Groves, forests, animals, and birds in the Tereus-Procne-Philomela story (Ov. Met. 6.412-674) (original) (raw)

In Ovid’s Metamorphoses, nature plays an important role, providing the setting in which various narratives unfold. Predominant amongst natural settings is the woodland, from small cluster of trees to the dense forests of the Mediterranean basin. This paper explores the role and importance of nature in the violent and tragic story of Tereus, Procne and Philomela (Ov. Met. 6.412-674). Building on recent work on ecocriticism we aim to investigate the reasons why Ovid chose to use only the term silva to denote the forest area in which this story mainly unfolds. As it turns out, nature does not provide merely the setting for action in this particular story; it becomes, instead, a crucial factor which determines the character, thoughts and behaviour of the story’s protagonists, whose animal associations (through language and imagery) are thoroughly examined.