Ovid METAMORPHOSES A New Verse Translation Translated by David Raeburn with an Introduction by Denis Feeney Contents Preface Introduction Metamorphoses BOOK 1 PROLOGUE – THE CREATION – THE FOUR AGES – THE GIANTS – LYCAÖN – THE FLOOD – DEUCALION AND PYRRHA – PYTHON – DAPHNE – 10 (I) – INTERLUDE: PAN AND SYRINX – 10 (2) – PHAETHON (I) BOOK 2 PHAËTHON (2) – CALLISTO – THE RAVEN AND THE CROW – OCYRHOË – BATTUS – AGLAUROS – EUROPA BOOK 3 CADMUS – ACTAEON – SEMELE – TEIRESIAS – NARCISSUS AND ECHO – PENTHEUS AND BACCHUS (I) – ACOETES AND THE LYDIAN SAILORS – PENTHEUS AND BACCHUS (2) BOOK 4 THE DAUGHTERS OF MINYAS (I) – PYRAMUS AND THISBE – MARS AND VENUS – LEUCOTHOË AND CLYTIË – SALMACIS AND HERMAPHRODITUS – THE DAUGHTERS OF MINYAS (2) – INO AND ATHAMAS – CADMUS AND HARMONIA – PERSEUS (I) BOOK 5 PERSEUS (2) – MINERVA AND THE MUSES – CALLIOPE’S SONG: THE RAPE OF PROSERPINA; ARETHUSA; TRIPTOLEMUS AND LYNCUS – THE DAUGHTERS OF PIERUS BOOK 6 ARACHNE – NIOBE – THE LYCIAN PEASANTS – MARSYAS – PELOPS – TEREUS, PROCNE AND PHILOMELA – BOREAS AND ORITHYIA BOOK 7 MEDEA AND JASON – THE REJUVENATION OF AESON – THE PUNISHMENT OF PELIAS – MEDEA’S FLIGHT – THESEUS AND AEGEUS – MINOS AND AEACUS – THE PLAGUE AT AEGINA – THE BIRTH OF THE MYRMIDONS – CEPHALUS AND PROCRIS BOOK 8 SCYLLA AND MINOS – THE MINOTAUR AND ARIADNE – DAEDALUS AND ICARUS – DAEDALUS AND PERDIX – MELEÄGER AND THE CALYDONIAN BOAR – ACHELOÜS, THE NAIADS AND PERIMELE – PHILEMON AND BAUCIS – ERYSICHTHON BOOK 9 ACHELOÜS AND HERCULES – HERCULES AND NESSUS – THE DEATH OF HERCULES – ALCMENA AND GALANTHIS – DRYOPE – IOLAÜS AND CALLIRHOË’S SONS – MILETUS – BYBLIS – IPHIS BOOK 10 ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE – CYPARISSUS – ORPHEUS’ SONG: INTRODUCTION; GANYMEDE; HYACINTHUS; THE CERASTAE AND PROPOETIDES; PYGMALION; MYRRHA; VENUS AND ADONIS (I) – VENUS’ STORY: ATALANTA AND HIPPOMENES – ORPHEUS’ SONG: VENUS AND ADONIS (2) BOOK 11 THE DEATH OF ORPHEUS – THE PUNISHMENT OF THE MAENADS – MIDAS – LAÖMEDON’S TREACHERY – PELEUS AND THETIS – PELEUS AT THE COURT OF CEŸX (I) – CEŸX’S STORY: DAEDALION – PELEUS AT THE COURT OF CEŸX (2) – CEŸX AND ALCYONE – AESACUS BOOK 12 THE GREEKS AT AULIS – RUMOUR – CYCNUS – ACHILLES’ VICTORY CELEBRATION – CAENIS – THE BATTLE OF THE LAPITHS AND CENTAURS – PERICLYMENUS – THE DEATH OF ACHILLES BOOK 13 THE JUDGMENT OF ARMS – AJAX’S SUICIDE – THE FALL OF TROY – THE SUFFERINGS OF HECUBA – MEMNON – THE WANDERINGS OF AENEAS (I) – THE DAUGHTERS OF ANIUS – THE DAUGHTERS OF ORION – THE WANDERINGS OF AENEAS (2) – ACIS, GALATEA AND POLYPHEMUS – GLAUCUS AND SCYLLA (I) BOOK 14 GLAUCUS AND SCYLLA (2) – THE WANDERINGS OF AENEAS (3) – THE SIBYL OF CUMAE – ACHAEMENIDES’ STORY: ULYSSES’ MEN IN POLYPHEMUS’ CAVE – MACAREUS’ STORY: ULYSSES AND CIRCE; PICUS, CANENS AND CIRCE – THE WANDERINGS OF AENEAS (4) – THE MUTINOUS COMPANIONS OF DIOMEDES – THE APULIAN SHEPHERD – THE SHIPS OF AENEAS – ARDEA – THE APOTHEOSIS OF AENEAS – AENEAS’ DESCENDANTS – POMONA AND VERTUMNUS – IPHIS AND ANAXARETE – ROMULUS – THE APOTHEOSIS OF ROMULUS BOOK 15 MYSCELUS – PYTHAGORAS – EGERIA AND HIPPOLYTUS – TAGES, ROMULUS’ SPEAR, CIPUS – AESCULAPIUS – THE APOTHEOSIS OF JULIUS CAESAR – EPILOGUE Notes Translator’s Note Map of Ovid’s Mediterranean World Chronology Further Reading Follow Penguin METAMORPHOSES Publius Ovidius Naso was born in 43 BC at Sulmo (Sulmona) in central Italy. Coming from a wealthy Roman family and seemingly destined for a career in politics, he held some minor official posts before leaving public service to write, becoming the most distinguished poet of his time. His published works include Amores, a collection of short love poems; Heroides, verse-letters written by mythological heroines to their lovers; Ars Amatoria, a satirical handbook on love; Remedia Amoris, a sequel