Ovid’s Meta-Poetic Narratives

The Legacy of Antiquity: New Perspectives in the Reception of the Classical World, 2013

This paper analyzes the Orpheus episode in Ovid's Metamorphoses as a site that investigates the widespread Augustan ambition of constructing a synthetic literary corpus encompassing both Archaic Greece and contemporary Rome. The tale's ongoing manipulations of form (Orpheus's bodily form, generic form, narrative form) expose the paradoxes riddling this emerging—and enduring—notion of an organic Greco-Romanism.

In this paper I suggest that at the beginning of the Metamorphoses through narrative techniques and the structure of the verses, in particular lines 1.10-14, the poet claims to be a fabricator mundi and that his text exists before the creation of the world, becoming the model for its formation. In the epilogue, the poet also declares his certainty that his work will be eternal; it will live, that is, sine fine as he states at Tristia 2.63-4. This reading of sine fine actually alludes to the prophecy of Jupiter in the first book of the Aeneid where the phrase meant the eternity of the Roman dominion. The perpetuum carmen, as the poet characterised the Metamorphoses at 1.4, refers not only to the time-span of the work through to the poet's own time but more importantly to the eternal character of his poetry. It is the poetic genius which cannot be trapped in a specific time frame. There is a consensus among Ovidian scholars that in writing the Metamorphoses Ovid had Virgil and his work firmly in mind. In striving for originality, he also had to emulate almost the entire Greek and Roman literary tradition. In his perpetuum carmen, therefore, he was confronted with the task of composing an all-inclusive work with regard to time, subject-matter and literary genre. The purpose of this paper is to show how Ovid exploited certain methods and techniques in order to imply, through the narrative, the omnipotence of the poetic genius through the creation of his text.

