Ovid-Part 3

I saw the name Scylla, and immediately thought vicious dragon-thing that kills people. I think I might be getting my mythology a tad mixed up. I could have sworn she was a dragon, though. I mean, she does end up being able to fly, so same thing, right?

I like how in the story of Minos and Ariadne, Bacchus is kind of a hero. Not really, because it is not like he does not anything massively earth-shattering, but he helps out Ariadne when he does not need to. He does seem to be a bit dramatic, though. Apparently, in some versions, Bacchus ends up married to Ariadne, so maybe that is why he helped her out. Also, there could be a bit of foreshadowing there, because he says, “You must shine forever.” Again, in some versions, Ariadne ends up being a minor goddess. Also, I think it is very important and interesting that Ovid mentions that not even Daedalus could figure out the entirety of the maze.

There were two things that Daedalus warned Icarus about: the sun and the water. I know Icarus was an idiot who flew too close to the sun and fell to his death, but it was, in fact, the water that ultimately killed him.

Atalanta is awesome. What does she get for her trouble? Some dudes want to kill her because of her awesomeness. This upsets me greatly. I mean, yes, there is quite a bit of death in this story, but it seems to me that everyone else (more or less) deserves it. At least you can understand defending Atalanta and someone trying to kill her, and then ending up dead themselves.

I wonder why there is an island called Hedgehog Isles. That seems really random and strange, when generally the names are so much more dramatic or meaningful. As opposed to yes, we like hedgehogs.

It is really interesting that Hunger is not, in fact, a goddess, but is, in fact, a spirit. Also, it is really interesting that she is a she. I do not know why. I would just think Hunger would be a he.

OK, let me tell you a thing. Not only do I love Ovid’s description of Cerberus here, but I have a fun fact. So, Cerberus comes from the Greek word “Kerberos,” which means “spotted.” That is right, my friend. Hades, all-powerful Lord of the Dead, named his dog Spot. This makes me insanely happy.

Pygmalion is a story that I really like, but I think that is mainly just because the play “My Fair Lady” is based on the book Pygmalion (George Bernard Shaw) which drew its inspiration from this story. (“My Fair Lady” is one of my favorite plays.) It is a surprisingly short and happy story.

I am so so happy we get to meet Atalanta again. Atalanta is fantastic. And she can run faster than all the men, too. I wonder if she is descended from Nike or something. That would be cool. If she is not, though, she is still awesome, because she is the best at everything and does not even brag about it. The only reason she wants to race is so she does not have to marry, or will end up marrying someone worthy. She is seriously fantastic. I wonder if Disney’s “Brave” was partially modeled after Atalanta. Also, it is super interesting that this story is told from Venus’s perspective. That is new. I like it. I wonder why Ovid decided to switch it up?  Hippomenes totally cheated, but it was for a good reason. Atalanta herself said she would marry him if things had been different. And then, poof! They were.