| Quote #4
[Juno] caught Callisto by the hair
Ovid uses scenes of transformation for many symbolic purposes. One of these is to explore the connections and differences between the human and natural worlds. Here, when Callisto is transformed into a bear, she loses two important aspects of her humanity, but preserves one. The two she loses are (1) her shape, and (2) the capacity to speak. The third she keeps is her mind, her sense of her own personal identity. In a way, Ovid suggests that preserving (3) is an added form of torture, since Callisto is tormented by the knowledge that she is not in the right body – but can't express that fact.
| Quote #5
An ancient forest lay at hand: no ax
Even in Ovid's day, the Mediterranean world was fairly well-explored and developed. The fact that Cadmus encounters a forest that has never been touched by human hands shows that this story takes place at a comparatively early date in the history of the universe.
| Quote #6
A valley lay nearby. In its dense woods,
What do you think Ovid really means here when he says "Nature's craft can imitate / the ways of art"? One meaning of art would be transforming nature into something humanly useful. Do you think that is what he means here – that Nature has formed the rock into something humanly useful (an arch) under which one can take shelter? Can you think of other examples (either in life or in Ovid's poem) where Nature helps humans out? If Nature still helps humans out, is that a hold-over from the Golden Age? Or are these instances just too rare the count? We're just throwing out some ideas here. You got any others?