Roman Mythology: An Overview (Part VI)

Last time, we discussed the myths pertaining to transformations. Be sure to read that entry and all the prior entries in this series before reading this one. Today, we'll be exploring some of the common myths on hubris and the underworld. The authors included in this overview are: Virgil (Aeneid, Eclogues, Georgics), Ovid (Metamorphoses, Amores, Heroides, Ars Amatoria, Fasti), Horace (Odes, Satires, Epistles), Livy (Ab Urbe Condita), Catullus, Lucretius, Seneca (tragedies), Statius, and Lucan.

Key Myths: Hubris & The Underworld

How to read this table:

Each row is a myth or mythological cycle. The columns show which authors engage with it and, where relevant, the specific work, book, or passage, and a note on how the myth is used. A dash (—) means the author does not meaningfully engage with that myth.

Author abbreviations:   Virg. = Virgil  ·  Ov. = Ovid  ·  Hor. = Horace  ·  Cat. = Catullus  ·  Liv. = Livy  ·  Lucr. = Lucretius  ·  Sen. = Seneca  ·  Stat. = Statius  ·  Luc. = Lucan

Work abbreviations:   Aen. = Aeneid  ·  Met. = Metamorphoses  ·  Od. = Odes  ·  DRN = De Rerum Natura  ·  Theb. = Thebaid  ·  BC = Bellum Civile (Pharsalia)  ·  AUC = Ab Urbe Condita  ·  Her. = Heroides  ·  Fast. = Fasti  ·  Am. = Amores

Hubris & The Underworld

Myth	Summary	Primary source(s)	Other poets	Notes for translators
Arachne	A mortal weaver who challenges Minerva to a weaving contest. Arachne's tapestry depicts the gods' crimes (including Jupiter's rapes) with perfect skill. Minerva destroys it and beats her; Arachne hangs herself and is transformed into a spider.	Ov. Met. VI.1–145: the definitive account. The contest of tapestries, with Minerva depicting divine order and Arachne depicting divine crimes, is meta-literary. The myth affirms the power of the gods.	Virg. Georg. IV.246: spiders (araneae) mentioned in the context of bees. The etiology is Ovid's.	Arachne's tapestry is a catalog of the myths Ovid has been telling throughout the Met. Also the etymological origin of "arachnid." *A written description of physical art is known as ekphrasis
Niobe	Niobe boasts that, as a mother of fourteen children, she is superior to Latona, mother of only Apollo and Diana. Apollo and Diana kill all fourteen of Niobe's children. Niobe turns to stone, weeping eternally.	Ov. Met. VI.146–312: immediately after the Arachne story. The deaths of the children are described clinically and horrifically.	Hor. Od. IV.6.2: Niobe invoked as an archetype of pride. Sen. wrote a Niobe tragedy (now lost).	Niobe and Arachne are both examples of mortal hubris being punished; they are deliberately placed side by side in the Met.
Tantalus and the House of Atreus	Tantalus served his son Pelops as food to the gods (whether to test them or honor them varies). He is punished eternally in Tartarus, standing in water beneath fruit he can never reach (why he is the root of the word tantalize). The curse on his house drives the tragedies of Atreus, Agamemnon,Orestes, and Thyestes.	Sen. Thyestes: Atreus serves his brother Thyestes his own children as a meal: the final crime. One of his darkest plays.	Hor. Sat. I.1.68–69: Tantalus in Tartarus as an image of frustrated desire. Ov. Met. IV.458 and VI.173: references to Tantalus as an archetype.	The word "tantalize" derives from Tantalus. His punishment became the standard Latin image for frustrated desire.
Sisyphus	The trickster king who cheated death twice. His punishment in Tartarus: rolling a boulder up a hill eternally, only for it to roll back each time.	Virg. Aen. VI.616: Aeneas sees Sisyphus in Tartarus among the great sinners. Hor. Od. II.14.19–20 and Od. I.28.15: The boulder is a standard image of futile labor.	Ov. Met. IV.460: brief mention in the underworld catalog. Luc. BC VI.695: referenced in Erictho's necromancy.	Sisyphus, Tantalus, Ixion (bound to a spinning wheel), and Tityus (liver eternally devoured) form the canonical quartet of Tartarus punishments. They appear together in Virgil's underworld and are invoked frequently.
Prometheus	The Titan who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humanity. His punishment: chained to a rock, an eagle devours his liver daily; it regrows each night. Eventually freed by Hercules.	Ov. Met. I.82–88: Prometheus as the creator of humanity from clay; one of the most influential Latin accounts of human origins. Hor. Od. I.3.27–33 and II.13.37: Prometheus as ingenuity punished by the gods.	Cat. 64.294–297: brief allusion. Luc. BC II.479: Caucasus and Prometheus are used as shorthand for the eastern edge of the world.	In Latin texts, Prometheus is the cautionary figure of overreach. Horace, in particular, uses him to warn against dangerous curiosity.
The Labors of Hercules	Twelve labors imposed on Hercules as penance for killing his family in a divinely induced madness: the Nemean lion, the Lernaean Hydra, the Cerynitian hind, the Erymanthian boar, the Augean stables, the Stymphalian birds, the Cretan bull, the mares of Diomedes, the girdle of Hippolyta, the cattle of Geryon, the apples of the Hesperides, and Cerberus.	Sen. Hercules Furens: dramatizes the madness, the killing, and Hercules's aftermath. The labors are listed and described as prologue context. Ov. Met. IX.1–272: Hercules's death and deification, with the labors recounted in retrospect.	Virg. Aen. VIII.185–305: Hercules at the site of future Rome; a founding myth that connects Hercules to Roman founding. Hor. Od. IV.5.36 and III.14.1: Hercules as the archetype of the hero rewarded with deification after suffering.	The labors are almost always referenced in abbreviated form. "Nemean" means the lion. "Lernean" means the Hydra. "Erymanthian" means the boar.

Stay tuned next week for an explanation of myths pertaining to nature. Until then, comment with any questions or pieces of information you'd like us to add!