Here are some notes on Ovid (pt. 2)
These two stories include the sister’s Procne and Philomela. Procne is wed to an evil man named Tereus who uses his smarts in a very deceitful manner. Procne, feeling homesick, asks Tereus to allow her sister, Philomela to visit, and he yields to her request; however, upon seeing Philomela, falls madly in lust with her, and once he gets her he locks her in a tower and defiles the virgin. Philomela, up high in the tower, cries out for help from anyone who can hear her. She cries to the gods and denounces Tereus’s actions. Tereus is upset by this and cuts out her tongue so she cannot make words anymore. Both the women in this story are very naive and submissive to the will of the man, Tereus. It is as if they are second class citizens.
After learning what had happened to her sister, Procne went mad and killed her son, Itys. Then, she made a feast for Tereus and, unbeknownst to Tereus, fed Itys to him. This revenge, although a sign of defiance, is also a sign of madness.
Another set of stories about a women (Medea, son of King Aeetes), but this time she is a women with great power who plays a key role in the lives of many important men. Medea falls deeply in love with Jason and is so in love that she flees her kingdom and helps Jason defeat the insurmountable obstacles he faces on his way to getting the golden fleece. In return for her help, Jason promises to marry Medea. Medea also successfully rejuvenates Aeson (Jason’s father).
Medea also shows her more calculating side when she goes to King Pelias (Aeson’s brother) and tricks his daughters into killing him so that Aeson could return to the throne. Unfortunately, the story of great Medea ends tragically when Jason goes off and marries another girl. Medea goes mad with revenge and murders her two sons that she shares with Jason.
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| (Image Information: Jason and Medea, by Charles Andre van Loo; Web Source: Wikimedia) |
I noticed that you read Procne's Revenge, and I was just curious whether you think this story could have inspired a common plot trope among cannibal stories: the cannibal will feed a victim to a person, who is completely unaware of the situation. In this way, the cannibal tries to either get their fellow consumer to share in the guilt, or show that their dietary practice isn't different from any other. What do you think?
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