, but its text was awfully unusual. Out of the three stories we have covered so far, I am sure to say that this was probably the worst. Our theme between the three stories focuses on flood-myths. However, in the large scale of words in the Metamorphoses, only a small portion of it has anything to do with the flood. It is only a brief mention of why the flood was started (Jupiter) and who (Deucalion) was responsible fore saving life from the flood. Deucalion, like Noah and Utanapishtim from The Genesis and The Epic of Gilgamesh, built an ark to preserve life from being wiped out by the flood. The difference was that only Noah and Deucalion built floods, since Utanapishtim built a boat. Although there existed a few detail differences, the main plot of the story were alike throughout all the myths. Though reading the three texts did spark a few questions left unanswered in my mind. Did all three texts make reference to the same flood? Hypothetically, if these myths were true, were Noah, Utanapishtim, and Deucalion actually the same person? Lastly, what goal did the writer of these myths have in mind? The writers of the Genesis probably had some ambition of promoting a certain morale through the text. But the reason for writing the Epic of Gilgamesh or the Metamorphoses is something I cannot understand or predict.