Metamorphosis, Landscape, and Trauma in Greco-Roman Myth

This study explores the hidden histories offered by Greco-Roman myths of metamorphosis, and what they can reveal about the lived experience of ancient men and women. It investigates the role of the body, and the embodied experiences of emotions in these stories, arguing that these narratives of transformation allow us to glimpse aspects of our historical subjects, which in other sources remain largely unseen.

In these narratives of metamorphosis, we discover ancient worldviews: they disclose the perceived inter-relationships of human, non-human, and more-than-human entities. They show us that the human body was understood not only as a part of an extended network of beings, but also to consist of, and interact with, the same substances that were believed to comprise the surrounding landscapes: earth, air, fire, and water.

By grouping together stories according to these elements, this study highlights the patterns that underline different metamorphoses, comparing the experiences of male and female protagonists. These stories, it argues, express risks of transgressions, both for individuals and for the wider community. They tell us about the dangers that were perceived to be inherent in social roles, and in relations with the gods; they describe bodies both at risk and of risk.

And among those risks are extreme emotions--appearing as both cause and result of these startling bodily changes. These are narratives of the body that capture one of its most ephemeral aspects: the experience of intense, even traumatic emotions, in which a person and the world around them comes to seem transformed. Drawing on psychological research, this study suggests that these stories evoke experiences that persist across time and place, conveying an experience of the emotional body that speaks to us still.

An open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence.

Esther Eidinow, Professor of Ancient History, Department of Classics and Ancient History, University of Bristol

Esther is Professor of Ancient History at the University of Bristol; she has also taught at Newman University and Nottingham University. Her research explores ancient Greek culture, especially ancient religion, magic, ritual, and belief, drawing on theories from different disciplines, including anthropology and cognitive science, and she has published widely on these topics and their intersections with the history of emotions, gender, women’s histories, and environmental humanities. Her latest project, funded by the AHRC, co-created (with teachers) is an accessible virtual reality experience of visiting the ancient Greek oracle of Zeus at Dodona in the fifth century BCE, for use in classrooms (see vroracle.co.uk).