Actaeon's Gaze: Art and Spectacle in Ovid, Metamorphoses 3 - Dr Ioannis Ziogas

we'd like to talk about today is one of the most spectacular characteristics of all experience and this is its visual vividness the ability of all its poetry to conjure up images of what is described in the mind of the Raiders and actually I think there is more than that all its poetry has the power to deceive readers into visualizing more than what is actually described and I think the myth of axiom is a good case study and it is a good case study because the music of you is not just about what acting on solve but I think it's also about what she didn't see so I noticed good as of it as conjuring up images as I speak so I'm very glad that the PowerPoint work so let me give you summary of the mid-face acting is a dedicated young hunter he goes it out hunting with his friends and he accidentally intrudes into a scene of the bath this is the bath of the goddess Artemis in Greek or Diana in Latin um and they only think about their with the winsome they've they're all the times they're all naked they don't like this one thing they see a few Diana spills water on the young man the young man turns into his tan his hounds faint recognize a monster that they're the master they tear him into pieces and that's the gruesome end of the story and I think I'll go back I give justice to all the exertion but before we zoom in a lot of exertion I would actually like to have a look at some visual representations of image we've already heard from from professor figure but that orbit inspired their Nene and and Jerome and many artists painters and sculptors but I think the influence gives the other way up all it is also inspired by representations of the myth that actually predate the metamorphosis so let's have a look at some ancient depictions of the myth and see if if they are relevant for of it so here you have this this lovely opinion up figure simple now if we see this image after reading of it one thing we cannot women to notice is that actually there is a discrepancy between what is depicted and what the story tells as you can see here Artemis is fully closed and fully art it's not only one who is made it its account the one who is naked I think there may be also a visual con in play here given that the Greek word for naked gymnast and the lateral for making noodles makes not only unquote but also an hour so Artemis is fully clothed and fully armed while the hunter is kind of sort of losing his clothes and has no hunting hunting equipment all the glides took the play to the town with a double meaning of nudists in his lab poetry playing with the kind of military neurotic aspect of the world and I think you'll suggest this in this episode when Diana even though she wished she had her hours at hand which she had she took up the water it is likely that all week here probably corrects depictions of the mid let's have Diana having her Archer waiting at hand or because events can be a bit nerdy he likes if you'd like the people who buy mistakes in the movie and points them out and probably this is what what he's doing here um now the other kind of obedient aspect of the image I showed you is that a field it's sort of begging or praying and all the points these out when the transform Actium is kind of brought to his knees and is about to die tragically down his knees in subtly in position just like one in prayer so there is a discrepancy here between what happens what what what the kind of we can see there it's an animal being healed by house and there is also the desire of the human that is trapped in the animal body now this effect I think is more spectacular if actually orbit here activates a sort of individual allusion to representations of the myth because you can see this image that axial is actually human and kind of sort of of trials to pray or or beg for mercy or whatever and in fact on one of the kind of most obedient aspects of the ancient representations of the myth is that accion actually retains his humanity what we see here is not a deer or stag what we see is a Yank man but obviously the dogs are saying something else because otherwise they wouldn't have attacked their master so there is a discrepancy here between our view of Actium and what the dogs see in this kind of in this benefit then the business of a clean retaining his humanity his nudity may be a part of it kind of nudity nation art usually symbolizes heroism but there is nothing heroic and in the story of Actium in this case nudity is a symbol of humanity of exposure of vulnerability and again all that make sure that we never lose sight of effectiveness humanity unlike what happens in the internal organs unlike his companions who cannot recognize a friend or his hands who cannot recognize their master so to give you more examples of ancient representation of art it's the kind of similar pattern here you see Artemis as heck adding from from the torch this is like sort of goddess of the underworld probably signified the desert is looming over appeal appeal is a human again he's naked you can see the kind of Hotere or contours drawing on and then you have the personification of Lisa that's the madness that drives the drives all the dogs this also means rabies or particularly appropriate in this tale and all that describes the pack of Goethe so rabid doom argument as the rabid pack and Zeus I'm not sure what Zeus is doing depictions is just there hanging up but again you see a