0274NOTBaucisPhilemon

0274NOTBaucisPhilemon_Ligare

Ovid Met. 8.616-724

David Ligare, "Landscape for Philemon and Baucis," 1984 Wadsworth Athenaeum, Hartford, Connecticut

Clearly a retelling of an Ovidian narrative. Ligare has added value, though, as the caption opposite from ML indicates, by projecting the metamorphosis of the two blessed hosts many years after their change.

Reid offers Further References for Beller and Stechow, both worth pursuing here.

Ancient Greek temple ruins by a lake with hills and a large tree under a bright sky

Caption from ML 8th edition, color plate 22: "The cottage of Baucis and Philemon has become a temple, while the two spouses have been transformed into the intertwined trees on the right. The lake conceals the homes of the villagers who were so inhospitable to Zeus and Hermes. The size of the trees and the ruinous state of the temple indicate that the metamorphosis took place long ago." In Met. Ovid has Achelous tell the story of B&P's metamorphosis as a legend told locally. Ligare's setting invites those who know the tale to retell it, as all the elements are present, as in Ovid's setting.

OGCMA slides are designed by Roger T. Macfarlane for use in Classical Civilization 241 courses at Brigham Young University.
The present resource contains information assembled for The Oxford Guide to Classical Mythology in the Arts, 1400 – 1990’s, edited by J. Davidson Reid (Oxford 1994), and it is used with express permission from Oxford University Press.
Address concerns or inquiries to macfarlane@byu.edu.