Some stories in Ovid and the Bible seem like they should be related. Two such stories are that of David and Goliath and the transformation of the Lydian sailors. Both stories deal with a seemingly young man, Bacchus and David, overthrowing a foe. There is osmething special about each young man. David is the youngest and he is ripe with the spirit of the Lord. Bacchus is a deity, born from the thigh of Jove. They both stumble across an enemy, men or giant, who is stronger and older. Defeat of an unholy and unnatural kind seems imminent. But it is not. David fells Goliath, the "uncircumsized Philistine giant" and Bacchus uses his godly might to defeat the Lydian sailors bent on selling him into slavery. David questions the Israeli soldiers and asks them why nothing has been done to fell the Philistine giant and he is informed of his ignorance. Bacchus asks why they are not heading to Naxos and the sailors ignore him. The differences lie in the conflict. The Israelites who doubt David are saved by his cleverness and the Lydian sailors are transformed into slimy fish.
"A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle" This is a quote attributed to Gloria Steinhem, one of the prominent figures of the feminist revolt of the sixties. This popped into my head when I was reading the stories of rape in Ovid and the Bible. The stories of Dinah and Europa are fairly well known stories. The story of Dinah has been getting extra publicity as of late with the release of Anita Diamant's book The Red Tent. It is the story of Dinah told from her perspective. The story of Dinah in the Bible begins abruptly inserted in the midst of Jacob's story. We find out early that Dinah is the daughter of Leah, Jacob's despised wife. She is out amidst the women of the region of Shechem. She is abducted and raped by Shechem, the prince. He fell in love with her and wanted her for a wife. He asked Jacob for her hand and Jacob agreed but only if all the men of the city were circumsized. Shechem agreed and after they were circumsi?zed Jacob and his sons slaughtered all of them. Dinah's side of the tale isn't included. We are left with a curious feeling about Dinah's feelings. The rape of Europa is a similar story. Europa is an innocent maiden, lusted after by the mighty god Jove. Jove tricks Europa into thinking that he is a pure white bull. He takes her out of her homeland and ravishes her. He then turns her into a pure white heifer so as to disguise her from Juno, his bitter and jealous wife. Both stories begin with an innocent maiden, entail deception and in the end someone comes out the better for it, though we all believe that it is not the maiden in question. Jacob's sons plunder Shechem's city and take "their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field. All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and made their prey." Cadmus was instructed by Jove to follow the white heifer to the land to which she would lead him and that would be his homeland and he could do with it what he wished. And upon that land he founded Thebes. The story of The Red Tent was a very interesting tale because it is seemingly written in a classical sense rather than a biblical sense. The story is about Dinah, a women, this is something that isn't present in the Bible, the feminist perspective. It is also about love, passion, and lust. I was reminded of J and her heroines when reading this novel.
