Asher Sisneros

Ovid’s Metamorphoses was about the fascinating fictional tale of Rome’s founding. The book went through the world’s birth from chaos, the creation of humans, battles between gods and men, Romulus and Remis, and the death of Julius Caesar. It was a gripping tale of deplorable dissension and cunning bravery. The book painted a very vivid picture of the gods. But did it paint a picture of exemplary virtue or gross misconduct? Did Ovid say the gods were ethical or not? That is the question of this essay.

The first example is about a feud between Phoebus Apollo and Cupid. As the gods frolicked around, Apollo taunted his smaller colleague. He mocked the love god’s size and strength, saying bows were for colossal gods of power like himself. Cupid was spiteful and took two arrows. One was sharp and made of gold with the power to cause unyielding love. The other was blunt and made of lead. It caused an unnatural hostility towards the thought of love and affection, embracing nothing but celibacy. Used in unison, the two arrows caused unbelievable chaos, precisely what Cupid bet on. He shot Apollo with the golden arrow and Daphne the Nymph with lead. Suddenly, his victim fell with a mad desire for Daphne, but he repulsed her. As the god of time, Apollo consulted his oracles. All said she was destined to be his soulmate, but fate, through Cupid’s power, wouldn’t allow it. As the victim of an ungodly feud, Daphne spent her life fleeing Apollo’s clenching arms. He found her everywhere she ran. In necessity, she called on Earth for deliverance and was transformed into a tree. But even her tree-like form didn’t diminish Apollo’s love, and he kissed and made love to her in her tree state.

The giant god was humiliated by Cupid and reduced to a crust of bread because of love. Daphne was the key point. She was nothing but a by-standard who unjustly suffered because of the feud. Why was she punished? The answer is pride. Cupid’s pride was the reason she endured chaos.  

The next story was about Io and Jupiter (Zeus). Jupiter walked through the sky when Io’s beauty captivated him. He used blunt seduction, saying she was a woman worthy of the strongest god (himself). When she resisted, Jupiter made a dark cloud swoop her into the sky. It covered them and he raped the innocent girl. The goddess, Juno, his wife, saw the dark cloud and knew her husband betrayed her. Presumably, it wasn’t the first time he committed adultery. When Juno descended from heaven to investigate, Jupiter transformed Io into an unsuspecting heifer to conceal her beauty. Aware of the deception, she asked for custody of the heifer. Hesitantly, he consented. Io was given to Argus, a god with a hundred eyes. Each eye fixated on Io so Jupiter couldn’t kidnap her at night. As Io grazed the fields during the day, she approached her mourning father and drew her name in the sand. Her father understood the situation immediately and cursed the gods for their immorality. Still lusting for Io like a mere toy, Jupiter hired Mercury to kill Argus. When the beast was slain, Juno grabbed Io and tormented her with Furies. In pity, Jupiter made a deal with his wife. If she stopped the torment, he agreed to refrain from raping her again. The deal was made, and Io became a human again.

In this story, the chief deity cheated on his wife. He was the deity governing the universe. Where were his ethics? He had none.

The third example is about Minerva. She was a prideful god who wanted respect and honor. Arachne was a lowly girl of humble origin. The family she was from was modest, with no power, but one skill gave her glory. Through hard work, she became the best wool weaver. All the world respected her skill. However, she never gave glory to the gods or Minerva for her weaving. Credit was hers and hers alone. The arrogance she had before the gods enraged Minerva, who wanted glory. With cunning deceit, she dressed herself in worn clothing, appearing like an elderly woman. Minerva approached the unsuspecting girl and asked her to thank Minerva for her skill. However, Arachne insulted the goddess before her face and said her skill surpassed the goddess too. When Minerva revealed her identity, the two agreed on a competition. In the end, Arache defeated the goddess in the contest. Her weaving was flawless and better than Minerva’s in every way, but it didn’t matter. The goddess ignored the terms of the game, and even though she lost, attacked the mortal, turning her into a spider.

Arachne was provocatively insolent, but that wasn’t a reason for death. As she proved, her skill dwarfed Minerva’s. The notion that she became a spider for beating a god is not only unethical, it is downright childish. Similar to Jupiter and Cupid, Minerva was unethical.

In each case, the gods were unethical. Cupid hurt Daphne. What did Daphne do? Nothing. The only reason Daphne became a tree and fled rape was because of Cupid’s two darts. If he didn’t shoot her with the lead arrow, she may have fallen in love with Apollo. If Cupid hadn’t shot Apollo with the gold arrow there would be no predicament. There was no nuance between Jupiter and Io. Jupiter (Zeus) was an adulterating, back-stabbing lecher who raped a girl. Finally, Minerva was prideful. Pridefully, she turned Arachne, the better weaver, into a spider. In conclusion, Ovid’s Metamorphoses describes the gods as unethical. Some stories had nuance, and some did not. But a common theme remains: The gods gloated in gross misconduct.