ABSTRACT
Ovid’s Palace of the Sun (Metamorphoses 2.1–30), we argue, provides the original rubric for the many divine beings depicted in Revelation 4. The Sun, in Ovid’s ecphrasis, is attended and surrounded by the 24 hours, the 7 days, and the 4 seasons. Revelation 4, though clearly drawing on Ezekiel as well, features precisely the same numerical configurations, groups of 24, 7, and 4, with the group of four receiving the greatest focus in each author. This raises the possibility that the Metamorphoses serves as a “master text” for several New Testament authors.
