Reading Notes: Olvid's Metamorphoses II, Part A

Some of these transformations were pretty brutal. I didn't expect the transformations to be so graphic and gory, and I was honestly a little taken off guard. These really should have come with a warning that the people of Lycia are just awful and you think they would have learned to treat the gods better.

Arachne and Minerva

I had heard a little bit about this myth before didn't know the full story and I found Arachne and Minerva and the follow up myth, Arachne Weaves a Web, pretty interesting. I was very impressed with Arachne's call out of the gods even though the entire time I was like just admit someone taught you to weave and you could've avoided all of this. I also thought she was an idiot to call out Minerva as the old woman but then it all made sense when she wove the tapestry of all the times the gods had tricked people to best them and cover up their own mistakes. I think it would be interesting to write a storybook about all the times the gods got called out on their mistakes because I think it would hilarious.

Niobe Rejects Latona

Now this story was filled with just so much stupidity on Niobe's part. I totally get Arachne's pride and her great call out of the gods because she knew that she was going to probably be killed no matter what so why not go out with a bang. Niobe on the other hand continually spits in the goddess's face. Her pride in the beginning was kind of justifiable because it could have been played off as a general question to the gods about why she wasn't worshipped as a goddess because she had all the qualifications. Then, in The Death of Niobe's Children, after all her sons have been killed, she begs Latona to stop and leave her daughters alive but then insults the goddess again! You idiot! I could just picture all the gods stopping a second to look at each other and be like "did she really just ask that?" Honestly I would just rewrite this from another god's perspective and have them commentate on the entire thing. 

(Photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Bibliography. Olvid's Metamorphoses II by Tony Kilne; links to readings here