Metamorphoses characters

Also known as Jove

Appears from the start

King of the gods and ruler of the sky. He sends the great flood after judging humanity corrupt, but also repeatedly intervenes in mortal lives through desire, punishment, and transformation.

Appears from the start

Queen of the gods and Jupiter's wife. Angered by his affairs, she often directs her power against the women he pursues and the children born from those unions.

Also known as Phoebus

Appears from the start

God of prophecy, music, healing, and the sun. After defeating Python, he mocks Cupid and is made to desire Daphne, whose flight from him ends in her transformation into the laurel.

Appears from the start

A nymph devoted to independence and the hunt. Pursued by Apollo, she calls on her father for escape and is transformed into a laurel tree.

Appears from the start

Daughter of the river god Inachus. Jupiter's pursuit brings her suffering when she is changed into a heifer and guarded under Juno's jealous watch.

First appears in chapter 2

The mortal son of the Sun who seeks proof of his divine parentage. He asks to drive his father's chariot for one day, a task his courage and confidence cannot make him capable of controlling.

First appears in chapter 3

A Phoenician prince sent to find his abducted sister Europa. Unable to return home, he follows divine instruction, founds Thebes, and begins a family repeatedly touched by divine power and disaster.

Also known as Dionysus

First appears in chapter 3

Son of Jupiter and Semele and god of wine and ecstatic worship. His arrival brings liberation to followers and destruction to those, including his cousin Pentheus, who deny his divinity.

First appears in chapter 4

Son of Jupiter and Danae, equipped with divine gifts after killing Medusa. He rescues Andromeda from a sea monster and must then defend his marriage against rival claims and armed opposition.

Also known as Persephone

First appears in chapter 5

Daughter of Ceres, gathering flowers when Pluto carries her into the underworld. Her disappearance causes her mother's devastating search and ties the fertility of the earth to her divided life above and below.

First appears in chapter 6

A Lydian weaver whose extraordinary skill leads her to challenge Minerva. Her tapestry boldly displays the gods' abuses of mortals, and the contest ends with her life and craft taking a new form.

First appears in chapter 7

A Colchian princess and powerful magician who falls in love with Jason. She betrays her family to secure the Golden Fleece for him, then uses her arts for rejuvenation and revenge after reaching Greece.

First appears in chapter 8

An ingenious Athenian craftsman held on Crete by Minos. He constructs wings so that he and his son Icarus can escape by air, warning the boy to keep a middle course.

Also known as Heracles

First appears in chapter 9

Son of Jupiter and celebrated hero, introduced here near the end of his mortal labors. His immense strength cannot protect him from the poisoned garment that destroys his body and leads to his reception among the gods.

First appears in chapter 10

The supreme mortal musician, able to move animals, trees, stones, and even the powers below with his song. After Eurydice dies, he enters the underworld and asks for her return.

First appears in chapter 13

A Trojan hero who survives the fall of his city and carries its future westward. His travels through Sicily and Italy connect the Greek age of heroes to the legendary foundations of Rome.