- 01Title pages and publication details
- 02Contents and introductory material
- 03Translator's introduction and earlier English versions
Metamorphoses
Mythic transformations shaping later art and literature.
21Chapters
109Lessons
275Topics
Certificate of completion included
This course was produced by Cavua from a public-domain text.
Skills this course leaves you with.
- Summarize the major episodes in Ovid's Metamorphoses
- Identify the principal mythic transformations described in the text
- Explain how these myths influenced later art and literature
- Trace key characters and gods across the early books of the poem
- Interpret the structure and narrative purpose of selected fables
Curriculum
The full table of contents.
Every chapter, every lesson, every topic — laid out before you enroll. Click any chapter to expand it.
- Chapters
- 21
- Lessons
- 109
- Topics
- 275
- 01Synopsis of Book I transformations
- 01Phaëton, Calisto, and Mercury's transformations
- 02Cadmus, Actæon, Semele, and Narcissus
- 01Alcithoë, Ino, Cadmus, and Perseus
- 02Phineus and the Muses' tales
- 03Arachne, Niobe, and Tereus
- 04Jason and Medea
- 01Ovid’s life and exile
- 02Interlinear translations and Metamorphoses contents
- 01Chaos reduced into order
- 01Ordering the separated universe
- 02The making of the world’s regions and climates
- 03Winds, firmament, and living creatures
- 01The Golden Age
- 02The Silver, Brazen, and Iron Ages
- 01The Giants' assault on heaven
- 02Jupiter's council of the gods
- 01Jupiter's council and resolve to punish mankind
- 02Explanation: Genesis and the flood tradition
- 03Lycaon tests Jupiter with a murderous feast
- 01Jupiter's resolve to destroy mankind
- 02The universal deluge
- 01Neptune calms the floodwaters
- 02Deucalion and Pyrrha after the deluge
- 01Neptune and the division of the world
- 02Deucalion and Pyrrha consult Themis
- 03The oracle of the stones
- 04Stones transformed into a new race
- 01Python and the Pythian Games
- 01Apollo and Cupid's contest of bows
- 02Daphne's flight and transformation into laurel
- 01Jupiter's pursuit of Io
- 01Io’s Egyptian origin and Greek versions
- 02Jupiter, Juno, and Argus guarding Io
- 01Io’s transformation and Inachus’s lament
- 02Mercury’s mission to slay Argus
- 03Mercury lulls Argus with the reed pipe
- 04Explanation of the Io myth
- 01Mercury and Syrinx
- 02Argus’s death and Juno’s peacock
- 01Io's wanderings and restoration in Egypt
- 02Phaëton's challenge to his divine parentage
- 03Clymene's oath and Phaëton's journey to the Sun
- 01Mythological note on Hierax and Argus
- 02Commentary on the creation of the world
- 03The winds and the division of the earth
- 04Human dominion and the age of metal
- 05Mythological notes on Jupiter's court and the flood
- 01The hollow-wreathed trumpet and Neptune's retreat
- 02Deucalion and Pyrrha's ancestry and rites
- 03The seven-streamed Nile and the Pythian games
- 01Apollo, marriage, and the pursuit of Daphne
- 01Commentary on the greyhound passage
- 01Mythological and geographical notes on Io
- 01Clymene, Merops, and Phaëton notes
- 01Apollo's palace and celestial decorations
- 02Phaëton's request for the chariot
- 01Apollo's warning against the chariot
- 02Phaëton's insistence and the chariot's splendor
- 01Phaëton's father's warning and the chariot's launch
- 02Phaëton loses control of the sun's horses
- 03The heavens and constellations in turmoil
- 01The world set ablaze
- 01Earth's plea to Jupiter
- 02Explanation of Phaëton's fable
- 01Jupiter destroys Phaëton's chariot
- 02Phaëton's burial and Clymene's grief
- 03The sisters transformed into poplars
- 01Cycnus transformed into a swan
- 02Phaëton’s mourning and the Sun’s complaint
- 03Explanation of the legend
- 01Jupiter's restoration of the world after the fire
- 02Jupiter's seduction of Calisto
- 03Calisto's shame among Diana's nymphs
- 01Juno transforms Calisto into a bear
- 02Arcas and the Great and Little Bear
- 03Juno’s complaint to Tethys and Ocean
- 01Coronis and the crow's warning
- 01Nyctimene's incest and transformation into an owl
- 02Apollo's wrath and Coronis's death
- 01Coronis, the raven, and Apollo's grief