keel is kind of the focus of attention she's human except for that the antlers she's naked he does have gives to the hand in equipment here which he uses against his dogs um a very kind of similar thing here um Artemis watching tail in the middle the antlers are growing the dogs are attacking him we see a new human being in the process of transformation the dogs already see something else this is a recent figure that the denying means Garga fee and and all it actually starts with lovely description of Diana's grotto by mentioning this mean so probably this is in the context actually off of the back this representation now there are many examples but I hope those those will will size now if we move to Roman art let's see what happens there that's from who paid from the fresco from the house of Menander so what happens in Roman art in this case it's pretty much the same a film is make it he fights against his dogs artemis her headdress is getting shorter but she's healed red and as a quilter her kind of herbal and here you have the head of a stack that metamorphose is the sort of a phantom that you see there but I think compare you will hear more about comp a from from Katharina later but I think Pompeii is a turning point in the presentations of the mid fact even because look at what happens in this image here are these from the Cassidy's eludes you here we actually have they are depicted make it which doesn't really happen before um there is again an axiom in his kind of looking like he's coming from the pre card bit of the antlers a native young man fighting against his dogs but the real difference here is they are now we can kind of speculate there are some obedient aspects in this representation first of all there is the grotto and always spend some time giving a lovely description and actresses of Diana's grotto let note that both her clothes and her handing equipment are beyond her reach just as it happens in love it but there are a lot of differences also most significantly I think in orbit the band of the group of memes are thrown around they Anand cover her body and here the names are nowhere to be seen Diana hers herself tries to cover her nudity I actually have her poster it reminds me of of the kind of things statue of aphrodite of knidos if it's not that's correct I mean you have to resort to Diana's arch enemy after that if you want to depict her naked so um now let's see what happens once we move to Renaissance or modern depictions one Diana is depicted maybe that becomes the norm what we see here is something completely opposite to what happens in ancient art here is a film fully lost with his hunting equipment and in the process of metamorphosis you have a lot of passion and excitement here in the red Diana you can recognize her from the present on her head is completely naked actually her links are doing a better job covering up the kind of steel rooms are there his slice or gee-gees like a voyeur here this is very different from from from that interpret supported from the Greek representations often now an example I'm from volunteer Diana is the very center of attention the light falls on her the attempt to cover up her nudity is not particularly successful and a few peeks of the goddess from on from behind it's interesting that we kind of sword share actives voyeuristic gaze here while the ancient art is sort of protected us from committing active scene by depicting Diana clothed here we are actually making that the same transgression as seen that the most exciting feature is center of attention is is definitely Diana similarly here with the loss not much success with covering up her body filled here comes from background and although the light falls on on Diana okay so to sum up up to this point in Asia in Asian art the spectacle of this is actually a team you see here Garfield is kind of sitting and enjoying what's and what's going on while a modern art the spectacle is actually Diana now where does always stand in this sort of of history of of the mix or of the midst reception I think all these here sides with the ancient artists all of it is not going to focus on Diana's nudity she's going to make a few the spectacle so this is a very interesting business because the kind of representations of Diana naked and active looking at her actually inspired by of it what they do is that they depict precisely what all would refrain from spelling out so let's see what happens when um when a Klingon intrudes on the same of the baths as soon as he entered the growth will be queued with founded spray the naked meets smooth under breaths at the side of the man and filled the entire drove with their shrill sudden cries then they thrown the round Diana and covered her body with their own but the goddess stood head and neck other all the rest now all we always have been called a quantum of the greatest teasers in Western literature and that's that's a case in point we have new diabetes if you think you're getting something like we said naked body of the guy that's being seen or something like that there is nothing like that you have a nice pair bottom Fiza little something to do home bureau is the surprise what is observed here is not the campus it feel is the focus attention what did that do you see what did you see we don't know what happens next is that the names thrown around Diana's body to cover up her nudity now unlike what is depicted in the Renaissance painting I showed you this looks like the kind