THE METAMORPHOSES OF PUBLIUS OVIDIUS NASO

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OVIDII NASONIS METAMORPHOSEON. LIBKK III.
Talibus exemplis monite nova sacra frequentant,
Thuraque dant, sanctasque colunt Ismenides aras.
ark) was born at Thebes. The following
Orphic fragment of a Hymn to Bacchus,
according to the above interpretations, re
fers to Noah, as born of the ark:
Trrtpoytvtis Afdvutrof finjipoavvtjv n6pc Svriroiy.
The ox-born Bacchus comfort brought to men.
In Syriac, as we have remarked before,
K'PIN signifies both a bull, and an ark or
ship.
But agnin, since the heathens had an in
distinct tradition ol the Cherubim which
was set up at the garden of Eden, and in
troduced it in many of their emblems, as I
have shown in the note upon Veliibra decs,
p. 83, the above line from Orpheus may
adumbrate Adam, as well as Noah, by
considering Bacchus as born of the mys
terious Cherubim, of which the form of the
ox made a conspicuous part. In one place
in the Scriptures, cherubim ts used for ox.
See Explicatio of Fab. XIII. Lib. I.
Under circumstances plainly referring
to the Flood, Bacchus is also described as
born of an egg, which is an apt figure of
the Ark, fraught as it was with animal
life :
Tlpuriiyovov fraXeu liQvij, fii-yav ai3ep6ir\ayKTov,
Sltiyevij, xPvat Qlolv dynMGnEVov irrtf/VYCaaiv,
Taitfc/3rfu*', ycvtaiv /Jatfdpcw Svrjruv r' avSpaiirur.
OKi'llEUB, Hymn v.
I invoke Protogoiius, two-fold, Uie great wan-
derer-under-heaven, born-of-an-egg, gloriously-
represented with golden wings, bull-roarer,
source of the gods and mortal men.
The adornment of golden wings refers
to the Dove, encircled, probably, by the
rays of the rainbow. How he is born of
an egg, and is the source of gods and men,
will appear from what follows. We have
before said, that Noah, Bacchus, and Osi
ris are the same:
*Oy Noie, Kai biGwaos, ital'Qoipis KaXrfrac.
TZKTZES.
Now, the Baris or ark of the Egyptians,
NOT-iE.
What does Pemheus resolve to do ?
Whvther does he go ?
Where was Citheeron ?
What was the character of its scenery ?
Does Penthcus attempt to discover what
was done in the mysteries ?
Who first sees him ?
What does she do to him ?
What animal did Agave take him to be ?
membra viri sunt di-
repta manibus nefan-
dis.
was represented by an egg, and the egg-
like buildings in the Grecian Hippodrome
arc called by the name of Baris, in Vitru
vius. The sacred Baris is often seen con
taining the eight gods of the Egyptians,
who, no doubt, were the eight persons
comprising Noah and his family, and who
were probably regarded by their posterity
as divine personages. The nocturnal con
secration ol the egg was, therefore, of
great account in the mysteries of Bacchus,
remarking upon which, Porphyry says, it
represented the world.
'Ep/jqpcuciv fe TO cLuf rdf tc6cuov.
APlin EUSEB. PREP. Ev.
That world was Noah and his family,
comprising all of human and of besiial
life. In like manner, too, Arnobius de
scribes the Syrian gods as sprung from
eggs:
Titanes, el Bocores Mauri, et ovorum proge
nies, Dii Syri. LIB. i.
Atargatis (Dercetis), which signifies a
sea-monster, and was an emblem of the
Ark, represented half man and half fish,
is described by Simplieius, in his comment
upon Aristotle, as a receptacle of the gods:
fijtf ^vpiav 'ATapyaTlv rS-nov SEUV Ka\iovat.
SIMPLICIUS IN ARISTOT.
Macrobius also makes Atargatis the mo
ther of the gods, giving her the same
character as is given to Khca or Cybclc;
and the Genius of the Ark, under the
character of Rhea and Cybcle, is styled
by Lucretius:
Magnn deum rnater, materque ferarum.
I.IB. ii. 583.
The pomegranate itself. Two (Rhea),
from which the goddess Rhca is named, is
a fit representation of the Ark, for its
shape is egg-like, and it contains abundant
seeds disposed within it.
33. Ismcnides. The Theban women, so
called from Israenus, a river of Bceotia.
QU^ESTIONES.
Whom did she call to her aid ?
What moving appeal did Pentheus make
to his aunt, Autonoii ?
What did Autonoe do to him ?
What was the fate of Arisen ?
Who tore off the head of Pentheus ?
What did she do with it ?
What effect had this destruction of Pen-
theus upon the Thebans ?
P. OVIDII NASONIS
METAMO1IPHOSEON.
LIBER IV.
ARGUMENTUM.
.NOTWITHSTANDING the example afforded by the fate of Pentheus,
Alcithoe and her sisters will not admit the divinity of Bacchus. When
all the other Theban women lay aside their engagements, to join in the
festival of the god, they continue their spinning and weaving, while they
lighten their labors by the recital of various stories. The principal 6f
these was the story of Pyramus and Thisbe, upon whose tragical death,
the fruit of the mulberry tree, under which they lay, was changed from
white to black. At the conclusion of their stories, strange noises are
heard, apparitions and lights are seen in the house, and the sisters are
changed into bats. Still cherishing implacable hatred against the house
of Cadmus, Juno visits the Infernal regions, and employs Tisiphone, one
of the Furies, to affect with madness, Ino, the daughter of Cadmus, and
Athamas, her husband. Under this influence, Athamas slays Learchus,
while Ino, with Melicerta in her arms, leaps into the sea, of which they
become deities. The attendants who had followed Ino are changed into
rocks and birds. Overcome with the accumulated miseries of their
descendants, Cadmus and Hermione abandon Thebes, arid going into
Illyria, are changed into serpents. Their principal solace is the thought
that the powerful deity, Bacchus, is descended from them. Acrisius of
Argos is now the only one that denies the divine character of the god.
He refuses to believe that Bacchus is the son of Jupiter, and in like man
ner does not cre'dit that his own grandson, Perseus, is born of Jupiter, by
Danae. The valorous deeds of the latter are a proof of his descent.
After the slaughter of the Gorgon, he now stopped to claim the hospi
tality of Atlas, and on being repulsed by him, changes him into a moun
tain. Afterwards, in his passage through the air, Perseus beholds An
dromeda chained to a rock, and slays the monster who is advancing from
the sea to devour her. Perseus marries Andromeda, and at the bridal
feast relates the manner in which he had slain the Gorgon, and cut off"
her head. Many serpents spring up from the drops of blood that fell;
the winged horse, Pegasus, also, and his brother Chrysaor.
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