In his poem “The Metamorphoses”, Ovid describes the gods as selfish and thoughtless beings who force themselves into the life of an unsuspecting victim to appease their cravings sexual. In the poem “The Aeneid” Virgil describes the gods as honorable and helpful to his subjects in their earthly progress. It is unclear whether the gods truly abused their powers or used them to benefit pagans, but it is clear that the gods were portrayed differently by Ovid and Virgil, and perhaps by multiple pagan peoples in antiquity.