IS THE END BETTER THAN THE BEGINNING? THE FLOOD MYTH IN OVID’S METAMORPHOSES: RENEWAL MESSAGE FOR TOMORROW

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Abstract

Our work aims to present a dialogue between some existing versions of the flood myth, which is also present in the work Metamorphoses by the poet Ovid, and a discussion about this theme so significant for the ancient peoples. The flood represented to the ancient peoples notions of respect and fear of the gods; It represented, specially, the separation between beginnings and ends of various generations, and it brought a important message to men that the end is as important as the beginning, if we start with a deeper analysis of the subject, accompanied by a philosophical look, as King Solomon shows us in the holy scriptures, more precisely in the book of Ecclesiastes. The materials that will be used for this study are the Metamorphoses, the Holy Bible, and works by theorists such as Detienne (1992), Eliade (2018), Kriwaczek (2018), Pierre Grimal (2013), among others authors who will make great contributions to let us understand a little more deeply how these narratives played great roles in civilizations.