Category Archives: History

Ovid’s “Metamorphoses” Part 2

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Arachne and Minerva.

The first part of Ovid’s “Metamorphoses” thoroughly discussed the story of creation, saying chaos was the original source of everything and that humans were formed by stones which were thrown. The rest of the work talked about the morals of the gods, the conflicts between them, and the wicked actions that they usually commit. 

Known to treat humans poorly, gods like Jove used humans as “playthings”, Ovid asserted. Lecherous, adulterous, and a rapist, Jove lied to his wife constantly, and was distrustful. Ovid explained that the wickedness of the gods was partly caused because they have eternal life, saying that it was a curse not a blessing. Although most men want eternal life, the gods hate it, so Ovid asked why men want to have it. Involving Apollo and Cupid, another conflict between the gods breaks out when Cupid is taunted by Apollo. This leads to Apollo’s lover Daphne being turned into a laurel tree by Cupid. Interestingly, Ovid stated that love and repulsion were already decided by fate and that people are powerless to change it. 

Following the narrative of the wickedness of the gods, Jupiter is portrayed as a lusting, lying, ethical monster. Although he was at the top of the hierarchy of the gods, that did not mean that Jupiter was righteous. Rather, Jupiter was at the top of this set hierarchy, where men are below the gods and have to pay respect to them. Ovid mentioned that this hierarchy was set in nature long ago when two women tried to rebel against the gods and negative sanctions were brought upon them. Once righteous, men tried to rebel against the gods, who defeated them and turned them into sinful beings who have “no further historical or ethical development.” 

Although the gods are shown to be far from perfect, Ovid showed that if they have too much pride they will be humbled. Two gods, Arachne and Minerva had deep pride; Arachne’s pride is based on skill and Minerva’s is based on hierarchy more than skill. Arachne refused to acknowledge that Minerva gave her this skill and Minerva refused to acknowledge Arachne’s greater skill. Demanding worship based on her power, good looks, wealth, and greater skill, Arachne is turned into a spider for her pride and her denial of the relevance of invisible gods. Humans who show pride are destroyed, and the gods, especially Apollo, are ruthless in their response against them. Ovid: “pride goeth before the fall.”

The Third Century Crisis and the Barbarian Invasions of Rome

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The Visigoths sack Rome | History Today
Sacking of Rome by the Visigoths, 410.

The Third Century marked the beginning of the end for the Roman Empire, as everything seemed to go downhill from there. Septimius Servius ruled Rome from 193-211 and was the most successful emperor at the end of the 2nd century. He was a learned man but also a brutal warrior, who expanded the army and raised taxes to benefit the army. Although this was great for keeping Rome’s warriors happy, the rest of the people suffered more. Additionally, This set a dangerous precedent with the army more or less deciding the imperial succession over time. 

During the Third Century almost every emperor was corrupt and incompetent, leading to the penetration of Roman borders by barbarian tribes. The Roman economy had grown reliant on plunder; as there was less conquest, the economy had to adjust. Therefore, the growth of government and army required higher taxes, emperors tried to cope by debasement of currency, but this just made the economic crisis worse. Population decline from epidemics and wars led to barbarians serving in the Roman army. Prosperity in Rome relied on rapid expansion and exploitation of new territory. Consequently, when that strategy died out, nothing could stop the inevitable downfall of the Empire.

However, the deterioration was slowed by Emperor Diocletian, who ruled at the end of the Third Century from 284-305. He restored order, being the first competent Emperor since Septimius Servius. Diocletian made both good and bad decisions, specifically addressing the issue of succession by dividing the Empire into an east and west half, and also creating a leader and co-leader. The second-in-command (“Caesar”) would take the throne upon the death of the leader (“Augustus”) so there would be no debate about who the next Emperor would be. Diocletians’ decisions temporarily fixed some problems, but after he stepped down from office in 405, things quickly turned to chaos. 

Barbarians were mainly Germanic and Franksish, but of the various different types, some were not as violent while others were extremely brutal and destructive. Because they were begging for refuge from the Huns, the Visigoths were let into the Empire by Emperor Valens in 376. They were treated poorly by the Romans and ended up rebelling against Valens and completely ravaged most of Macedonia, Greece, and Bulgaria. Emperor Valens was defeated and killed at the Battle of Adrianople (378). Later in 395 Visigothic leader Alaric pillaged Italy, leading to Roman troops abandoning Britain and falling back all the way to the Rhine river in Germany. 

In the 5th Century, the Western Roman Empire was obliterated with the population decreasing from 1.5 million in the 4th Century to 300,000 in the 5th Century, the city of Rome itself was sacked for three days straight in 410. The barbarian Odovacar deposed the last Western Roman Emperor in 476, however the Eastern Roman Empire, which would come to be known as Byzantium, would continue for another 1,000 years.

Livy’s History of Rome and Ovid’s Metamorphoses

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Ovid - Wikipedia
Roman poet Ovid.

The “History of Rome” written by Livy is one of the most prolific sources of early Roman history and mythology. Livy was born in 59 B.C. and passed away in about 14 A.D. Although his perspective was pro-Republic, Livy wrote the work around the time of Emperor Augustus when the Republic was dying. Livy was not anti-Augustus and was not advocating for the restoration of the Republic, but rather was making a throwback to the beginnings of Rome. 

Acknowledging the weakness of historical writing, Livy said his book was more like the work of poets. Continuing, he explained that historians mix human actions with the divine to defend the dignity of the origin of stories and advised to choose stories that make sense and avoid evil, adding that wealth leads to moral degradation over time and corrupts societies. Livy ignored the poets’ practice of prayers to the gods, insisting that Man or gods did not decide the origin of Rome, but that Fates decided destiny.

Driven by ambition, Romulus and Remus fought, causing the murder of Remus, through these actions Rome was founded. Romulus established a new legal order by inventing it with authority: himself and 12 lictors. He also created a new class of leaders: 100 senators, and told the people that they were the children of the soil. Planning the kidnapping of the young women in the region in order to populate Rome, Romulus conquered the parents and brothers who resisted and offered a sacrifice of the spoils to Jupiter, who had the first temple in Rome. Livy announced two deities as Rome’s defenders, ancient King Evander and Heracles who had covenanted together. 

Ovid (43 B.C. to 18 A.D.) was a professional poet best known for “Metamorphoses” which consists of 15 books and 250 myths. Written in 8 A.D., it was an epic poem that extends from the creation of the world to the murder/deification of Julius Caesar in 44 B.C. A highly influential poem in the Middle ages, the book asserts that Chaos was the original source of everything. Gods or nature ended this strife and the outcome was peace. The creation was in stages; man was forged last, and the Creator was an unknown god. The strongest god, Jupiter, feared using thunderbolts against mankind because of “the day of fire when all perishes” so he used water to flood the earth instead. Nothing was spared except for Deucalion and Pyrra, who were protected due to their righteousness. They had no hope and sought counsel from a goddess, who told them to toss stones, which turned into humans.