Flora and Zephyr
The Story of Flora and Zephyr from Ovid’s ‘Fasti’
The Story of Flora and Zephyr from Ovid’s ‘Fasti’
I who now am called Flora was formerly Chloris [….]
Modesty shrinks from describing my figure;
but it procured the hand of a god for my mother’s daughter.
‘Twas spring, and I was roaming;
Zephyr caught sight of me: I retired;
he pursued and I fled;
but he was the stronger, and Boreas had given his brother full right of rape […]
However, he made amends for his violence by giving me the name of bride […]
Modesty shrinks from describing my figure;
but it procured the hand of a god for my mother’s daughter.
‘Twas spring, and I was roaming;
Zephyr caught sight of me: I retired;
he pursued and I fled;
but he was the stronger, and Boreas had given his brother full right of rape […]
However, he made amends for his violence by giving me the name of bride […]
- Ovid
Analysis
Ovid’s poem Fasti (8CE) is essentially a chronology of Roman festivals, told through episodes in which the poet encounters Roman gods and goddesses who relate the origins of Roman customs.
Definition of Ovid, Fasti 5 from theoi.com under fair use