Passion In Ovid's Metamorphoses Essay

How Passion Leads to the Lovers Demise Most people think that the goddess of love will never have issues when it comes to love but the story of Venus and Adonis prove this wrong by depicting the wrath of the gods causing the demise of loved ones. Ovid’s Metamorphoses illustrates how animal’s savagery is much stronger than love and how insatiable passion never ends well. More specificity Ovid’s story of Venus and Adonis shows what the Roman’s thought of life and love by giving the reader an insight into the thoughts and actions of the goddess of love. Venus loves the boy Adonis more than anything she has before, and to protect him she tells the story of Hippomenes and Atalanta and how in the end they were both transformed into wild animals (Ovid 247). The story of Hippomenes and Atalanta mirrors the situation that Venus and Adonis are in very closely because both myths have the characters fall in love (Ovid 245). Then wrath of the wild side of the mind leads to the demise of the relationship by the hand of animals (Ovid 247-248). Ovid uses this story to illustrate how love can end just as fast as it started by the hand of beast (Ovid 248). Also how life is short and how the most unlikely people can fall in
love. These unlikely relationships are mirrored in both stories just like how men do stupid things while in love like hunting a wild boar after being told of their dangers (Ovid 247). Also, how Hippomenes doesn’t worship the god Venus for helping him win over Atalanta because he becomes so consumed with his love for Atalanta (Ovid 247). This leads to Hippomenes getting possessed and eventually his demise (Ovid 247). The story of Atalanta and Hippomenes is better described as two stories leading to two morals being taught, one of which is that one can’t avoid their fate like how Atalanta spends her early life running from her fate but in the end still ends up falling for a man and loses herself (Ovid 243). The other moral that Ovid tries to teach is that insatiable love for someone will always lead to bad things. For example, how Hippomenes falls deeply in love for Atalanta which leads him to ignore the gods causing to them being turned into lions (Ovid 247). These two morals illustrate how love is dangerous and often is the cause of people’s demise. This is shown in both the stories Hippomenes and Atalanta, and Venus and Adonis when someone falls by the beastly nature of animals (Ovid 247-248). Also, Ovid teaches humans to always worship the gods especially in good times because they likely lead to the good times. Ovid illustrates while gods can be very generous in listening the calls of men, if not properly thanked they become very bitter (Ovid 247). Ovid’s Metamorphoses illustrates a lot about the gods but also gives a good picture of his basic values.
His writings show that he believes that love and life is short and that our destinies are out of our control. Ovid illustrates the point about a short life and love by including two young male characters in love dying at a young age (Ovid 247-248). The point about the destinies being out of our control is illustrated by Atalanta falling in love even though she works her hardest to run away from love and how Venus loses her love Adonis (Ovid 243, 247). Lastly, Ovid illustrates how a man’s search of glory will often lead to his demise, like how Adonis hunts for boars even after being told that they are too dangerous and ends up dying because of it (Ovid
248). The story of Venus and Adonis, and Atalanta and Hippomenes illustrates Roman values towards love and life. Ovid’s stories show how Romans didn’t view love in a very positive light and that they saw it as a drain on life because these stories of love show people in dying. Ovid also shows how men in search of glory often end in a very painful death, like the impaling of Adonis by the boar (Ovid 248).