Meta Description: Join Dr. Jeff Winkle and Dr. David Noe in Ad Navseam Episode 61 as they return to the shifting world of Ovid. From the petrification of Atlas to the tragic hubris of Niobe, explore how the Latin language captures the terrifying beauty of transformation. Plus, discover the meaning of “Hard Yakka” and why you should never boast to a goddess.
Introduction: Late Night in the Vomitorium
Welcome back to the “Vomitorium,” listeners! It is Episode 61 of the Ad Navseam Podcast. The setting is late night, the vibe is intellectual, and your hosts, Dr. Jeffrey T. Winkle and Dr. David C. Noe, are ready to roll.
Dr. Winkle notices that Dr. Noe looks a little “disgruntled” across the table. But Dr. Noe corrects him immediately: he is actually “completely gruntled.” He has decided to “take the ‘I’ out of irascible”. It is a “feelings-based culture,” after all, and tonight the feelings are good. The hosts joke that they should have conducted the entire episode in “pantomime” after a silent comedy routine at the door, which would have been “radical” but perhaps difficult for an audio medium. Instead, they are excited to return to Ovid and the Metamorphoses after a brief hiatus. There is a lot of “petrification” on the menu tonight—stories of people turning into stone—so steel your nerves for a journey into the heart of Roman mythology.
Shout-Out: The Australian Odysseus
Before we get to the myths, we have a fantastic international shout-out. Last week we were in Scotland; this week we head down under to Sydney, Australia. The listener is Ron Chalice, a man with a resume that reads like an adventure novel. He majored in Latin and Ancient History, throwing himself into the ancient world (though he notes that “Egypt did not do it for me,” a sentiment the hosts find amusingly gratuitous). Ron eventually became the head of learning for the Australian Federal Police, leading Dr. Noe to imagine him policing the skies for rogue boomerangs. However, Ron has since returned to the classroom to teach Latin at Regents Park Christian School. He compares his return to teaching to Odysseus returning to his “own little kingdom” of Ithaca. Ron also introduces the hosts to a brilliant piece of Australian slang: “Hard Yakka.” It comes from the Yagara language of the Brisbane area and means “physically draining work.” Teaching remotely? That is definitely hard yakka.
The Opening Quote: Ovid the Compulsive
Dr. Winkle sets the stage with a quote from Alan Griffin (1977), which highlights the sheer volume of Ovid’s output.
“The amount of Ovid’s surviving poetry is almost exactly equal to the sum total of poetry which has come down to us from Lucretius, Catullus, Virgil, Horace, Tibullus, and Propertius.”
Ovid was a “compulsive writer.” As he wrote in his own autobiography, “Whatever I tried to write was verse.” He couldn’t help himself. He was like a rapper who couldn’t stop freestyling, or a jazz musician constantly scatting. He was, as Gilbert Murray put it, “utterly in love with poetry”. This technical facility is what makes Ovid so dangerous and so delightful. He can write anything, and he knows it.
Vignette 1: Perseus and the Mountain of Stone
The first story tonight comes from Book 4 of the Metamorphoses. It features the hero Perseus fresh off his victory over Medusa. But Ovid being Ovid, he skips the main event. We don’t get a long description of the fight with Medusa. Instead, we pick up after the battle, with Perseus flying over the Libyan desert carrying the severed head in a bag. The Etiology of Snakes: As Perseus flies, drops of blood fall from the head into the sand. The Earth reanimates them into poisonous vipers. This is why North Africa is full of snakes. It is a classic etiology (origin story).
The Star Wars Connection: Perseus flies west to the realm of Atlas (modern Tunisia/Morocco). This sparks a memory for Dr. Winkle. He recounts a trip to Tunisia where he woke up at 4:00 AM to ride dune buggies into the Sahara to see the sunrise. But the real surprise was stumbling upon the abandoned set of Star Wars. Dr. Winkle admits, however, that it wasn’t the iconic Mos Eisley from A New Hope. It was the set from The Phantom Menace, which he describes as “probably the worst one of all.” Still, standing among the papier-mâché and chicken wire ruins, he realized Perseus had flown over this very spot long before George Lucas arrived.
