Osmosis between High Genres: Ovid’s Tragic Formation of Myrrha’s Tale (Met. 10.298–502) and its Reception in Alfieri’s Homonymous Tragedy
-
Stamatia Kitsou
Abstract
The crux of the tenth book of the Ovidian Metamorphoses is predicated on four mythological narratives with a Cypriot setting and Cypriot protagonists, which are presented as part of Orpheus’ song. The third story revolves around Myrrha and her incestuous love of her father Cinyras. Ovidian scholarship has drawn sufficient attention to the matter of incest, particularly to its ethical and religious facets, and the subsequent transformation of Myrrha into a tree as punishment for her inappropriate desires. My discussion will focus on how Myrrha’s transformation enables Ovid to proceed to the transformation of the genre itself and the formation of a tragic story. In this regard, the Metamorphoses is reaffirmed as a work concerned as much with stories of transformation as the transformation of stories. A second but equally important strand of my discussion will focus on Ovidian Myrrha’s reception in Alfieri’s homonymous tragedy, more specifically on the extent to which the Italian tragedian relied on Ovid’s account and the divergences that result to the portrayal of a pre- Romantic Myrrha.
Abstract
The crux of the tenth book of the Ovidian Metamorphoses is predicated on four mythological narratives with a Cypriot setting and Cypriot protagonists, which are presented as part of Orpheus’ song. The third story revolves around Myrrha and her incestuous love of her father Cinyras. Ovidian scholarship has drawn sufficient attention to the matter of incest, particularly to its ethical and religious facets, and the subsequent transformation of Myrrha into a tree as punishment for her inappropriate desires. My discussion will focus on how Myrrha’s transformation enables Ovid to proceed to the transformation of the genre itself and the formation of a tragic story. In this regard, the Metamorphoses is reaffirmed as a work concerned as much with stories of transformation as the transformation of stories. A second but equally important strand of my discussion will focus on Ovidian Myrrha’s reception in Alfieri’s homonymous tragedy, more specifically on the extent to which the Italian tragedian relied on Ovid’s account and the divergences that result to the portrayal of a pre- Romantic Myrrha.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Preface and Acknowledgements V
- Contents VII
- Introduction 1
-
Part I: Cyprus in Latin Literature
- Cyprus and its Myths on the Roman Stage 13
- Venus on Cyprus: Interlinked Lists of Aphrodite’s Cypriot Sanctuaries in Latin Poetry 33
- Idalion, Satrachus and the Annales of Volusius: The Reception of Cyprus in the Carmina Catulli 51
- Nil desperandum …. cras ingens iterabimus aequor (Hor. Carm. 1.7): The Foundation of Salamis by a Bastard Archer as an Exemplum in Latin Literature 65
- Balance and Excess in Ovid’s Pygmalion Story 87
- Was Cyprus Special? The Case of Two Latin Poets 103
- Infamem nimio calore Cypron: Ancient Epigrams on Flacci in Cyprus 111
- The Digression on Cyprus in Claudian’s Epithalamium de nuptiis Honorii et Mariae 131
-
Part II: Cyprus after Antiquity
- Venus and Adonis from Enheduanna to Shakespeare: The Significance of Ovid’s Cypriot Metamorphoses 153
- Pilgrims, Merchants and Lovers: The Island of Cyprus in Boccaccio’s Decameron (via Ovid’s Metamorphoses) 175
- Venus of Paphos in the Latin Poetry of the Quattrocento 201
- Ovid’s ‘Good’ Women: The Cypriot Exemplum Against the Background of the Statue (R)evolution 221
- Osmosis between High Genres: Ovid’s Tragic Formation of Myrrha’s Tale (Met. 10.298–502) and its Reception in Alfieri’s Homonymous Tragedy 249
- Travel, Classical Traditions and Empire: Western Travellers to Cyprus in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries 265
- List of Contributors 289
- General Index 293
- Index Locorum 299
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Preface and Acknowledgements V
- Contents VII
- Introduction 1
-
Part I: Cyprus in Latin Literature
- Cyprus and its Myths on the Roman Stage 13
- Venus on Cyprus: Interlinked Lists of Aphrodite’s Cypriot Sanctuaries in Latin Poetry 33
- Idalion, Satrachus and the Annales of Volusius: The Reception of Cyprus in the Carmina Catulli 51
- Nil desperandum …. cras ingens iterabimus aequor (Hor. Carm. 1.7): The Foundation of Salamis by a Bastard Archer as an Exemplum in Latin Literature 65
- Balance and Excess in Ovid’s Pygmalion Story 87
- Was Cyprus Special? The Case of Two Latin Poets 103
- Infamem nimio calore Cypron: Ancient Epigrams on Flacci in Cyprus 111
- The Digression on Cyprus in Claudian’s Epithalamium de nuptiis Honorii et Mariae 131
-
Part II: Cyprus after Antiquity
- Venus and Adonis from Enheduanna to Shakespeare: The Significance of Ovid’s Cypriot Metamorphoses 153
- Pilgrims, Merchants and Lovers: The Island of Cyprus in Boccaccio’s Decameron (via Ovid’s Metamorphoses) 175
- Venus of Paphos in the Latin Poetry of the Quattrocento 201
- Ovid’s ‘Good’ Women: The Cypriot Exemplum Against the Background of the Statue (R)evolution 221
- Osmosis between High Genres: Ovid’s Tragic Formation of Myrrha’s Tale (Met. 10.298–502) and its Reception in Alfieri’s Homonymous Tragedy 249
- Travel, Classical Traditions and Empire: Western Travellers to Cyprus in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries 265
- List of Contributors 289
- General Index 293
- Index Locorum 299
