So I noticed that many of you were writing about the origins of your names. The stories behind them were very interesting, and I would have liked to do the same with my name, but it was nearly impossible to find any story behind the origin of my name. I read that it originated in England and it refers to a shelter where willows grow free. Also, that it used to be rarely used, and very masculine! With that, I am going to share my thoughts on Phaethon's Ride from Ovid's Metamorphoses.
First, there is a stanza from the beginning of the myth (page 34) that really caught my eye:
While eager Phaethon gazed at Vulcan's craft
Aurora, sleepless in the waking dawn,
Swung wide her purple gates and rose-tipped light
Glowed through her stairs and halls; retreating stars
Were closed in ranks by Lucifer who vanished
Even from his watchtower in the morning sky.
I really enjoyed the detail and description in this stanza. The way that Ovid speaks of Aurora as a majestic and beautiful woman is lovely. Reading this verse in Ovid's story is what really first peaked my interest in reading this book, and has kept me reading it to find more of them. I feel like when I took mythologies in high school, there was a name for this type of descriptive stanza, so if anyone knows it, please comment!
Second, I gained feelings of sadness from hearing Earth speak on page 39 after Phaethon's destruction of most of the land. There was so much detail to what she was feeling and how it was affecting her Universe. I pitied her that it took her utter despair for the gods to do something about the wreckage of the world. It seemed to me as though they were watching everything going on, and not caring as long as the Heavens were safe from Phaethon and Phoebus' chariot. I was pained that the way to stop Phaethon had to end with death. He was a child doing childish things. Who can blame the kid for that?
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