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Delahoyde & Hughes
Orpheus
OVID
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Jason and Medea:
War between Crete and Athens:
Cephalus and Procris:
Here's a tragic distrusting couple. Cephalus is the husband, testing
his wife's fidelity while in disguise. She runs away; and while suspecting
Cephalus of an affair, Procris sneaks about in the bushes. Cephalus heaves
a javelin, bringing about another tragic hunting accident. So take note:
the animal you're shooting at may be your own wife.
Dodging a repetition of the events given in Euripides' well-known play,
Medea, Ovid instead offers Jason and
Medea, the early years: Medea resists but falls in love, and we eavesdrop
on her thinking through the decision to help him and run away with him.
Medea gives Jason the solutions for overcoming obstacles involving a
vicious bull and warriors sprung from a serpent's teeth and the dragon
guarding the Golden Fleece. In cooperation with Hecate's black magic,
Medea's witchcraft rejuvenates Jason's father Aeson (152-153), but they
play a trick on usurping uncle Pelias and his daughters (155) --
chopped-up daddy didn't come back to life! The period covered in the
Euripides play is scanned quickly in a few lines (156) and Ovid then
segues into Medea as Aegeus' wife and therefore Theseus' evil
stepmother (157).
After an effective description of heat, drought, and pestilence brought
by Juno, in which the earth and humans mutually suffer a blight, we
hear mention of the Myrmidons.
Check out this separate commentary on the Myrmidons.
Ovid Index
Orpheus: Roman Mythology