Epic narrators in the 'Metamorphoses'

The song of Calliope (5.338 - 678) and Orpheus' cycle (10.1 - 11.84) in the 'Metamorphoses' are not only parallels of each other, but also can be regarded as miniatures of the larger Ovidian poem. This analysis of the two tale-groups shows a structural balance in the well-known variety of the whole 'Metamorphoses', and gives further ways to the interpretation of them - as a kind of poetic self-reflexion and conscious aesthetical evidence. This role of the Orpheus-story revises our image on Ovid's Virgil-imitation as well. We emphasize the dramatic importance of the selfrepresenting bard instead of any parodistic or emulative attitude.