Metamorphoses by Ovid, and Gemini

¶ … Metamorphoses" by Ovid, and Gemini in the Bible. Specifically, it will compare and contrast how each work presents God or the gods. Both of these ancient works celebrate the magnificent accomplishment of the Creation. The Bible directly credits God for this accomplishment, while Ovid is more ambivalent, which leads to less impact in Ovid's work. The Bible knows exactly where it stands and does not waver, and therefore, it is the stronger of the two works, because it takes a direct stand and maintains it throughout the work.

Both of these works use eloquent language to symbolize the grandeur and great achievement of creating the heavens and Earth. Both works recognize the great effort it took for God (or gods) to create everything we know and often take for granted on Earth. Ovid writes, "Land, to be sure, there was, and air, and ocean, / but land on which no man could stand, and water / No man could swim in, air no man could breathe, / Air without light, substance forever changing" (Ovid 1066). He gives the gods credit for taking raw elements and creating a habitable and beautiful world, and he gives them credit for great power and effort.

However, Genesis gives credit directly to the Creator, and gives him credit for much more effort. The Bible says, "And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so" (Genesis I: 6-7). Thus, God had more of a hand in the creation according to the Bible. Both books recognize the great effort it took to create a new planet, but in the Bible, God did much more than simply organize the land, air, and ocean, he actually created the firmament and divided the oceans. Thus, he was much more involved in the Creation, which gives him more power and importance.

Ovid also cannot decide who it was who actually created the world, and so, his work is not as powerful as the Bible. He writes, "Whatever god it was, who out of chaos / Brought order to the universe, and gave it / Division, subdivision, he molded earth" (Ovid 1067). Ovid cannot give credit to one creator, he cannot seem to grasp the idea that one entity could have created all that we know of Earth and life, and so, his work takes on the feeling of a myth or legend. The Bible, on the other hand, goes into great detail about all of God's many creations, from the Sun and Moon to the stars, plant life, and all animal and sea life. The Bible is more detailed, and so, it does not read like a legend, it is much more powerful and commanding. The Bible says, "And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven" (Genesis I: 20). There is no question that God, and no one else, created all, and in its simplicity and yet powerful prose, the Bible makes all of that seem somehow possible and plausible.

Perhaps the biggest difference between these two discussions of Creation is the differing accounts of the creation of man. Ovid will not acknowledge man is created in God's own image. He writes, "So Man was born, it may be, in God's image, / or Earth, perhaps, so newly separated / From the old fire of Heaven, still retained / Some seed of the celestial force which fashioned / Gods out of living clay and running water" (Ovid 1068). Ovid seems afraid of acknowledging one God, one force, and one creator for some reason, while the Bible has no qualms about giving God the credit for all Creation and for man as well. The Bible says, "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth" (Genesis I: 26). While the Bible gives direct credit to God, it is almost as if Ovid is afraid to give credit to just one being, and so, his work lacks the power and depth of the Bible. It tells the Creation story in detail, but because he cannot make a definitive choice, his words lack the impact of the Bible's words.