Ovid’s Phaethon: Anthropogenic Global Heating, Ancient and Modern

Authors

Keywords:

Ovid, Metamorphoses, Phaethon, ecocriticism, fire in literature, chariot of the sun, global heating in literature, environment in literature

Abstract

The longest single episode in Ovid’s Metamorphoses recounts the tale of Phaethon, who persuaded his father Sol (the sun) to allow him to drive his fiery chariot across the heavens. The results are predictably horrendous, with Sol’s chariot and horses running wild and setting fire to the whole world. This paper proposes a reading of Ovid’s Phaethon story from the perspective of contemporary global heating. It argues for a remarkable sensitivity in the passage to the suffering of the whole biosphere, by comparison with other ancient versions of the myth, which are usually brief and emotionally detached, and with conventional readings of Ovid’s account, which generally stress issues to do with astronomy, solar divinity, ekpyrosis, human hybris, aetiology, paternity, inheritance, and politics. This article seeks not to oppose those interpretations, but rather to add a reading that takes shape in response to the 21st-century climate crisis.

Author Biography

  • Alison Sharrock, University of Manchester

    alison.sharrock@manchester.ac.uk

    © Alison Sharrock

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Published

2025-01-23

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Articles