Feminine Beauty as a Precursor to Fear in the Myth of Arethusa

In this project I examine the relationship between beauty and fear within narratives of rape, recurrent in ancient Greco-Roman mythology, and defend the notion that a female character’s beauty is a predictor of fear she is to feel. I focus on the story of the nymph Arethusa, in which she flees from the god Alpheus who intends to rape her—a horror she avoids only by being transformed into a freshwater spring by the goddess Diana. By authoring a new translation of the Latin, taken from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, I aim to express the plight of Arethusa and other women in myth as objects of the male gaze and aggressive desire. I hope to capture the feelings of the pursued, namely fear and vulnerability. Though grave, rape and sexual inequity are important subjects to address and understand, both in the context of ancient myth and from a contemporary perspective. By closely analyzing language, symbolism, and imagery in the tale of Arethusa, I aim to contribute to the discussion of rape and twisted loves, fear and attraction, and woman’s beauty as a danger within myth and society.