The creation of everything has to be one of the most spectacular events in The Metamorphoses, so it is not surprising that artworks of this story are filled with majestic scenes. The first one that I would like to explore is an etching done by Antonio Tempesta in the 17th century AD:

 

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        This piece shows some of the key parts of the 'The Creation' text, like the shiny fish that populated the ocean: “nitidis habitandae piscibus undae”. However, notice that the fish are unusually large. This was either done with the intent of drawing the viewer’s eye to the fish, or Tempesta is diverging from the text and creating mythologically large fish. Another animal that is referenced in the text is the bird. Ovid describes the first birds as flying through the air: “volucres agitabilis aer." However, again Tempesta takes some artistic liberties and depicts a solitary bird that is not flying.

        The middle of the etching depicts a figure that is often referenced in Ovid's text as the god that pulled apart all of the warring forces during the creation. The identity of this god is not so clear, as traditional Roman mythology says that the first beings were two Titans: Gaia and Ouranos (or the earth and heaven). What god could have existed before these Titans? It is likely that this discrepancy is because Ovid often references a male god in the text, and this etching was produced later in a time when polytheism was much less accepted. Therefore Tempesta would have been inclined to paint a single god.

        Another interesting feature about this etching is the caption: "Orbis fabrica", which means "The creation of the world." Tempesta likely used the word "orbis" because Ovid often does in his text. The word "orbis" is closely related to the English word "globe". While it may seem impossible that the ancient Romans could have known the earth was a ball, the use of "orbis" is actually not unexpected considering that the ancient Greeks had figured out that the earth was round hundreds of years before The Metamorphoses was written. This etching reveals a lot of information about both the artist's interpretation of Ovid's text, and the beliefs of the time.

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