Ovid's Metamorphoses

The Immoralities of Humans and Gods Normally, individuals claim that gods are immortal and divine existences that we should worship and pray for in order to receive a favorable afterlife and atone for one’s sins and crimes. However, Ovid, a famous Roman poet, presents a different point of view about gods. According to Book One in his epic Metamorphoses, he depicts several stories to display the immorality of not only humans but also the “holy” gods. There are various similarities and differences between the immorality of humans and gods. Although both mankind and the deities are unethical in certain ways, the gods definitely act more immorally because they come and go as they wish, abuse their super powers, and lust for nymphs along with daughters

However, he is more immoral than Lycaon by doing whatever he wants to do, which is one of the differences between the immorality of humans and gods. He uses his lightning bolt to demolish Lycaon’s household and turns him into a savage wolf. From this example, another resemblance between humans and gods is that they both want to destroy each other using the cruelest way they can think of. In addition, the gods abuse their super power, which is one of the differences with immoralities of humans and an important reason why gods are ruder than humans. After Jove punishes Lycaon as mentioned above, he wants to punish the entire human race with “The Great Flood” (Ovid, 13). According to Metamorphoses: Now he was just about to sprinkle earth with thunderbolts, yet held back out of fear that such a conflagration could ignite the sacred heavens and set the skies ablaze; […] another punishment now pleases him: to sink the mortal race beneath the waves and send down sheets of rain from above. […] Iris, the messenger of Juno, clad in many-colored robes, draws water to heaven, where she nourishes the clouds. […] Neptune, his sky-blue brother, aids him with waves of fresh auxiliaries. The tyrant calls his rivers […] “Open all your doors, release the floodgates of your dams and dikes, let all your rivers run with ought restraint!” […] Now with his trident, Neptune strikes the earth, who shudders at the blow

For example, after Apollo is shot by Cupid, he falls in love with Daphne, Peneus’ daughter. However, Daphne rejects him and asks her father for help, but Apollo performs immorally. “Loving her still, the god puts his right hand against the trunk, […] and then puts his lips against the wood, which, even now, is adverse to his kiss. ‘Although you cannot be my bride,’ he says, ‘you will assuredly be my own tree, […]’” (Ovid, 23). Apollo turns Daphne into his laurel tree and rapes her because he wants to own her and he thinks that she cannot belong to others. Another example is that Jove falls in love with Io, a nymph, and rapes her. However, after Juno, his wife, suspects Io, he turns Io into a cow. These events show that Apollo and Jove are both domineering and immoral because of the ways they treat others. Raping is considered extremely disrespectful. Overall, these are the reasons why the gods are more immoral than humans and there are indeed a variety of similarities and differences between their immoralities. While immorality exists, the whole world will be in chaos, as shown in Metamorphoses. Impoliteness should be prohibited in the society in order to live a better and more peaceful