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3 Daedalus and the Labyrinth of the Metamorphoses
- University of Wisconsin Press
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3 Daedalus and the Labyrinth of the Metamorphoses A s the center of the Metamorphoses, book 8 assumes a Janus-like position, pointing both backward and forward in a complex narrative movement. First, the theme of a young woman’s disastrous passion, which we explored in chapter 2 with the myth of Medea, is revisited in Scylla’s betrayal of her father because of her infatuation with Minos (1–151). An extended section on Minos’s return to Crete follows, focusing on the myths of Daedalus (152–262). The narrative then turns to Greek heroes, who loom large through book 13: the myth of Meleager occupying a long central section (273–546) is followed by the reception of Theseus and his companions by the river god Achelous (547–884). Ovid includes an account of Daedalus at work on the Cretan labyrinth , the tortuous paths of which are so confusing that even the architect himself almost fails to find his way out (158–68). The poet’s attention to the labyrinth at this point in the poem recalls Daedalus’s signal feat in the ekphrasis of the temple doors of Apollo in Aeneid 6 (24–30). Vergil similarly incorporates the myth of Daedalus in the pivotal middle book of his poem, mediating between the Trojan past and the Roman future, at the point when Aeneas arrives in Italy, consults the priestess of Apollo, and descends into the underworld for emotional support and guidance from his father in his quest for a new kingdom.1 The inevitability of suffering and the value of heroic labor underlie Vergil’s conception of the labyrinth in its context in Aeneid 6. The poet associates the labyrinth with both the genius and the personal tragedy of the archetypal architect, who sculpts the maze on the temple doors 61 yet cannot bring himself to depict the flight from Crete that cost his young son his life. Vergil also connects the labyrinth with the struggles of the hero who, after viewing the designs on the temple doors, winds his way through the twisted paths of the underworld as one of many labors in his effort to resettle the Trojan exiles. These fundamental epic concerns emerge as well in Metamorphoses 8. Ovid explores the architect’s personal loss by narrating the story of Daedalus ’s flight and his son’s disastrous fall. The poet also incorporates a diverse array of heroes engaged in a variety of endeavors; he focuses in particular on Theseus, who successfully emerges from the labyrinth and is later entertained by the river god Achelous, and Meleager, who leads the effort to rid Calydon of the ravaging boar. As we will see, however, Ovid differs markedly from Vergil on these epic issues. This chapter explores the significance of the labyrinth as the central image of the Metamorphoses. My view is that Ovid conceives the labyrinth as a metaphor for the design of book 8 and, by extension, of the Metamorphoses as a whole, specifically in contrast to the Aeneid. As typical , Ovid is expansive where Vergil is concise: he adds a simile comparing the winding structure to the river Maeander, which has no counterpart in the ekphrasis in the Aeneid. In the process, the poet alludes to his predecessor’s etymology for the labyrinth yet simultaneously employs the circuitous river as a symbol of the inherently devious nature of the Metamorphoses. In this first section, I discuss Daedalus as a major figure of the poet, not only as architect of the Cretan labyrinth with its twisting paths and but also as inventor of wings for human flight. Ovid reflects on the complex nature of the archetypal artisan through the troubling ways by which he enacts repetition in the sphere of father-son relations as well as in his architectural masterwork. The poet adds to the labyrinthine nature of his narrative here by following the story of Icarus’s disastrous flight with an account of Daedalus’s nephew Perdix, in which he implies disturbing parallels to the fate of the artisan’s son. I examine how repetition, a seminal element of Ovid’s poetics, assumes a special significance throughout book 8.2 My discussion focuses in particular on the narrative of Theseus’s escape from the labyrinth; Meleager and the assemblage of heroes in the Calydonian boar hunt; Althaea’s inner turmoil over her conflicting loyalty to her son and her brothers; and the hospitality of Achelous. Theseus, significantly, is present through much of book 8, most...