The story of Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha is often referred to as an “archetypal” flood story. What is meant by that term? What is an archetype? Find flood stories in other traditions and compare them to the flood story in Metamorphoses.

Epic poems usually tell historical and mythical tales of war or conquest, yet Metamorphoses is considered an epic poem. Research the characteristics of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey and Virgil’s The Aeneid and compare them to the characteristics of Metamorphoses. What are the major similarities and differences between the works? Do you think the Metamorphoses should be referred to as an epic poem? If not, how should it be labeled?

A portion of Book 1 in the Metamorphoses is devoted to the theogony, or the heredity of the gods. Ovid drew much of his information from Hesiod’s Theogony. Research Hesiod’s work, and list significant differences in his account from Ovid’s.

In Genesis, man is said to be formed “from the dust of the ground.” In the creation story of Deucalion and Pyrrha, humans are similarly created from the ground when the oracle calls on Pyrrha to toss the “bones of her mother” behind her. When was Genesis written? Would Ovid, or any of his contemporaries, have had widespread access to the stories in Genesis? If not, what do you think accounts for the similarities between the stories?

In many ways Ovid’s Metamorphoses can be read as a study of power relationships. Analyze how power is used between the sexes in the Metamorphoses. Do male figures always hold power over females? If not, how do females exert their power? Based on your analysis, how would you characterize Ovid’s view of sexual relationships?