Orpheus - Myth Complex, Philosophy and Psychoanalysis

english - german - espanol The Orphic mythology encompasses the tragedy of humanity from its alienation from nature to the present day and the so far futile attempt to return to the lost homeland.... The 'alienation from nature' is the consequence of the introduction of family life among the rebellious teams in the original tribe, which led to narcissistic fixation among the descendants of these monogamous couples.... In contrast to the figures of the other paradise myths, Orpheus, who had become the victim of this disorientation, not only recognises the way back to his original home, but also succeeds in restoring the original state of being close to nature, admittedly only for a short time! Just as long as it took Orpheus' successors and their enemies to establish the authenticity of his recovery - otherwise the latter would not have destroyed his work... I only became aware of this fact when I tried to shed light on the Orpheus complex. In the process, I also gradually realised the importance of its historical aspects, both mythical and political, which led Aeschylus to dramatise Orpheus' death. The mythical death of Orpheus by dismemberment represents the dissolution of the rebellious crews by the council of the original tribe, namely the measure by which the isolated men were prevented from reversing the balance of power in the tribe. Since such 'uprisings' were triggered by the rut of the tribal women, the mainads, they themselves seem to have been the ones who would have dismembered and incorporated the crew of Orpheus, although both had been carried out by the tribal council, which was itself militant through the women. (Incorporation in the sense of integration into the tribe, its transformation into a genea.) Aeschylus transferred this mythical version to the conditions in Athens of his time, not without reason, for the 'Orphics' -(a secret organisation)- actually desired the reversal of the balance of power, thus the Areopagus was striving to break up its opponents. This court, dominated by the Athenian family masses, took every opportunity to banish the aristocrats - who secretly belonged to the Orphics - from the polis or even - like Socrates, for example - to eliminate them... ............................................................................................. Die orphische Mythologie umfasst die Tragik der Menschheit von ihrer Naturentfremdung bis heute und den bisher vergeblichen Versuch, in die verlorene Heimat zurück zu gelangen... Die ‚Naturentfremdung‘ ist die Folge der Einführung des Familienlebens unter den rebellischen Mannschaften im Urstamm, was unter den Nachkommen dieser monogamen Paare zur narzisstischen Fixierung führte... Im Unterschied zu den Gestalten der sonstigen Paradiesmythen erkennt Orpheus, der zum Opfer dieser Wesensentstellung geworden war, nicht nur den Weg zurück zur Urheimat, sondern gelingt ihm auch die Wiederherstellung des naturverbundenen Urzustandes, freilich nur für kurze! Zeit — genau so lange, wie nötig war für Orpheus‘ Nachfolger und deren Feinde, die Echtheit der Genesung festzustellen – sonst hätten letztere sein Werk nicht zerstört... Dieser Sachverhalt wurde mir erst durch den Versuch bewusst, den Orpheus-Komplex zu durchleuchten. Dabei ist mir außerdem nach und nach die Wichtigkeit seiner historischen Aspekte klar geworden, und zwar sowohl des mythischen als auch des politischen, die Aischylos veranlassten, den Tod Orpheus dramatisch zu verarbeiten. Der mythische Tod Orpheus durch Zerstückelung stellt die Auflösung der rebellischen Mannschaften durch den Rat des Urstammes dar, nämlich jene Maßnahme, anhand derer die vereinzelten Männer gehindert wurden, die Machtverhältnisse im Stamm umzukehren. Da solche ‚Aufstände‘ von der Brunst der Stammesfrauen ausgelöst wurden, den Mainaden, scheinen sie selbst diejenigen gewesen zu sein, die die Mannschaft Orpheus zerstückelt und sich einverleibt hätten, obwohl beides von dem durch die Frauen seinerseits kämpferisch gestimmten Stammesrat durchgeführt worden war. (Einverleibung im Sinne von Integration in den Stamm, dessen Umwandlung zur Genea.) Diese mythische Fassung übertrug Aischylos auf die Verhältnisse im Athen seiner Gegenwart, nicht zu Unrecht, denn die ‚Orphiker‘ -(eine Geheimorganisation)- wünschten sich tatsächlich die Umkehrung der Machtverhältnisse, so war der Areopag um die Zersprengung seiner Gegner bemüht. Dieser von der Familienmasse Athens beherrschte Gerichtshof nutzten jede Gelegenheit, die Aristokraten – die heimlich zu den Orphikern zählten – aus der Polis zu verbannen oder gar – wie z.B. Sokrates – zu beseitigen... ............................................................................................. La mitología órfica abarca la tragedia de la humanidad desde su alejamiento de la naturaleza hasta la actualidad y el intento, hasta ahora inútil, de volver a la patria perdida.... La "alienación de la naturaleza" es el resultado de la introducción de la vida familiar entre los equipos rebeldes de la tribu primordial, lo que llevó a la fijación narcisista entre los descendientes de estas parejas monógamas.... A diferencia de las figuras de los otros mitos del paraíso, Orfeo, que se había convertido en víctima de esta desorientación, no sólo reconoce el camino de vuelta a su hogar original, sino que consigue restablecer el estado original de estar cerca de la naturaleza, ¡aunque sea por poco tiempo! Tanto como los sucesores de Orfeo y sus enemigos tardaron en establecer la autenticidad de su recuperación - de lo contrario, estos últimos no habrían destruido su obra... Sólo me di cuenta de este hecho cuando intenté arrojar luz sobre el complejo de Orfeo. En el proceso, también me fui dando cuenta de la importancia de sus aspectos históricos, tanto míticos como políticos, que llevaron a Esquilo a dramatizar la mu¬erte de Orfeo. La mítica muerte de Orfeo por desmembramiento representa la dis¬olu¬ción de las cuadrillas rebeldes por el consejo de la tribu original, es decir, la medida por la que se impidió a los hombres aislados invertir el equilibrio de poder en la tribu. Dado que tales "levantamientos" fueron desencadenados por el celo de las mujeres de la tribu, las mainads, ellas mismas parecen haber sido las que habrían desmembrado e incorporado a la tripulación de Orfeo, aunque ambas hayan sido llevadas a cabo por el consejo tribal, que a su vez militaba a través de las mujeres. (Incorporación en el sentido de integración en la tribu, su transformación en una genea). Esquilo trasladó esta versión mítica a las condiciones de la Atenas de su tiempo, no sin razón, ya que los "órficos" -(una organización secreta)- deseaban en realidad la inversión del equilibrio de poder, por lo que el Areópago se esforzaba por acabar con sus oponentes. Esta corte, dominada por la masa familiar ateniense, aprovechaba cualquier oportunidad para desterrar a los aristócratas -que secretamente pertene¬cían a los órficos- de la polis o incluso -como Sócrates- para eliminarlos... .............................................................................................