to the Ars; and Metamorphoses, his epic work on change. He was working on Fasti, a poem on the Roman calendar, when, in AD 8, the emperor Augustus exiled him to Tomis on the Black Sea, far from Rome and the literary life he loved. The reason for this is unclear; the pretext was the immorality of Ars Amatoria, but there was probably a political aspect to the affair. He continued to write, notably Tristia and Epistulae ex Ponto, and revised Fasti. He never returned to Rome and died, in exile, in AD 17 or 18. David Raeburn was educated at Charterhouse and Christ Church, Oxford. He followed a career as a Classics Teacher and as the headmaster of two schools. On retiring from the headship of Whitgift School in 1991, he returned to Oxford where he taught Greek and Latin to undergraduates for the Classics faculty and later for individual colleges. He is particularly interested in the performance aspects of classical poetry and is known for his productions of Greek tragedy with school and university students, mostly in the original, but also in his own translations. Another special love is Roman poetry of the Augustan period. Denis Feeney was born and received his first education in New Zealand, and went to Oxford for his D.Phil. He is now the Giger Professor of Latin at Princeton University, having held posts in Wisconsin, Bristol and Oxford. He is the author of The Gods in Epic: Poets and Critics of the Classical Tradition (Oxford, 1991) and Literature and Religion at Rome: Cultures, Contexts and Beliefs (Cambridge, 1998). Richard Ashdowne was born in 1977 and educated at the Judd School, Tonbridge, and New College, Oxford, from where he graduated in Classics in 2000. He has since continued his studies at Oxford and gone on to do further research in the field of linguistics, where he has specialized in the history of Latin and the Romance languages. As well as being a linguist and classicist, he is also a keen musician and composer, whose published works include his Missa S. Michaelis (Oriana, 2002). Preface This translation would have been impossible without the help of a number of commentaries, in particular those of William S. Anderson (Books 1–10: 2 vols., 1972, 1997), A. A. R. Henderson (Book 3: 1979), A. S. Hollis (Book 8: 1970), Neil Hopkinson (Book 13: 2000), A. G. Lee (Book 1: 1953) and G. M. H. Murphy (Book 11: 1972). D. E. Hill’s four-volume edition of Metamorphoses (Aris and Phillips: 1985–2000) is invaluable on Ovid’s sources and on many points of mythological and historical background. When in difficulty, I have often consulted the formidable commentary on the whole work in German by Franz Bömer (7 vols., 1969–86). In addition, Professor Philip Hardie most kindly allowed me to read Books 14 and 15 with the aid of his own material, which will form part of the full commentary on the Metamorphoses eventually to be published by the Fondazione Lorenzo Valla. I have much appreciated the interest shown in the venture by colleagues and undergraduates at New College, Oxford, where much of the work was done. My very special thanks are due to Pat Dawson-Taylor and Andrew Johnson who between them typed out my manuscripts and subsequently processed a long series of revisions. Also to Denis Feeney for writing the Introduction and checking my summaries and notes in draft; to Richard Ashdowne for his painstaking work in compiling the Glossary Index and the map; and to my editor, Peter Carson, for his steady encouragement and detailed comments on the work in progress. Finally, to my wife, Mary Faith, who carefully read my early drafts as I produced them and made notes which resulted in countless improvements. This project owes more than I can say to her moral and practical support; so the translation is dedicated to her. DAR