Context Essay
Towards the end of Book VIII, Ovid writes the two contrasting stories of Baucis and Philemon, followed by Erysicthon, in which the Spartan King Lelex demonstrates the power of the Gods through grace and wrath. Baucis and Philemonbegins as the Gods Jupiter and Mercury descend to a Phygrian town to test its residents. They test every home, yet out of all the townfolk, only the older couple Baucis and Philemon accept.
“mille domos adiere locum requiemque petentes, mille domos clausere serae,”
“They approached one thousand homes desiring a place and a rest, [and] bolts shut one thousand homes” (628-629).
After proving their hospitality to the disguised Gods to be out of their kindness, Jupiter and Mercury turn their humble home into a gilded temple, flood the rest of the town, and grant the couple one wish.
The story reflects ancient Rome’s interpretation of grace. Roman tradition and culture emphasized transactional relationships with Gods; good deeds are rewarded, such as in Baucis and Philemon’s case, while the bad deeds of inhospitality committed by the townsfolk led to their drowning. By Roman standards, Baucis and Philemon is a heartwarming story, as two senior characters are willing to shelter and feed random strangers and are rewarded for their actions. The townfolks’ deaths were insignificant in comparison to the grace exhibited by the Gods.
However, the Gods reserved more tremendous suffering for offenders like Erysicthon, who happened to not only fail the Gods’ tests but enrage a God to employ the greatest Evil against him. The story of Erysicthon follows Erysicthon, a greedy man who brought along his servants to cut down the sacred forest of Ceres. The group approaches an enormous tree draped in wreaths and surrounded by nymphs. The tree bleeds as one servant strikes it, and thus, he refuses to continue. Erysicthon lops the servant’s head off, then refocuses on the sacred tree.
“mentis piae cape praemia!”
“pass the gifts of judgment for [us] devoted” (767)!
Ceres is enraged by Erysicthon’s actions and sends a nymph to Scythia to relay an order to Fames for her to hide herself within Erysicthon. Thus, Fames carries out the order. When Erysicthon wakes up, he feels an intense wave of hunger. Like a flame, every food item only kindles his hunger, making him spin into madness.
“Utque rapax ignis non umquam alimenta recusat innumerasque faces cremat et, quo copia maior est data, plura petit turbaque uoracior ipsa est.”
“And just as the grasping flame never rejects food and he burns countless torches and, which greater abundance has been given, he seeks more and the commotion itself is more ravenous” (837-839).
He tries to sell his daughter, which Neptune intervenes, only for Erysicthon to exploit Neptune’s divine intervention so he can afford more food. The flame within him grows, and he resorts to cannibalizing himself to his eventual death.
By comparing the grace exhibited in Baucis and Philemon to the wrath in Erysicthon, one can see that Lelex demonstrates the scope of the Gods’ power, solidifying their existence through storytelling. The word of the Gods is the word of the land, as Jupiter and Mercury’s speech granted the couple a temple and a wish, and Ceres’s order to exact revenge played out just as she had prophecized. Utilizing the scope of the two stories, Lelex concludes Book VIII, leaving the audience with fear and awe at the Gods.
