Ovid I: Reading Diary B

Perseus with the head of Medusa by Benvenuto Cellini

• Tiresias changes gender by seeing two snakes mating?
• He settled an argument between Jupiter and Juno.  He agreed with Jupiter and Juno was pissed.
• Juno made him blind, but Jupiter made him see the future to make up for it.
• Echo had a body, but lost it and became only a voice
• Echo distracted Juno and was basically the watch guard for the nymphs who were with Jupiter
• Narcissus is a bit of a butthead to Echo
• Ironically, when he thinks that his reflection is leaving him (rippling) he calls it cruel to leave somehow who has loved him.  He, however, is cruel to those who claimed to love him.
• Wait, does he beat himself to death or does he just mysteriously melt away?
• Pyramus and Thisbe are the basis for Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
• They live in Babylon
• “No one had discovered the flaw in all those years – but what can love not detect?” Interesting quote.  It really stuck out to me.
• They were supposed to meet by a mulberry tree
• ““Unhappy boy, your own hand, and your love, have destroyed you! I too have a firm enough hand for once, and I, too, love.”  Another line that really stuck out to me when I was reading.  This is right before Thisbe kills herself
• Good guy Apollo (Sol or whatever other names he has in the story)
• “There the two lay shamefully bound together, and one of the gods, undismayed, prayed that he might be shamed like that”  What god is being talked about here?  Dionysus?
• I’m super curious about Atlas.  Isn’t he supposed to be holding up the heavens?  How is he able to do all this if he is holding everything on his shoulders?  Did he take a break?
• Atlas just didn’t want his stuff stolen and told Perseus to go away.  The Perseus acted like he was going to give Atlas something.  Surprise! It was Medusa’s head and Atlas was turned to stone (Atlas Mountains)
•  “‘O, you do not deserve these chains, but those that link ardent lovers together”  Okay, Perseus was a bit of a flirt