Il longus axis di Ov. Met. 1, 255

Ovid, in the first book of the Metamorphoses (vv. 253-258), narrates that Jupiter, to punish Lycaon’s impiety, was about to strike the earth with his thunderbolts. However, restrains him the thought that the fire would cause the entire universe’s destruction. Worthy of further analysis is the use of the term axis (v. 255), which designates at the same time the sky and the concept of the celestial axis. The present article aims to demonstrate how the term, considered in its scientific sense, may have particular relevance in the eschatological context of these verses. The analysis of the cosmological functions of the axis in the passage will allow a comparison with other eschatological contexts, notably the myth of Phaeton (Met. 2, 70-75; 294-300). Furthermore, the study intends to demonstrate how Ovid, by deferring to the celestial axis the ideas of cosmic order and stability, ultimately refers to the Arataean tradition. Assuming the possibility that the cosmic axis could be destroyed at the stake, Ovid would test the limits of the poetic cosmology consecrated by the Phaenoemena and their Latin translations.