Apollo is the god of healing, music, and prophecy. Like other the Olympian gods, Apollo had many children with various women, one of which was Princess of Thessaly, Coronis of Larissa. The original webpage uses the myth as support for Apollo being the god of healing and briefly mentions the raven. This blog will discuss their relationship in the context of “Apollo and Coronis” in Ovid’s Metamorphoses where Apollo discovers that his lover has another lover on the side through a messenger raven. The comparison between the original webpage and the source analysis will be implicit while the blog post below will provide a discussion and alternative version of the original website.
Ovid’s version of the myth[1] includes very few key characters: Apollo, Coronis, Apollo’s raven, and a crow. In Metamorphoses, Apollo’s raven catches Coronis cheating on Apollo with another man named Ischys. Given his loyalty to Apollo, he flies warn him and meets a crow on his flight. When the crow realizes the reason for the raven’s trip, she tells him that this “will cost [him]”[2]. The raven finds that his white plumage is changed to black as a result of Apollo’s emotional reaction to the news. Unfortunately, the saying “Don’t shoot the messenger” did not protect Apollo’s raven in this myth. Below we’ll go into more detail about each key character.
Starting off with Coronis, we know from Metamorphoses that she is Thessalian. Apollo pursued the mortal princess and she became pregnant during their relationship, but Coronis did not share the same romantic feelings for Apollo that he had towards her[3]. During her pregnancy, Coronis cheats on Apollo by marrying Ischys of Arcadia, son of Elatus[4]. The raven sees Coronis with Ischys and flees to tell Apollo and ultimately triggers a cascade of negative consequence for all parties involved.
Moving onto Apollo’s raven: the role of the raven in Greek myth is to watch over Coronis during her pregnancy and safeguard her. It is unfortunate that the raven witnessed the affair and was punished, but it is important to note its connection to Apollo. Pindar explains that the raven is a symbol of Apollo’s all-knowing nature and because of this, it was inevitable that the raven would discover the affair[5]. Before all this, the raven meets a crow who was in the same situation as him and she gives him some words of wisdom. She warns him that his degree of faithfulness to Apollo might end up causing more harm than good[6]. The crow was once the right-hand bird of Minerva, or Athena[7]. The crow once tattled on a group of princesses to Athena and instead of thanking the crow, Athena punished the crow by replacing her with an owl.
Finally, we explore Apollo and his reaction to his raven’s news. Upon hearing about Coronis’ betrayal, Apollo acted quickly and let his hurt and rage fuel him. First, he curses the raven for not plucking the eyes of Ischys by changing its “snow-white” plumage he gifted him back to a dark black, and from then onwards all ravens were born black [8]. Then, he sends his sister Artemis to kill Coronis and, according to Apollodorus, Ischys[9]. While Coronis dies in a fire, Apollo feels remorse for their child and saves his son, Asclepius[10]. While these key details were not included in “Apollo and Coronis”, they were included later in Metamorphoses in Book 2. One major departure from Ovid’s version of this myth is the presence of Artemis, who does not appear in Metamorphoses.
Asclepius is sent to be raised by Chiron the centaur, where he learns the craft of healing[11]. It is here where Apollo’s association with healing becomes present – through his son who will cure death and become the god of medicine.
This myth is significant for Ovid because it allows the audience to see Apollo in a new light. Apollo is associated with many things involving the arts, sport, and healing but known as a god with a fierce temper in general. It also strengthens the association of Apollo with healing via Asclepius. The myth holds great significance in art, as seen in the painting “Apollo und Coronis”[12].
The original source did not provide enough references, which I attempted to revise in this blog post. Proper references were lacking in Coronis’ background and her true relationship with Ischys and the vital role of Apollo’s raven and his conversation with the crow.
[1] Ovid: Metamorphoses 2.593-615
[2] Ovid: Metamorphoses 2.612
[3] Apollodorus: Library 3.10
[4] Pindar: Pythian Odes 3.30-35
[5] Philbrick, Rachel. “Coronis and the Metamorphosis of Apollo: Ovidian Re-Formations of Pindar’s Third Pythian.” American Journal of Philology 139, no. 3 (2018): 451-482.
[6]Ovid: Metamorphoses 2.610-615
[7] Ovid: Metamorphoses 2. 616-635
[8] Apollodorus: Library 3.10
[9] Pindar: Pythian Odes 3.30-35
[10]Apollodorus: Library 3.10
[11] Pindar: Pythian Odes 3.45-50
[12] Johann König, Apollo and Coronis, oil on copper, c. 1607.
Bibliography
Arnson Svarlien, D. (transl.) Pindar: Pythian Odes. 1990. Accessed online at: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0162%3Abook%3DP.%3Apoem%3D3
Frazer, J.G. (transl.) Apollodorus: The Library Book 3. Harvard University Press, 1921. Accessed online at: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0022:text=Library:book=3:chapter=10
Lombardo, Stanley (transl.) Ovid Metamorphoses. Hackett Publishing Company, 2010.
Philbrick, Rachel. “Coronis and the Metamorphosis of Apollo: Ovidian Re-Formations of Pindar’s Third Pythian”. American Journal of Philology 139(2018): 451-482.
Myth on the Web 