Classical Studies Program Presents

Metal in Ovid's Metamorphoses

Metals are everywhere in Ovid's Metamorphoses, and they have been interpreted widely for their mythical, poetological, and historical significance. In this talk, I will suggest a more general theory about what metal means in Ovid's metamorphic world. In particular, I argue that Ovid returns again and again to metal's function as a connector and mediator. As monetary currencies, technologies of war, markers of temporal periodization, and medium through which gods mix with mortals, metals magnetize an ecology of relation around them in the world of the poem, conducting connectivities of all kinds. This force of metallic mixture is occasionally a source of positive outcomes for characters in the poem, but much more often is a force of deterioration and violence. In this way, metal's agential power in the Ovidian world is as something of an agent of Heraclitean strife, binding the world together in tension.

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For more information, call 845-758-6822, or e-mail [email protected].

Time: 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm EDT/GMT-4

Location: Olin Humanities, Room 202

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