Ovid's Metamorphoses Book II

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Recommended: Literary theories of metamorphosis

Ovid's story of Erysichthon is told in the epic Metamorphoses at lines 738-878 in book 8. Erysichthon was a man who is guilty of a sacrilege involving the sacred grove of the goddess Ceres. The goddess punishes him by casting the dreadful Famine upon him, where she would hide and consume Erysichthon with a voracious hunger. This punishment for cutting down the sacred oak of Ceres is severe indeed, bringing misfortune not only to him, but upon his whole country. He even resorts to selling his own daughter for money to feed himself as a result of his ravenous desire for food. His daughter cries out to Neptune who enables her to be able change her form into a fisherman so that she could elude her masters. In the end, Erysichthon consumed by his hunger, tore at his own flesh in order to feed himself. The story can be broken down into three parts, which each individually defines a mood that adds to the atmosphere of the story. There is the initial introduction with Erysichthon defacing the sacred oak tree of Ceres, the journey to enlist the aid of Famine in punishing Erysichthon and finally the exploitation of Erysichthon's daughter and his ultimate demise. The story has an ominous mood throughout the development and unraveling of Erysichthon's punishment, although there are instances when the mood is lightened, if only for a few lines. The murky seriousness of the story is complimented with the depressing fate of Erysichthon and his daughter as he is driven to madness. This balance is appropriately built up as the plot is unfolded, in addition to a suitable mixture of the humour and seriousness. Details that describe the living environment and emotions of the characters are brought forth in a passive yet elegant manner. In union with the mood however, the details give a cruel and harsh reality that gives the reader a true feeling of the poem.

The seriousness of the story can be observed in many instances throughout the story. At the very beginning, Erysichthon demonstrates his ruthlessness and defiance to the gods in the lines, "…he bade his slaves cut down the sacred oak. But when he saw that they shrank back, the wretch snatched an axe from one of them…" (Ovid 459) as well as, "‘Take that to pay you for your pious thought!' and, turning the axe from the tree against the man, lopped off his head.

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