Ovid's Metamorphosis

Ovid's Metamorphosis

The Elements in Ovid's Metamorphosis

In Ovid's Metamorphosis, Demiurge creates the world from the four elements of earth, sea (water), thunder and lightening, and the four winds (air). The final element is aither, which is above the four winds. The first two books of Ovid's Metamorphosis center around the stories of the Flood (earth and water) in book one, and the Fire of Phaethon (fire and air) in book two.

In the first book of Metamorphosis, Ovid's focus in on earth and water. In the story of Lycaon, he turns into to a wolf which is a beast that represents earth. In the story of the Flood, there is the sea and water. In the story of Deucalion and Pyrrha, there is the wet altar of Themis (water) and the oracle of stones (earth). Apollo fights an earth monster, and also falls in love with Daphne, who is a river-daughter (water) and becomes a tree (earth). Jupiter also loves Io, another river daughter (water) who becomes a cow (earth beast). Mercury tells the story of Pan (whose flutes represent water) and Syrinx, another river daughter.

In the second book, Ovid focuses on fire and air. He writes about the Palace of the Sun, where both air and fire are represented. The story of Phaethon is also associated with fire and air, and the sisters of Phaethon turn into trees which weep amber which is solid fire. Cygnus, Phaethon's cousin, becomes a swan, which is a bird of the air that lives in water, and fears fire. In the story of Apollo falling in love with Coronis, the raven betrays her and turns black when Apollo kills him (an air creature). The crow also betrays Erichthonius, who is born of the earth. The god of medicine, Asclepius, is born from fire. Ovid returns to earth and water in this second book when Aglauros turns to stone (earth) for feeling envy, which is known as an earth emotion and represented by a cave.