O vengeful god

Revenge is a common theme in the metamorphoses that is generally a motive for the gods liberal transforming. Most of the transforming has to do with broken promises or whatever. One act of vengence struck me as odd though. In the story of Mercury and Battus, Mercury tests the chatterbox's word by offering more than his previous reward for more information concerning the missing herd. this seems strange because looking at the situation it appears that mercury wanted him to tattle. he seemed to enjoy his revenge.

I suppose its not wrong to enjoy revenge, but this was almost unethical. it was like ancient entrapment. Past posseses the present. Cops do it all the time today.

losing religion

The idea of questioning faith doesn't come up very often in ancient literature. Probably because they fear the same fate as Arachne or Pentheus. Hecuba questions her faith as a prisoner, but its nothing compared with modern atheism. I find it interesting that people have basically stopped interpreting the lessons literally when they claim to believe in the repercussions of not believing so strongly. Many christians pick and chose what they want to believe to make it nice and convenient, with little regard for morality. maybe its our modern times that dictate was is probable that explains why so many people don't believe. but god forbid any gay person be allowed to marry.

Maybe i got it wrong and people were just as defiant of their own belief system then as they are now. but judging by the violent repercussions of defiance i don't know who would have the balls.

Modern man in Lysistrata

Though the play Lysistrata is hilarious in its idea that women can use sex to control even the most powerful of men, that idea may not be so useful today. Maybe comedian Ron White said it best, "I'm a good dog, but if you never pet me, I won't stay on the porch." It seems that the idea of fidelity today is far less a priority than it was then. Just look at situations like Bill Clinton, either he isn't getting any or his manhood works overtime; judging by what an ice queen Hildog is, I'd guess the first. I'd say the past possesses the present most of the time, but some things progress to different understandings. Point in fact: Paris Hilton. Never before relatively modern times was looking and acting like a dumb drunk slut admirable. but somebody is buying into all her crap or she wouldn't be famous.

Or maybe infidelity has always existed to this degree, and the fact that people have more freedom now allows them to make it plain.

Punishment and reward

The story of Phaethon puzzles me. In most of the metamorphoses transformation is either a punishment for bad deeds or a reward for valiant ones. But Phaethon's ignorance and stubbornness is only punished by his death, and his sisters are forced to bear the transformation. When in context this is basically the story of a modern drunk driving accident.

Phaethon was a lowly worker at the local walmart. After a few too many drinks at the Bacchus Pub, he hears that his father is a CEO of a huge worldwide company. It doesn't seem possible he thought. he text messages his mother, a former prostitute who affirms this rumor, but he is still skeptical. He decides to go to the CEO's mansion and learn first hand. The CEO tells him it is true he his father. Still unconvinced he asks to drive the CEO's sunfire yellow Ferrari, thinking that no one in his right mind would allow a drunk Walmart employee drive his badass car unless he really was a close relative. Reluctantly he tosses the key to Phaethon. In a drunken rampage worthy of a CNN chopper chase, he drives the car too close to the police station and gets chased until he crashes into giant tree. Dead on the pavement his sisters mourn him.
no story is unique i guess.

An Imaginary Life

An imaginary life is relevant to foundations of literature for a couple reasons. In the spirit of the past possessing the present, i think there is a connection to be made. Probably the clearest connection i can see here is the idea that language makes people who they are. then and now. That could be language like Ovid's: the actual perfection of the art of writing in rhetoric to create fascinating stories, or it could be language like the child's: the intonation with nature, and the ability to understand its workings. I think there is also a connection to this class by looking at the idea of education. Even in despair like Ovid's at the beginning of the novel when he is nothing more than a bumbling old man, seemingly crazy, there is structure of knowledge. it may seem hopeless but, there is only time to gain knowledge.

Something else i would like to point out is the idea of transformation. Ovid rides the exile as a vessel taking him from a bitter old man, to one having complete understanding and "oneness" with the universe. In a broader sense you could interpret this as a metaphor for education, and that though something seems to be wrong or bad, may transform you into something else entirely via knowledge of that and of yourself.

Revenge as a question to the authenticity of religion

It is interesting that in many creation stories there are floods. Not only are there floods, but the floods are usually an act of vengeance. In Christianity's case, because man attempted to reach heaven. In Ovid's Metamorphoses, similarly men attempted to reach the realm of the gods. Then as an act of vengeance towards the human race the gods/god wipe out the human race. the fact that both of these stories have stunning parallels calls to question the possibility that religions such as Christianity and other creation stories that include the idea of "the great flood" perhaps stole the idea from Greek literature.

Beauty on the inside?

About 4 months ago my girlfriend and I got into an argument regarding ugliness. Conflict between men and women? We argued for an absurd amount of time given that no conclusion can be reached on the topic. Almost all people are bound by a few things: birth, death, and sex. Damn what is there to argue about right? Well, she states that sex is common because people have soul mates. Hogwash. In this scientific world the idea of a soul mate is laughable, because it is impossible to find just on solitary person you would call a soul mate. People have hundreds of potential soul mates, and how do we find them? Physical attraction, and yes its true, in some cases what makes a person attractive is projected and not explicit. I know because I used to love a land beast of a woman and my attraction was no less grounded than with a superhotsupermodel.

The argument revolved around the idea that there is an exact someone for everyone. I had to be tactful in the way of conducting this argument because for me to say there isn't implies that I ought not be with her. So I construct, in my most diplomatic tone, the basis for attraction.
"Paige, I am attracted to you obviously for your wit and mirroring interests to my own. You being a fox has far less to do with it." WOW the diplomatic sarcasm paradox! What a load of bullshit. Had Paige been a bumbling chub monster, i do not feel the forces of the cosmos would have still lead me to her door. However that is not to say true love doesn't exist between us just because she happens to be attractive. it simply means nothing is fixed. If you want true love you have to work hard for it. you won't find it just because God, whoever that is, has preordained you to find that person. I then took a moment this moment to remind the her that there are 6 billion people on the planet, of which you would be lucky to meet a minute fraction... So you only meet soul mates through a filter of economic, geographic, religious, or political factors? NO! everybody is reading too much into it. its just an urge of sex. 1. I see her 2. she's attractive 3. i ask for date 4. she says no and cleans my eyes with mace (wintery refreshing) 5. i know love does not exist between us 6. I continue to look. IF my goal is to find someone i can love, then i have 599,999,999 other options. the search continues forever in a cycle that will never end. until nuclear holocaust. We inevitably agreed to disagree based on spiritual differences, but i know she resents my love for her to this day based on this one silly argument.