The transformations appearing in both The Mabinogi of Math and Book X of The Odyssey are both humiliating. Those transformed are either likened to uncivilized, wild animals or to dirty, rotten swine. Math’s transformation of Gilfaethwy and Gwydion in The Mabinogi of Math is a just punishment. Just as Gilfaethwy and Gwydion act like animals when they harm Goewin, they are made live as animals. Math even goes as far as making the brothers mate with each other, showing them how boorish their actions were. To further the lesson, Math transforms the offspring of Gilfaethwy and Gwydion into men. The animals-turned-men prove to Gilfaethwy and Gwydion that even animals have more couth than to take the innocence of another.
Deception, on the other
Deception, on the other