MA Dissertation - updated 2021, 2013

Although absent from early Archaic sources by the sixth century BCE Orpheus the poet had become synonymous with poetry and inspiration. This essay will examine the emergence of the myths of Orpheus in Archaic Greece with a view to understanding his place in society. This will entail the exploration of the relationship between poetry and the evolving role of the individual in Archaic society in order to clarify the context in which Orpheus came to prominence. By examining the changing role of the poet within society one can understand ways in which the evolution of Archaic society, including the development of the polis and what has been termed ‘the rise of the individual,’ may have influenced the creation and performance of poetry. These factors, together with the absorption of new cultural influences into Greek society and the development of new attitudes to the afterlife created the social context in which the Orpheus myths took form. This work will clarify the extent to which changing values found expression in the figure of Orpheus and the ways in which the elements of the myths reflected contemporary social concerns. Consideration will be given to claims of exotic influence made by modern scholars and the extent to which Orpheus’ mythology made him a suitable vehicle for the importation of exotic ideas such as reincarnation and metempsychosis and whether these myths expressed the concerns of a society increasingly preoccupied with the fate of the individual soul after death. Orpheus’ perceived otherness made him a liminal figure who crossed boundaries in transcending and uniting the divisions between the animal, human and divine worlds. This work will highlight ways in which the mythical Orpheus was essentially a construct of Archaic Greek society and reflected notions concerned with poetry, heroic identity and immortality inherent in this culture.

The present book is closely related to that famous Pre-Socratic fragment about the bow and the lyre, where their “backstretched” or “retroflex” harmony (palmtonos harmonia) is said to depict the tense inner cohesion of a diverging unity. The same authority, Heraclitus of Ephesus, employs a Greek pun to show how in the bow itself, one of whose names is bios, both the name of life and the act of death coexist. Orpheus, as a mythical hero—indeed, one of the famed Argonauts—stands right at the centre of these junctions. So it is no wonder that this book shares in that harmonious tension: a tension rooted in the nature of the lyre and the bow, whose products may be piercing sounds or slaying arrows. Here, we have first a tension within the author, who is intoxicated with his theme and yet committed to carry out his exposition in a discursive and academic manner. We can almost feel his plight: having in mind the “tremendous contem ­ plation of the divine truth and beauty”, which would merit cither a bakchic outburst or a “supra-noetic metaphysical silence”, he is forcing himself to compose a “scientific” treatise. Having heard the music of O rpheus’ lyre, he is trying to convey as best as he can the unspeakable beauty of those notes in an all too earthly human language.

2013

Whereas Silius’ indebtedness to Virgil’s Aeneid has received a lot of scholarly attention, the relationship between the Punica and the epic of his contemporary Valerius Flaccus has not. This is due to the fact that intertextual contact seems to be practically non-existent or is at least very hard to pin down. In this paper I will argue for an intertextual link between the manifestations of the archetypal poet Orpheus in both Flavian epics, which might explain why the intertextual between the two poems is so hard to detect. As I will suggest, the appearance of Orpheus in the Punica, in the context of the Argonautic expedition (11.469-72), functions as a sly metapoetical allusion to the Flavian Argonautica, revealing the different programmatic positions taken by both Flavian poets with regard to the epic tradition.

Tracing Orpheus: Studies of Orphic Fragments, 2011

2009

MARIE oxxčov Á (MASARYK UNIVERSITY, BRNO) UT lMAGOPOESlS: APASTICHE OFVIRGILAND OVID IN THE CENTO NARClSSUSl The aim oj the paper is to produce ac/ose textual analysis oj the short Virgilian cento Narcissus (AL 9 R), which has so Jar attracted only little attention oj c/assical scholarship. An examination oj the poem s compositional structure, its imagery and register, and, last but not least, oj its significant allusions to both Virgil and other Latin treatments oj the Narcissus myth is provided. Further, the cento s underlying metatextual significance, as well as the possibilities oj its interpretation in terms oJthe Lacanian concept of the "mirror stage'' and Derridean deconstruction, is discussed.