The first time I met a Frenchman named Lionel, he introduces me to Ovid's book, The Metamorphoses. Lionel which means 'little lion' was true to form. I believe Lionel was thinking more of the Amores. With that I can only imagine what Ovid did in his lifetime with a chuckle. Lionel believed that every man should read this book. Why? Lionel said that men needed to learn how to treat women. Secretly, I think Lionel wanted to be Don Juan. I keep arguing to myself that maybe men need to read Ovid's Ars Amatoria (The Art of Love) or Remedia Amoris (The Cure for Love).
I pondered whether Ovid wrote something on "Womanly Indifference"? How to Hunt? No such luck.
Ovid was exiled for being risque and a little libertine but that is all in a days work for the free of heart. Sometimes you have to be a libertine. I don't mean Johnny Depp with his nose falling off from syphillis in the movie either.
I pondered the story about Diana and Actaeon. Diana's contribution to the situation seemed a little extreme to me but that is the story.The relevance here is Diana, being the Goddess of the Hunt and Actaeon was a legendary hunter. Undoubtedly, they could not come to terms for lack of discussion.
Here is the story in brief:
Diana is bathing with her nymphs in her sacred pool. Actaeon comes along and sees her naked. This vision insights Actaeon to make Diana his consort because he has 'some kind of stirrings'. Upset that he is being a peeping tom, Diana turns Actaeon into a stag. Once changed into a stag, Actaeon's hounds chase him down and rip him to pieces. Or so the story goes......
Given translations and renditions, the story could change in motive depending on Diana's virtue lacking impunity and the questionable behavior of Actaeon. Love will drive you mad but lust will kill you dead. There is also the issue of the hunter becoming the hunted on both parts. Diana is hunted as a woman by a man with questionable thoughts in his heart. Actaeon is hunted by his dogs because he is now a stag. Reading other stories about Diana, one comes to the realization that on more than one occasion, because of the lust of men, she is nearly raped. Diana comes to hate men based on their behavior.
There is also the story of Jupiter seducing Callisto in the form of Diana. Diana's bigger annoyance is the deception of men or their feelings of entitlement by encroaching on her sense of personal space. Men do not treat her as a goddess but merely an approachable human woman, which she is not. There is also the reoccurring theme of male domination and her resistance to it. In order for Actaeon to be unable to dominate Diana, she changes him into a stag from which he can't change back. Even though one account states it is only when he speaks that he will turn into the stag. If one considers the male gender asserts authority and dominance though verbal commands and body language, it would be easy to see why Diana took away his choice to speak.
If we were to think in terms of wrath and why a woman would not want someone to speak of her obvious helplessness in a situation, is to avoid negative attention from overly amorous suitors, deception, and the idea Actaeon now knew what Diana was hiding. Even though Diana is a goddess, she is still in need of a form of protection because Diana shares human emotions. There was no shortage of treachery among the Greek gods. The issue of trust or lack thereof comes creeping into the story because of the immediate cursing of Actaeon's speech. Here one can think in terms of a wild animal that is troublesome, unmanageable, and downright fear drenched. The animal would kill itself trying to escape but there is that one person who comes along and by some miraculous ability can appear to control the creature, when in fact it merely acquires the creature's trust, even if temporarily. This is the same concept with training wild horses, hunting dogs, and feral cats. Take the threat and pressure away.
There is also a biblical reference to Adam and Eve in the Garden. Adam being weak minded follows along with Eve, who eats forbidden fruit. Hence, they realize the two of them are naked by the act of some sin or crime being committed intentionally or by ignorance. Here the woman is cursed. In Diana and Actaeon's story, Actaeon is cursed for committing a sin against Diana by seeing her naked. The stories are inverted to some degree. Actaeon by one account is merely walking along in the woods and stumbles upon her. Man in his ignorance meanwhile trouble ensues.
In Diana's short book of what do I do questions she is probably thinking the Holy Trinity of retribution: Do I care, curse, or kill? On the other hand, there is a tale of Acteaon stating he out performed Diana in hunting. If you take into consideration the plot of Actaeon boasting about outdoing Diana, you would then have the relationship dynamic of competition in a most foul way. I vote for the nude story myself. Greek tragedy and all.
As Diana pointed her finger after changing Actaeon, she bequeath him one final thing. She planted fear within his heart. Up to this point, being the legendary hunter, I assume Actaeon did not have anything he feared. He could overcome all problems. Actaeon is outside the realm of human emotional trappings. Once Diana turns Actaeon into a stag he is no longer protected or recognized. The hunter has now become the hunted.
This story could be an example of a cautionary tale about over stepping boundaries, forcing yourself off on someone who doesn't ask for that behavior, detailed scrutiny and the repercussions that come from such interactions.
In regards to overstepping boundaries, when put in situations where an aggressive type is pressing you to conform to their wishes, take a step back and say, "No."
No means no and you do not have to explain why. It just is.They can accept it or not.
Written by W Harley Bloodworth
~Courtesy of the AOFH~
If you would like to read more please click on the link below:
http://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/Ovhome.htm
