Metamorphoses Lesson Plan

How is the subject of history presented in the Metamorphoses?

In this part of Metamorphoses, Ovid begins to move out of the realm of the legendary and mythological, and towards the historical properly speaking. In the poem, Ovid attempts to tell a story of the world from the moment of its creation up until the present day, where Roman power was at its peak and extended over much of the known world. But there is a catch: although Rome appears for the present to be the culmination of human progress, Ovid knows that change is inevitable and that the tides of the world will eventually shift against Rome.

What kind of philosophy is presented in the long speech by...