What This Collection Is
This volume presents Henry T. Riley’s literal translation of Ovid’s first seven books, framed by Victorian annotations that labor to strip the verse of its supernatural elements. The narrative spans the world’s creation to Jason’s retrieval of the Golden Fleece, mapping a reality where gods and humans constantly swap forms, turning into laurel bushes, owls, or stars. The included explanations consistently reject the magic, insisting that centaurs were simply the earliest cavalrymen in Thessaly, that the abduction of Orithyïa was a fatal drowning in the river Ilissus, and that Echo was merely a nymph who vanished in the woods. These footnotes reconcile Greek myths with the Book of Genesis, arguing that Prometheus merely followed the divine blueprint for man’s creation.
Figures & speakers
- Jupiter
The king of heaven who calls councils and intervenes in human affairs.
- Apollo
A god who pursues Daphne and discovers the fraud of his rival Leucippus.
- Medea
The daughter of Æetes who uses magic to protect Jason from deadly labors.
- Chiron
A learned Centaur and early practitioner of medicine who taught Greek heroes.
What it's really about
- Metamorphosis
- The physical change of shape to escape danger or punishment.
- Divine Elements
- The creation of humanity from celestial materials and clay.
Why it's memorable
- A silver spring where Narcissus gazes at his reflection until he wastes away.
- Medea struggling against a violent flame of love for the stranger Jason.
Where it lands
The text concludes with descriptions of the Argonauts arriving at the muddy Phasis, where Jason demands the Golden Fleece from king Æetes while Medea grapples with her sudden, inexplicable obsession with the visitor.
For your book club
- Whether the story of Echo is better explained by physics or history.
- The connection between the creation story in Ovid and the Book of Genesis.