Unorthodox Behavior In Ovid's Agmatic Play 'The Aeneid'

The ancient gods were worshiped and respected by the ancient Roman people, as well as other pagan nations, they were perceived as the ultimate power that ruled and governed over all elements and life forms on earth. Even though the gods were both loved and feared they were not all known as dignified and merciful beings that showed consideration towards their followers and their own kind. This is the unorthodox behavior that Ovid incorporates into his stigmatic play “The Metamorphoses”. By comparing Ovid’s work with another ancient play “The Aeneid” by Virgil, we are able to see exactly how different the gods are portrayed by both writers.

From the beginning of the poem Ovid portrays certain gods as lecherous, abductors, and rapists that resort

In his poem, Virgil credits certain gods as being helpful and interested in the well-being and future of their loyal servants. Venus, who is Aeneas’s mother, is persistent that her son must fulfill his destiny in claiming his own land at all cost, and to ensure everything goes according to plan she works quickly and stealthily alongside him. The protagonist, Aeneas, sets out on a journey after the destruction of Troy to declare his own kingdom in a distant land, but during his travels he continually faces situations that deprive him of his ultimate goal. One major instance where Venus lends her help would be when Aeneas and other Trojans aboard a ship heading towards Italy are struck with furious waters causing them to shipwreck on an unknown land (pg. 969). Disguising herself as a stranger she approaches her son and imparts to him of his location and of the path that will lead him to Queen Dido’s home where he will receive assistance: “You’ve reached a Tyrian city. So off you go. Take this path to the queen’s gates” (Lines 471-72). When she takes notice that the Queen’s love for Aeneas has caused delay in his impending conquest, she becomes displeased, and refuses to allow him to settling for less. For his and the remaining Trojans own good, she persuades Jove to implore him to depart from Carthage: “What hope can make him loiter among his foes, lose sight of Italian offspring to

In his poem “The Metamorphoses”, Ovid portrays the gods as selfish, inconsiderate beings who force themselves into an unsuspecting victim’s life in order to quench their sexual cravings. In Virgil’s poem “The Aeneid”, he portrays the gods as honorable and helpful to subjects with their earthly advancements. Whether the gods truly abused their powers, or used them to benefit the pagans is uncertain, but it is clear that the gods were portrayed differently by Ovid and Virgil, and possibly by multiple pagan people in ancient