Essential Quotes by Character: Jove
Essential Passage 1: Book I
When Saturn fell to the dark Underworld
And Jove reigned upon earth, the silver race
Replaced the gold, inferior, yet in worth
Above the tawny bronze. Then Jupiter
Curtailed the pristine spring and led the year
Through winter, summer, autumn’s varying days
And brief precarious spring in seasons four.
Then first the blazing sky with torrid heat
Sweltered, and ice hung frozen in the gale;
Then men sought shelter—shelter under caves
And thickets and rough hurdles bound with bark;
Then in long furrows first were set the seeds
Of grain and oxen groaned beneath the yoke.
Summary
In the beginning there was nothing but Chaos, a disordered mass of matter. Then Nature began the process of Creation by separating the elements, the air, and ether from the land and water. Plant life and animal life were set forth on the earth, followed by the creation of Man, who looked up to Heaven, as the animals looked down to earth. There were five climatic regions of the earth (equatorial, two temperate, and two polar zones), yet there were still no seasons. Human beings found shelter in caves or rude shelters. Over all this ruled Saturn, the king of the Titans. It was the Golden Age, when all was at peace. No conflict existed between the elements or living things.
However, in the divine realm, there was discord. Saturn was killed by his son Jove (Jupiter). The Golden Age came to an end and gave way to the Age of Silver, with Jupiter as its king. During this age came the seasons of winter, spring, summer, and winter. Mankind was still at peace. They had learned to gain food from toil in the ground, and to build houses. However, their gains came at a cost: freedom for man meant enslavement for animals.
Essential Passage 2: Book II
The Almighty Father made the anxious round
Of heaven’s vast bastions to ensure that none,
Enfeebled by the fire’s assault, should fall;
And seeing all were sound, their strength intact,
Surveyed the earth and the affairs of men.
His own Arcadia was his weightiest care;
Her springs and rivers, fearing still to flow,
He primed anew, gave verdure to the fields,
Leaves to the trees and bade the ravaged woods
Grow green again. And as he came and went,
Busy, there caught his eye a country nymph
Of Nonacris and love flared in his heart.
She was no girl to spin soft skeins of wool
Or vary her hair-style; a buckle held
Her dress, a plan white band her straggling hair.
She carried a light spear—sometimes a bow—
Diana’s warrior; none so high as she
In Dian’s favour on the mountain slopes
Of Maenalus; but favourites soon fall.
One afternoon, the sun still riding high,
She found a glade deep in the virgin woods
And there unstrung her bow, took off her quiver,
And lay down on the grass, the coloured case
A pillow for her head. Jove saw her there,
Weary and unprotected and alone.
‘This prank’, he thought, ‘my wife will never learn,
Or should she, all her scolding’s worth the prize.
Summary
Phaeton, the son of the sun god Apollo, has come close to destroying the earth by fire, having taken advantage of his father’s rash promise to grant him anything that he requests. Phaeton asks to ride Apollo’s sun chariot across the sky. Losing control, Phaeton sets fire to the land below. Jove is forced to strike the boy with a lightning bolt; this saves the earth, but kills Phaeton. Concerned for his dominion, Jove travels...
(This entire section contains 1398 words.)
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around to check on the damage, paying especial care to Arcadia (his birthplace). While giving new life to the plants and trees and causing the springs and rivers to flow freely once again, Jove chances upon a young nymph, Callisto, dressed simply yet beautifully. She carries a spear because she is one of Diana’s chosen warriors and, as such, is sworn to life-long virginity. She lies down on the grass, using her quiver for a pillow. Jove sees her beauty and desires her. He observes that she is alone, unarmed, and weary, thus vulnerable to his advances. He pauses, imagining the reaction of Juno, his ever-jealous wife, but dismisses her probable rage. Even if she finds out about his affair, Callipso’s beauty is well-worth the cost.
Essential Passage 3: Book XI
Old Proteus once had said to Thetis, ‘Bear
A child, fair goddess of the waves. For you
Shall be the mother of a youth whose deeds
In his brave years of manhood shall surpass
His father’s, and he’ll win a greater name.’
Therefore, for fear the world might ever have
A greater than himself, Jove shunned the bed
Of Thetis, fair sea-goddess, though his heart
Was fired with no cool flame, and in his place
As lover bade his grandson Peleus take
In his embrace the virgin of the waves.
Summary
The sea god Proteus, son of Neptune, is able to foretell the future, though often reluctantly. He proclaims to the sea nymph Thetis that she shall give birth to a son who shall be greater than his father. The ever-lustful Jove, on hearing of this prophecy, decides he will not take the risk, as he usually would, of sleeping with Thetis on the off-chance that she should become pregnant with a son who would be greater than the King of Heaven. Although his desire does not cool, he persuades his human grandson, Peleus, to take the sea nymph as his bride. Peleus accidentally kills his brother and flees in fear. At the court of Ceyx, he hears that his cattle have been killed by a wolf. Thinking this is a sign from the gods, he flees yet again until he is granted forgiveness. Thetis bears Peleus a son, the hero Achilles, whose contributions in the Trojan War raise him to the height predicted by Proteus.
Analysis of Essential Passages
Although now the King of Heaven, ruler of gods and mortals, Jove (Jupiter) was preceded by Saturn, who came after Chaos. Jove is thus not the "Primary Cause" of creation, but simply a ruler whose position is vulnerable. That sense of vulnerability is in many ways the central motivation of his unsavory character. From the beginning, Jove places little value on life. He kills his father, Saturn, in order to assume the throne. At various times in the Metamorphoses, Jove is portrayed as a murderer, a liar, an adulterer, and a rapist.
Because the gods as a whole and Jove in particular do not appear to be bound by a moral code or conscience, self-fulfillment (especially in the matter of physical desire) is their primary goal. The welfare of humankind is a minor distraction, one in which they interest themselves only if there is some benefit in doing so. As the head of the gods, Jove is also the epitome of all that is wrong with the gods. Although he influences and governs the lives of humans, he cannot be trusted, especially around “defenseless” women, such as Callisto. Rather than offering her protection or mercy, Jove takes advantage of Callisto's vulnerability in order to rape her. When Jove does manage to show moral restraint, as in the case of his potential rape of Thetis, it is based on the fear of being displaced. Because he rid himself of a weaker father, Jove realizes that he too is not all-powerful. Although he manages to stop himself from raping Thetis, he arranges for her rape nonetheless by giving her to his own grandson Peleus, who is then displaced by a son, Achilles.
In some cases, humans in the Metamorphoses use the actions of Jove as justification for their own immorality. But on the whole, Ovid portrays mortal man as having a higher standard of behavior than the gods do, especially Jove. Despite their clear position of moral superiority, mortals are made to feel a profound sense of helplessness as mere playthings of the gods. Humankind's showings of piety are made not necessarily to please the gods but to bribe them: men and women attempt to placate the gods so that they might live their mortal lives in peace. Because Jove is often unpredictable, juvenile, and dangerous, a mortal's pleas and placations are rarely effective.