- 02Ocyrrhoë's prophecy and transformation
- 01Mercury and Battus
- 01Mercury's pursuit of Herse
- 01Envy sent to Aglauros
- 02Aglauros blocks Mercury and is transformed
- 01Aglauros turned to stone
- 02Jupiter carries off Europa
- 03Mythological and geographical notes on Europa
- 01Notes on the rivers and places named in the fable
- 01Phaëton and the Hesperian Naiads
- 02Diana, Calisto, and the transformation into a bear
- 03Cecrops as the two-shaped founder
- 01Mythological and geographical notes
- 01Notes on Tritonia, Tritonian, and Sidonis
- 01Cadmus sent to recover Europa
- 02Oracle of Delphi and the founding sign
- 03The dragon sacred to Mars
- 04Explanation of Europa's genealogy and name
- 01Cadmus and the Dragon of Mars
- 02The sowing of the dragon's teeth
- 03Thebes and the explanation of the fable
- 01Cadmus, the dragon’s teeth, and the founding of Thebes
- 02Actaeon surprises Diana at Gargaphie
- 03Actaeon transformed and torn apart by his hounds
- 01Actaeon and Diana
- 02Juno's jealousy of Semele
- 01Semele's fatal request and Jupiter's thunderbolt
- 01Echo's punishment by Juno
- 02Narcissus and Echo
- 01Echo's fading into a voice
- 02Natural and historical explanations of Echo
- 03Narcissus at the fountain
- 04Narcissus's self-love and death
- 01Narcissus and Tiresias explanations
- 02Pentheus defies Bacchus
- 03Acœtes recounts his seafaring background
- 01Discovery of the sleeping boy on shore
- 02Bacchus revealed and the crew's deceit
- 03The ship halted by Bacchus's power
- 01Acœtes’ tale of the transformed sailors
- 02Pentheus’ punishment and the worship of Bacchus
- 03Mythological explanation of Bacchus and Pentheus
- 04Notes on Cadmus, Thebes, and the opening myths
- 05Actaeon’s hounds and their names
- 06Bacchic rites and Pentheus’s opposition
- 07Thyrsus and Bacchic weapons
- 08Ancient siege engines
- 09Mythological and geographical notes
- 01Book IV fable list
- 02Book V fable list
- 03Book VI fable list
- 04Book VII fable list
- 01The daughters of Minyas and the festival of Bacchus
- 02Pyramus and Thisbe
- 03Explanation of the fable
- 01Pyramus and Thisbe as a moral tale
- 02The Sun exposes Venus and Mars
- 03The Sun falls in love with Leucothoë
- 01Leucothoë and the Sun's disguise
- 02Clytie's betrayal and transformation into the sunflower
- 01EXPLANATION. IV. 284-
- 01Minyas sisters transformed into bats and weaving into ivy
- 02Juno's descent to the underworld and appeal to the Furies
- 03Tisiphone maddens Athamas and Ino
- 01Athamas’s madness and Ino’s leap into the sea
- 02Neptune transforms Ino and Melicerta
- 03Juno’s punishment of the Sidonian attendants
- 04Historical explanation of the myth
- 01Cadmus and Hermione transformed into serpents
- 01Perseus in Africa and Atlas's transformation
- 01Perseus and the Gorgons' eye and statue
- 02Perseus rescues Andromeda
- 03Perseus at the wedding feast
- 01Origins and meanings of the Bacchic names
- 02Bacchus, Lycurgus, and the punishment of resistance
- 03The tale of Dercetis and the Babylonian lovers
- 04Pyramus and Thisbe, Venus, and the later mythic explanations
- 05Geographical and mythological notes on the opening verses
- 06Underworld punishments and the river Styx
- 07Ino, Melicerta, and the transformation into sea divinities
- 08Perseus, Andromeda, and Medusa in the later narrative
- 01Supplementary notes on Ovid references and Greek text
- 01Phineus attacks Perseus at the wedding feast
- 02Perseus and Phineus clash amid the banquet
- 03The Gorgon’s head turns the attackers to stone
- 04Perseus petrifies Phineus and his followers
- 05Perseus returns to his native city and attacks Prœtus
- 06Explanation of the Andromeda legend
- 01Perseus turns Polydectes to stone
- 02Minerva visits the Muses at Helicon
- 03Pyreneus and the Muses' escape
- 04The magpies and the Pierides
- 01The Pierides’ challenge and Calliope’s song
- 01Pluto’s fear of the earth’s upheaval
- 02Venus persuades Cupid to strike Pluto
- 03Pluto seizes Proserpina in Henna
- 01Interpretations of the rape of Proserpine
- 02Pluto's western kingdom and Spanish mines
- 01Allegorical origins of Pluto and Proserpine
