FROM IMAGINATION TO SPEECH- AN EKPHRASIS EXAMPLE FROM OVID’S “METAMORPHOSES” OR “THE CRATER OF AENEAS”

Abstract

The word “ekphrasis or “ecphrasis” derives from Greek and literally means “description”. On the other hand, in literature, it indicates the portrayal of a work of art as a rhetorical prose. The best and the first examples of ecphrasis in Ancient Greek Literature may be found in the works of Homer, Hesiod, Aeschylus, Euripides and Philostratus. Besides Ancient Roman poets such as Virgil and Ovid used ecphrasis. Alternatively, they chose to depict works of art using words. Ovid’s mythological epic “The Metamorphoses” in fifteen books contains three plastic ecphrases. These are “The Palace of the Sun”, “Arachne’s Tapestry” and “The Crater of Aeneas”. Our aim in this study is to amplify this crater portrayed in book thirteen of “The Metamorphoses”. According to the legend, it was a gift given to Aeneas by Anius, the Delian king. Actually this crater which is otherwise known as “Anius’ Cup” is the least known of the three ecphrases in the epic.