We Are Family: Siblings in Ovid’s Metamorphoses

Meredith D. Prince (Washington University)

This paper explores the sibling relationships Ovid includes in the Metamorphoses.  Although the brother-brother relationship probably appears most frequently in ancient sources and was most fraught with tensions, this relationship rarely appears. Ovid mentions Peleus’ murder of his half-brother Phocus but also shows a softer side to the relationship; Ceyx grieves not over the loss of his brother Daedalion per se but commiserates with him over the loss of his daughter Chione. Sisters also exhibit similar parental solicitude toward a sibling’s child, as Iole tearfully tells of her sister Dryope’s transformation and her nephew’s loss of his mother.

Ovid highlights fraternal duty and protection, as their father sends Cadmus in search of his missing sister Europa. Ovid especially focuses on sisterly solidarity: the Minyeides and Pierides are examples of sisters banding together in their rebellion against or challenge of a deity, while the Peliades stick together in their misguided attempts to rejuvenate their father.  As a group, sisters are the primary mourners of their brothers, seen with the sisters of Phaethon and Meleager. Althaea adheres with her brothers in mourning (and avenging) them, but in the process brings about her son Meleager’s death, while sisterly solidarity appears in its most dramatic form with Procne’s allegiance to Philomela, again leading to the death of a son.

Sibling rivalry is rare; Aglauros is jealous over the attention Mercury showers on her sister Herse, but otherwise conflict is minimal. Yet the strength of the bond comes at the expense of another, whether sisters reject a god or a sister renounces her role as mother to honor her role as sister. As much as Ovid emphasizes this relationship, too intense a bond may not be good, seen in the extreme (and perverted) love that Byblis has for her brother Caunus and her attempt to commit incest with him. Throughout the Metamorphoses, siblings’ loyalty toward each other, affection, grief, and protection indicate fears, ideals, and expectations of this relationship.