of better attempt at covering our community here the cover they hold that except for their leg and their head that's the only part of the goddess that is visible I mean of course it is funny that that the nymphs are also making make if you have a kind of a group of knitting links covering up Diana's nudity but still Diana fits pretty pretty um covered here so what happens next is that when whether a team saw Diane or not I think it's unclear but Diana feels embarrassed she blushes and all of it compares the color of her blush with we're clouds that are strike backs and racing they're like rosy dough and then he says that was the color on the face of Diana seeing without rules or a Diana that seemed to be without clothes then even do the band of limbs pressed close about her she stood staring aside a little and cut back her gaze so would happen here if in fact him so anything probably saw her neck and head even though then even though she was needed she was still covered by the means and note how immediately the focus is on Diane actually see not contact him seeing Diana kind of turned sideways an additional kind of proportion proportion and kind of Luke's back there sorry I'm a terrible Diana don't look at me so she cannot looks back role probably addict in again I'm the kind of person that we have the passive voice here that makes me the agency of who saw her order who me she seemed made it pretty pretty kind of unclear and it's kind of worth comparing here what happens in one of all these main models of the story and basically mitosis a battle palace being this Hill the main stories Tiresias like a keen eye wanders off and sees the athena naked and then he is punished he's blinded and then we think that him there is this story of Actium who wandered off and so artemis naked but there is kind of parallel course condors in this source look for instance on how how specific the language of Columbus's is when Tiresias sees a queen and make kilometers says you saw the breasted body of Athena this is very exquisite electronically very precise what Tiresias saw even within the kind of him it is less explicit what a feel so when though unwillingly acting shall behold the loudly back of the goddess it's one thing to say a feeling so the back of the gathers and another tiresias saw the breasts and thighs of of Athena but in any case you see here that a cream is the subject of the active verb to see you know it the only time that this happens in this myth is not when a film looks at Diana but it's when she looks at the reflection of his turns for this separately as he saw his face and antlers on the water I think all the place here with a an agreement between wind I knew that in this episode there they see me the water names and their nudity and that that's it but the cage that's one of the highlight with the reflection reflects the anagram of data and and knew that here part of course there is no nudity to be seen of the water it's just that reflection of action so cute is the spectacle in this exit even when accion is doing the loop now let me get back to the business of the mint kind of covering covering Diana's body I mean it's kind of it's it's been long ago nazarov it expects its learner readers here to read to kind of pick up the allusion to a famous episode from the Odyssey from or d26 it's the episode will now seek a place with her girlfriends and she stands out about them just as Artemis is taller than her name's now that's not just a fleeting illusion there is all the I think hearing books the broader on context for my career position where I'm interesting who is dressed and who is undressed you see that in the passage of the Odyssey the one who's naked is a disease the girls and on Zika are fully clothed and have actually done laundry they are kind of fully covered and what happens there when Odysseus appears after actually the girls had finished their bath a few picks up at that timing improves while are consumed tenants who are taking their bath so in the only see the girls scatter in in the metamorphosis the names thrown around Artemis's body or diffuse begs Nausicaa Actium would like to bed but it doesn't have the chance Nausicaa helps odysseus artemis punishes akin but it's also fascinating to see that if you think about the kind of division for the Dacians of the meat you don't have a contest here you have a correspondence so here is naked act in begging and and now sicker and here you have a naked a disused begging and a sega and you have here naked exam baking and fully closed artemis so it's kind of incorrect and all that expects his readers to to evoke those ancient representations of of the myth there is this sort of of correspondence in this case now let's see um what happens going back to the business of a field basically being the spectacle and the focus of attention but let's see actually what would the anna says before she turns him into into a stack she says you are free to tell now that i was seen by you with like those taken us if you can tell or easily plays with videos here that I seem to you to be without clothes so Diana's concern is not whether a clean soccer naked or not their concern is what he's gonna have what sort of stories is gonna spread around and that's why one of the points of the transformation is that the transformation renders acting incapable of speaking so what we have here is Diana actually trying to prevent that kind of the version of an excited young man who may kind of