Author Description

In this illustrated study, Richard Buxton analyzes Greek literary narratives and visual representations of the metamorphosis of humans and gods, as evidenced from Homer to Nonnos. Such tales have become familiar in their Ovidian dress, as in the best-selling translation by Ted Hughes; Buxton explores their Greek antecedents. He investigates such issues as: how do different contexts shape the way in which metamorphosis is narrated? How do the assumptions of commentators about "strangeness" affect how metamorphosis is interpreted? How far should an interpreter allow "contextual charity" to render more acceptable a belief such as that in metamorphosis? What are the implications of the notions of 'astonishment' (Greek: thambos) in a range of narratives about transformation?