The Stone Giant: Perseus asks Atlas for Xenia (hospitality), flashing his resume: “My dad is Jupiter, and I just killed a Gorgon.” Atlas, fearing a prophecy that a son of Jupiter will steal his golden apples (which are guarded by a dragon and massive walls), rudely rejects him. Perseus, physically outmatched by the giant Titan, delivers a classic one-liner:
“Since you are able to show me so little kindness, here is a little kindness for you.”
He whips out the head of Medusa. Atlas is instantly petrified. His beard becomes trees, his hands become ridges, and his head becomes the mountain peak that holds up the sky. It is the origin of the Atlas Mountains.
Vignette 2: Niobe and the Tears of Stone
The second story, from Book 6, is one of the most tragic in all of mythology: Niobe. Niobe is the queen of Thebes, wealthy, beautiful, and the mother of 14 children (7 sons and 7 daughters). But she suffers from a fatal flaw: Hubris. She interrupts a festival honoring Latona (Leto), the mother of Apollo and Diana. Niobe asks: “Why worship her? She only has two kids. I have fourteen! I am seven times the mother she is!”
The Delian Swimmer: In discussing Latona, Dr. Noe drops a fascinating linguistic nugget. Latona gave birth on the island of Delos. The inhabitants of Delos were famous for being the only Greeks who actually liked to swim in the sea (most Greeks feared it). Thus, the Latin phrase Delius Natator (“A Delian Swimmer”) became an idiom for someone who is really, really good at something. Dr. Noe has been trying to work this phrase into casual conversation, with limited success.
The Slaughter:
Latona, enraged by the insult, sends her children, Apollo and Diana, to avenge her honor.
What follows is a scene of cinematic violence. Ovid describes the death of the seven sons with Tarantino-esque detail.
- Ismenus: Shot while riding a horse.
- Sipylus: Shot while trying to flee like a ship captain furling sails.
- Phaedimus and Tantalus: Pinned together by a single arrow while wrestling . Dr. Noe points out the gruesome specificity of Ovid’s descriptions, such as one brother who is struck “precisely where the leg begins and ligaments of the knee form a spongy connection.” It is so over-the-top that it teeters on the edge of the absurd.
Even after her sons die, Niobe remains defiant. “I still have more than you!” she screams at the empty sky. So, the daughters fall next. Niobe begs for the life of the very last, smallest daughter, but even she is struck down.
The Transformation:
Broken by grief, Niobe turns to stone.
“Her tongue itself… is frozen… her veins are no longer able to be moved… Her innards are also stone.”
A whirlwind carries her back to her homeland in Phrygia (Turkey), where she becomes a rock on Mount Sipylus that “flows even now with tears.” It is a story that moves us to pity, even for a woman who brought it on herself. Dr. Winkle notes that Harry Houdini has a statue of a weeping Niobe on his grave—a symbol of grief that cannot be escaped.
Sponsors: Fuel for Your Transformations
This deep dive into the Latin language and Roman myth is brought to you by:
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- The Deal: Visit ratiocoffee.com and use code ANCO for 15% off.
- The Moss Method: Want to read about Niobe’s hubris in the original languages? Dr. Noe’s self-paced course takes you from “Neophyte to Erudite” with expert guidance.
- The Deal: Visit LatinPerDiem.com to start your journey.
The Gustatory Parting Shot
We end this heavy episode with a bit of levity from the late, great comedian Mitch Hedberg. It’s a joke that Dr. Winkle delivers with gusto, perhaps to lighten the mood after Niobe’s tragedy (and before the “National Granola Association” arrives to rent the vomitorium for their annual meeting):
“I ordered a club sandwich, but I’m not even a member. I like my sandwiches with three pieces of bread. ‘Well, so do I!’ ‘Then let’s form a club.'”
Valete! (And remember: Delius Natator).
Resources for the Latin and Greek Learner:MossMethod: Ready to tackle the Latin language or Ancient Greek? Visit LatinPerDiem.com to start your journey today!
