Meta Description: Join Dr. David Noe and Dr. Jeff Winkle in the Vomitorium for a scholarly exploration of Ovid. We examine the Metamorphoses, the myth of Apollo and Daphne, and the tragic circumstances of the poet’s exile (carmen et error).
Introduction: A Balmy Day in the Vomitorium
Welcome back to the “Vomitorium,” listeners. In Episode 8 of the Ad Navseam Podcast, hosts Dr. David Noe and Dr. Jeff Winkle settle in for a delectable discussion of Greco-Roman civilization. It is an overcast day in Grand Rapids, Michigan, but inside the studio, it is “warm and balmy”—an appropriate climate for discussing a poet whose work is characterized by passion, wit, and tragic reversal.
Today, we turn our attention to Publius Ovidius Naso, known to the world simply as Ovid.
If Vergil is the “high priest” of Latin literature—solemn, patriotic, and burdened by destiny—Ovid stands as his counterpoint. He is the poet of the individual, of eros, and of the fluid nature of reality. He is the brilliant, complex voice of the late Golden Age.
Who Was Ovid? (The Anti-Vergil)
Ovid was born in 43 BC, a pivotal year in Roman history marked by the assassination of Cicero. He died in 17 AD, surviving the Emperor Augustus by just three years.
Dr. Noe describes Ovid as the “anti-Vergil.” While Vergil composed the Aeneid to glorify Rome and the Julian clan, Ovid wrote to entertain and to explore the human condition.
- Vergil: Serious, weighty, the vates (prophet-poet).
- Ovid: Playful, cynical, the tenerorum lusor amorum (playful poet of tender loves).
He was a man of immense natural talent. He famously remarked that “whatever I tried to say came out in verse.” He possessed a poetic facility that allowed him to move effortlessly between genres, from elegy to epic.
The Magnum Opus: Metamorphoses
While Ovid established his reputation with love poetry (Amores, Ars Amatoria), his enduring masterpiece is the Metamorphoses.
This massive epic, spanning 15 books, narrates the history of the world from Creation to the deification of Julius Caesar. However, unlike traditional history, it is a history of change.
The Theme: The central theme is “bodies changed into new forms” (In nova fert animus mutatas dicere formas). Ovid invokes the gods not merely for inspiration, but to acknowledge their agency in these transformations. The poem presents a kaleidoscope of myths where humans are transformed into trees, birds, stars, and stone—a world defined by flux and instability.
Tale 1: Apollo and Daphne (The Origin of the Laurel)
The hosts analyze one of the most significant narratives in the collection: the pursuit of Daphne by Apollo.
The Setup:
Apollo, fresh from his victory over the Python, mocks Cupid (Eros), dismissing him as a child playing with weapons.
Cupid, asserting his own power, ascends Mt. Parnassus and draws two arrows from his quiver:
- The Gold Arrow: Sharp and gleaming, creating uncontrollable love. He strikes Apollo.
- The Lead Arrow: Blunt and heavy, creating an aversion to love. He strikes the nymph Daphne.
The Chase:
Apollo is consumed by desire, while Daphne, wishing to emulate the virgin goddess Diana, flees.
The chase is a terrifying spectacle of a god hunting a mortal. As Apollo closes in, Daphne prays to her father, the river god Peneus, for deliverance.
The Metamorphosis: Just as Apollo reaches for her, transformation overtakes her. Bark encloses her chest, her hair turns into leaves, and her arms become branches. She is transformed into a Laurel Tree (Laurus). Denied the woman, Apollo embraces the tree. He declares that since she cannot be his wife, she will be his tree. The laurel wreath thus becomes the symbol of victory, poetry, and the Caesars.
Dr. Winkle’s Analysis: This story serves as an etiological myth (a myth of origins), explaining the cultural significance of the laurel wreath. It also highlights the often capricious and cruel nature of the gods in Ovid’s universe.
Tale 2: Jupiter and Io (The Cloud Cover)
Next, the hosts discuss a narrative that illustrates Jupiter’s infidelity and Juno’s vigilance: the myth of Io.
The Setup: Jupiter spies the maiden Io. To conceal his actions from his wife Juno, he creates a supernatural “cloud cover” over the earth. Juno, observing from Olympus, notices the anomaly—a sunny day everywhere except for one specific shadow. Suspecting her husband’s treachery, she descends.
The Transformation: Caught in the act, Jupiter hastily transforms Io into a cow (a heifer). Juno, feigning ignorance, admires the animal and asks, “Where did this cow come from? Can I have it?” Jupiter, trapped by his own deception, is forced to surrender Io to Juno.
Argus Panoptes: To ensure Jupiter cannot retrieve her, Juno sets a guard over the cow: Argus Panoptes (Argus “All-Eyes”). Argus possesses 100 eyes. When he sleeps, he closes only two at a time, making him the ultimate watchman.
The Resolution: Jupiter dispatches Mercury (Hermes) to rescue Io. Mercury uses his reed pipes to play monotonous music and tell tedious stories until all 100 of Argus’s eyes close in sleep. Once the monster is incapacitated, Mercury slays him. Juno collects the 100 eyes and places them on the tail of her favorite bird, the Peacock—another etiological explanation for a natural phenomenon.
The Tragedy of Exile: Carmen et Error
The episode concludes with a somber discussion of Ovid’s final years.
In 8 AD, at the height of his fame, Ovid was suddenly banished by Emperor Augustus to Tomis (modern-day Constanta, Romania) on the shores of the Black Sea.
The Causes of Exile:
Ovid attributes his punishment to two causes: Carmen et Error (A Poem and a Mistake).
- The Poem (Carmen): This is universally accepted to be the Ars Amatoria (The Art of Love). This sophisticated guide to seduction directly contradicted Augustus’s moral reforms and his “Family Values” legislation.
- The Mistake (Error): This remains the great mystery of literary history. Ovid writes, “My eyes were my undoing.” He witnessed something forbidden.
- Dr. Noe speculates it may have involved Julia, Augustus’s granddaughter, who was exiled around the same time for immorality. Did Ovid witness a compromising situation? Was he complicit in a scandal? The truth remains lost to history.
Life in Tomis: For a sophisticated urbanite who thrived on the culture of Rome, Tomis was a living death. It was a bleak outpost on the edge of the empire where the inhabitants did not speak Latin and the Danube froze in winter, allowing barbarian raids. Ovid spent his final years writing desperate epistles (Tristia and Epistulae ex Ponto) pleading for a reprieve that never came. He died in exile in 17 AD .
Latin and Greek Language Spotlight
For students of the classics, here are the key terms from this episode to furnish your mental treasury:
- Metamorphoses: Transformations. The title of Ovid’s epic.
- Carmen et Error: “A poem and a mistake.” The twin causes of Ovid’s exile.
- Vates: The poet-prophet (a role embraced by Vergil but rejected by Ovid).
- Laurus: The laurel tree (Daphne).
- Argus Panoptes: Argus the All-Seeing.
- Ars Amatoria: The Art of Love (the poem that likely precipitated Ovid’s fall).
Sponsors
This episode is brought to you by:
- The Moss Method: Accessible, self-paced, expert Greek instruction. Go from “Neophyte to Erudite” at mossmethod.com.
The Gustatory Parting Shot
We conclude with a reflection from the satirist Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver’s Travels, on the nature of courage:
“He was a bold man that first ate an oyster.”
Indeed. Whether navigating the politics of Rome or the culinary unknown, fortune favors the bold.
Valete!
