Metamorphosis
...which opens with the creation of the world and continues on to the present day, and is about the transformation of bodies. After this short prayer, Ovid describes the birth of the world. A creator separated earth from heaven, sea from land, and lighter air from heavier air. He then made beings to inhabit these new spaces: Gods and stars filled the heavens, fish the seas, beasts the land, and birds the air. Man was created to rule the world. Four ages followed. The age of gold was a time of trust, moral goodness, and fruitfulness. In the age of silver, people had to work for a living. The age of bronze saw the first wars, but some semblance of morality persisted. In the age of iron, however, nothing is sacred. Even family ties lead to bloodshed.
In the iron age, the gods appear and witness human impiety. In particular, Jupiter visits the house of the Lycaon, who treats Jupiter with the greatest disrespect, even trying to murder him in his sleep. Outraged, Jupiter decides to punish humanity with a flood. Because of their piety, Deucalion and Pyrrha survive. No one else does. Themis gives Deucalion and Pyrrha cryptic advice about how to repopulate the earth: They must cover their heads, let their garments loose, and cast the bones of their great mother behind their backs. Initially, Pyrrha is disheartened, because she interprets this advice as sacrilegious. How can she desecrate her mother's bones? Deucalion has a different interpretation. He thinks Themis was referring not to their actual mothers, but to the earth. They try throwing stones behind them, and the stones morph into people.
Apollo speaks disparagingly to Cupid, who shoots two arrows in retaliation. The first arrow causes Apollo to fall in love, and the second arrow makes the object of his love, Daphne, flee. Apollo pursues Daphne, but she rejects him. Apollo pleads and persists, and Daphne cries out...
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