Context Essay

Think Before You Act: A Lesson For All Mortals

In Ovid's Metamorphoses, gods punish humans when they act without foresight. Foresight means thinking through the consequences of an action before one decides. Without foresight, the mortal characters often infuriate the gods, which results in their deaths or misery. The story of the Ciconian women brings out the worst consequence of moving without foresight: death. At the start of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the women kill Orpheus in anger and jealousy when he rejects them. They never consider that Bacchus, a powerful god, favors Orpheus. Their shortsightedness angers the god, who punishes them by transforming them into trees. The same shortsightedness is present in the story of Midas, where shortsightedness does not lead to death but misery. Midas asks Bacchus to give him the power to turn everything he touches into gold, but he does not pause to reflect on what it means to possess such power. Because of his newfound power, the king can no longer eat or drink, as it all turns to inedible gold. Because Midas lacked foresight, a gift that he envisioned would be an award becomes a curse. Eventually, Midas's lack of foresight causes a different form of punishment: humiliation. After the previous ordeal, Midas begins to worship the god Pan. Another god, Apollo, and Pan compete in a contest of music, which the former wins with a single note. Midas is the only listener who questions Apollo's victory, which enrages the god. Because of this, Apollo gives him donkey ears, which causes him great humiliation. In this story, Midas lacks the foresight to recognize that Apollo can easily torment and punish the former king for acting so impudently. Through these three stories, Ovid shows how mortals need foresight when they interact with the gods. The Ciconian women and Midas, because of their lack of foresight, face great punishment and misery throughout Ovid's Metamorphoses. These tales teach us modern humans as well, that when interacting with powerful and impatient individuals, it pays to have a little patience and foresight to avoid punishment. 

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