not much happen but they start telling stories about his friends embellishing them and exaggerating pretty much working like like farmer works in ancient epic now those they are justified to fear that this may be the case or of course you justify look at what happened when kind of people read all of it and start imagining all sorts of things so the kind of all it tries to protect himself from basically committing the thing of Actium or exposing Diane's naked body to the prying eyes of mortals but the reception of his tale actually that's precisely what I would refrain from doing now the funny thing one of the funny things in this story is that the transformation is described in terms of kind of suggested diana is dressing up a tyrannous if you were naked and she needed to be dressed up and so she clothes his body with the spotted and hide the vela picking up the positive the lamina that kind of up cover on doors of diana that was taken off and that's a good example a hobbit both following greek myth and roman izing greek myth because we know that specific or is son in his version wrote that the goddess artemis flung the height of a stab around heel but only does more interesting things than just following the tradition because the whole business of dressing up active is related to you being The Spectre a film is like an actor who puts on the costume in order to perform saying a tragedy you reproduce through the tragedy on a field we don't have it but all we probably did and again in ancient representations of me you do have this version of the deerskin here you kind of see it from this metope kind of dogs almost launched more of the deerskin than at Actium himself um again in this list version you can see the deer skin skin a Kunis dressed up basically as adhere so we can see this myth as as they are not taking off her clothes but we can see it also as they are not dressing up akin now from the wrong perspective actually the whole story would probably evoke what Catherine Gorman corset fatal charades those were executions of criminals I'm reenacted as mythological tale so they would dress up food guys Orpheus throw him in the rain and she would be torn apart by beasts and that the Romans would find this entertaining not all of them probably of it didn't and so when actually when her chilly act Ian is killed and his body his friends are very excited about the show you're at war yet I'm going to wear ISA clear where is it in um and actually of course is is the poor victim there but in a queue would actually wished he where the spectator but he's not the spectator he's part of the show the kind of word spectacular is praveen town here well that also probably evokes the divinity honest that and that Andrew Felder argued bizarre kind of hounding shows in Imperial Rome okay my last point and my last point is kind of fun inevitably about about orbits of its life of it with Catherine already said she used exile for mysterious reasons for retirement and error and the Carmen is probably most likely that they are some authority at the air or we don't really know what it is but the word error is what is used for Actium error means a mistake but also just literally wandering off so in his logic letter to the Emperor Augustus from exile all of it actually compares himself with the field let's see what he says why did I see anything why make my eyes guilty why was a mischief unwittingly loaned to me I feel unaware so they are enclosed now the less he became he became his own hounds prey and so on and so forth and you see it uses the word error here now one of the kind of things that probably striking after spending in half an hour talking to you about him didn't really see Diane I think it is a novel actually here has axiom as the subject of idiot he saw Diana with after all so what are we going to do with this I have two suggestions all the glides to actually suggest readings of his previous poetry especially in Christi are to read the oscillatory of this way when he does that it always means that there is another way of reading so it pretty much highlight the open-ended nature of reception another speculation would be that there is time to spaz between the metamorphosis and the Tricia and what happened in between the story is already out of of its control even even though of it kind of refrained from saying experience Oh Diana naked in the metamorphosis that's already become the mainstream version and all of it is playing along but in any case I think there is a power here between of it and acting because although it never tells us what we saw and actually janitor Englehart argues that he does this on purpose he's teasing us he never says what he saw another all sorts of crazy theories he so my double gas his wife naked is so gasps fascinated you can write novel about this and that happens exactly because all the giver tell is what okay so with the rebus interface with mythic in orbit never really tells us what's acting so and that's why they're that kind of that provokes all sorts of images of Diana being seen by Act II and naked so in the end reality and illusion in this probably not in the eye of the beholder but in the mind of the reader thank you [Applause]

Channel: Roman Society

Views: 665

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: Dr Ioannis Ziogas, Roman Society, Rome, Roman, Ovid, Actaeon, London

Id: wLNq5_A0qBA

Length: 27min 36sec (1656 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 12 2017