In this part of Metamorphoses, we read two different stories: Erysichthon, and Orpheus and Eurydice. The one which I liked the most was Erysichthon. It was about this man who didn't believe in the gods, or at least didn't respect him. One day, he cut a tree, ignoring the cries of sadness. The tree talked to him and said that at least it was happy because he would not get away with that. Erysichthon wasn't afraid, and went to sleep.
Meanwhile, the god Ceres heard the cries, and sent Oread to go for Hunger and tell him to do anything he wanted with Erysichthon. He did. He was attacked by hunger and couldn't stop eating; he ate everything he found in his way, and sold anything he owned just to buy food. When he didn't have anything else to sell, he even sold his mother.
She, being taken by her new owner, prayed to Poseidon, who heard her and helped. He turned the mother into a little girl. The owner left her on the shore, and she can still be seen on that shore walking around now.
At that time, Erysichthon didn't have anything more to eat, so he did what we knew would have to happen since the beginning; he ate himself.
I liked how this story can be connected with the idea that not having faith in the gods is bad, and also with the so mentioned idea that cutting trees is wrong, and it will only finish in consequences and death. I don't think this was a creation of Mary Zimmerman, so that means that the take-care-of-the-forests idea has been going on since even before the Greeks.
The other story was about Orpheus and Eurydice, which I didn't like that much that talked about seemingly two different interpretations of the same story. It was that Orpheus and Eurydice got married, but Eurydice died. Orpheus went to look for her to hell, and asked if they could give her back. They agreed, proposing only one consequence; if Orpheus turned around he couldn't have her back ever.
Obviously, as a good lover, Orpheus turned around, afraid it was a joke. He saw how the others took Eurydice away from him, but he saw it many times. In the other version, when he turned around, Eurydice couldn't see him.
That is basically what happens in these stories. I didn't really like this story as much as I have liked the rest, but it was also interesting. It actually reminded me of modern problems and values dilemmas, and also of true love. I wonder if any of these characters appear again.
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