- 02Le Clerc's Epirus explanation
- 03Banier's Isis and famine theory
- 04Stellio transformation as poetic fancy
- 01Ceres’ wandering search and discovery of Proserpine
- 02Ceres’ complaint to Jupiter and the pomegranate condition
- 03Ascalaphus, the owl, and the Sirens
- 01Arethusa’s pursuit by Alpheus
- 02Explanation of the Alpheus and Arethusa legend
- 01Triptolemus receives Ceres's agricultural mission
- 02The daughters of Pierus are transformed into magpies
- 03Mythological and textual explanations
- 01Pelorus and the Sicilian capes
- 02Henna and the abduction of Proserpine
- 03The Palici and the Bacchiadæ
- 01Syracuse, Cyane, and Anapis
- 02Ceres and Proserpine: the girdle, the abduction, and the pomegranate
- 01Avernus and the infernal rivers
- 01Arachne's challenge to Minerva
- 02The weaving contest and Minerva's tapestry
- 03Origins of the Arachne and Minerva fable
- 01Niobe's pride and insult to Latona
- 02Apollo and Diana destroy Niobe's sons
- 01Niobe's transformation into stone
- 02Historical and mythological explanation of Niobe
- 01Latona denied water by the countrymen
- 01Marsyas punished by Apollo
- 01Marsyas and the flute contest
- 02Tereus, Philomela, and Progne
- 01Philomela's grief and revenge
- 02Progne rescues Philomela and plots vengeance
- 03Itys's murder and the banquet
- 04Tereus's pursuit and transformations
- 05Symbolic explanation of the birds
- 01Boreas carries off Orithyïa
- 01Mythological and geographical notes
- 01Mythological notes on Jupiter and Neptune
- 02Notes on Saturn, Hecate, and Niobe
- 01Explanatory notes on Niobe, Latona, and Marsyas
- 01Mythological and geographical notes on verses 393-446
- 02Thracian and Bacchic notes on verses 490-603
- 03Philomela and Progne notes on verses 601-646
- 01Explanatory notes on verses 662-721
- 01Jason's arrival in Colchis and the Golden Fleece challenge
- 02Medea's inner struggle and decision to help Jason
- 01Medea’s struggle between love and duty
- 02Jason receives the enchanted herbs
- 03The brazen bulls and the ploughing trial
- 01Jason subdues the earth-born warriors and dragon
- 02Arrival at Iolcos with the Golden Fleece
- 03Mythic explanation of the Argonaut expedition
- 01Jason asks Medea to renew Æson's youth
- 02Medea's midnight invocation and magical powers
- 03Gathering herbs for the rejuvenation spell
- 04The ritual and transformation of Æson
- 01Medea wins the daughters of Pelias
- 02The ram turned into a lamb
- 03Medea persuades the daughters to kill Pelias
- 04Pelias is slain in the cauldron
- 05Explanation of the myth of Æson's restoration
- 01Medea's revenge on Pelias and Creon
- 02Medea's flight over Greece
- 03The murder of Jason's children and escape to Athens
- 01Medea’s revenge and flight to Athens
- 02Cerberus, aconite, and Theseus at Athens
- 03Athenian festival and Minos’s preparations for war
- 04Explanation of Cerberus’s origin
- 01Minos seeks alliance at Ægina
- 02Cephalus secures Athenian aid from Æacus
- 03Æacus recounts the island’s former desolation
- 01Divine cause and onset of the plague
- 02Animals and livestock struck down
- 03Human suffering and collapse in the city
- 04Despair, thirst, and death at the altars
- 01The plague at Aegina and its devastation
- 02Æacus prays for citizens and receives the omen
- 01Myrmidons from the ant-vision
- 02Cephalus and Procris: the javelin and the test of fidelity
- 01Cephalus explains the javelin and Lælaps
- 02Procris suspects infidelity and follows Cephalus
- 03The fatal misunderstanding and Procris's death
- 01Cephalus, Procris, and the dog of Procris
- 02Argonauts and Medea: voyage to Colchis
- 03Medea’s enchantments and Aeson’s restoration
- 01Mythological notes on Medea's flight and the Coan episode
- 02Theseus, Aegeus, and the Attic robber legends
- 03Island names and textual glosses in the closing notes
- 04Textual notes on verses 554–864
- 01Transcriber’s note on Thessalian soothsayers
- 02Textual sources and edition history
- 03Error markings and editorial conventions
- 04Variant spellings of names
- 01Footnote numbering in the e-text
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