Metamorphoses

Ovid’s version of Medea’s story is far less flattering to her than other versions known today, including those by Apollonius of Rhodes, Euripides, and even the later Seneca. In Ovid’s version, Medea and her magic are nefarious. At first, Medea uses her magic to help Jason get the golden fleece. She mixes up a magic potion for Jason, “and straight the magic herbs / she gave into his hands and taught their use” (147), allowing Jason to defeat many challenges to finally get to his prize. She also uses her magic to give youth back to Jason’s father Aeson. After she puts him to sleep and replaces his blood with a potion, “Aeson woke up and marveled as he saw / his prime restored of forty years before” (153).

As Ovid will show later in the Metamorphoses, restoring youth is a rare and tricky power, subject to Fate, so for Medea to have this ability makes her an immensely powerful witch. However, she does not always use her abilities for good. She tricks the naïve daughters of Pelias into killing their father, rather than restoring his youth. Ovid writes, “had she not soared away with her winged dragons, / she surely must have paid the price” (155). Medea’s magic allows her to escape punishment, only to try her hands at crime again with King Aegeus. After she fails to trick Aegeus into killing his long-lost son Theseus, “Medea fled, swathed in a magic mist / her spells had made” (157). After this, Ovid never returns to Medea, and she leaves behind only a legacy of powerful but murderous magic.

Erotic love plays a large and domineering role in the Metamorphoses, but so too does true or romantic love, particularly in the tragic story of Cephalus and Procris. Cephalus first shows his devotion to his wife Procris when he rejects the goddess, Dawn. Despite the goddess’ temptation, Cephalus says, “I / loved Procris, Procris ever in my heart, / and Procris on my lips” (166). He remains faithful to his wife, only to become suspicious of her on his journey home. After he tests Procris and she fails, she leaves him. However, this only makes Cephalus upset, and he says, “I begged / my wife’s forgiveness, owned that I had sinned, / that I too might have yielded to such gifts” (167). Eventually they reunite. However, later, Procris also begins to suspect her husband of infidelity and follows him into the woods. There he accidentally pierces her with his javelin. As she died, he says, “at last I learnt of her mistake, / and told her all” (170). Even though both Procris and Cephalus suspect each other at different points of infidelity, neither is ever unfaithful, and they both always return to each other. The tragedy is that despite their undying love, in the end, death separates them.