Cover of George Sandys's 1632 edition of Ovid's Metamorphosis Englished
This is a list of characters in the poem Metamorphoses by Ovid. It contains more than 200 characters, summaries of their roles, and information on where they appear. The descriptions vary in length and comprehensiveness, upgrading characters who were actually metamorphosed, who play a significant role, or about whom a certain background knowledge is required to understand the Metamorphoses. The major Roman gods in general play significant roles in all of the stories, but only their attributes are listed under their own name—their specific roles are summarized under the individual involved characters' names (e.g. Apollo's role in the myth of Hyacinthus is listed under Hyacinthus).
Son of Peleus and the nymph Thetis. Achilles was foreseen an early death if he joined the Greeks in the Trojan War so his mother disguised him as a girl to protect him. Ulysses, however, discovered him and convinced him to join the battle.
Son of King Cinyras of Cyprus and his daughter Myrrha. Beloved by the goddesses Venus and Proserpina. He was to spend one third of the year with each of them – the last part was at his own disposal, which he used together with Venus. Adonis died during a boar hunt and Venus' grief showed itself as the delicate flower anemone.
Son of Jupiter and the nymph Aegina, father of Telamon, Peleus, and Phocus, and king of Aegina. Aeacus became one of the judges in the Underworld after his death.
Son of Venus and Anchises (of the Dardanian dynasty). Aeneas was one of the few Trojan survivors after the Trojan War who was not enslaved. He fled with his father, Anchises, on his back. Escaping to Italy with the help of his mother his group, the Aeneids, became the progenitors of the Romans. Upon his death he was deified as Jupiter Indiges by request of his mother.
Son of Oïleus and Greek hero in the Trojan War. Among other things known for his raping the Trojan prophetess and princess Cassandra at the temple of Apollo.
Daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia. She was chained to a rock as a sacrifice for her mother's bragging, but was saved by Perseus, whom she later married.
Daughter of Idmon. Boasted she could weave better than Minerva and won over her in a weaving contest. Jealous, the goddess metamorphosed Arachne into a spider.
Son of Jupiter and the nymph Callisto. Jealous of Callisto, Juno metamorphosed her into a bear, which Arcas killed, not knowing it was his mother. Jupiter took pity on the two and metamorphosed them into the constellations known as Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (the big bear and the little bear).
God of wine, both its intoxicating effects as well as its social and beneficent influences. Son of Jupiter and Semele. He is viewed as the promoter of peace, a lawgiver, and a lover of peace. Roman equivalent of the Greek Dionysus.
Daughter of Miletus. Byblis fell incestuously in love with Caunus, but as she could not get him she tried to kill herself, but was metamorphosed into a nymph.
Son of Agenor (who was king of Tyre, Phoenicia), brother of Europa, husband of Venus' daughter Harmonia, and the founder of Thebes. Cadmus was sent out to find and return his sister, Europa, to Phoenicia after she had been abducted by Jupiter.
Nymph and daughter of Lycaon. One of the followers of Diana. Raped by Jupiter, transformed into a bear and killed by her son who was unaware of her new form.
Nymph, daughter of Janus and Venilia, and wife of King Picus. Her husband was metamorphosed into a woodpecker by Circe, because he scorned her love, and when Canens could not find her metamorphosed husband she killed herself.
Daughter of King Priam of Troy. She was a priestess of Apollo, gifted with the ability to predict the future but cursed so nobody would ever believe her prophecies. Cassandra was raped by Ajax the Lesser and taken as a concubine for Agamemnon at the fall of Troy, but they were later both killed by Agamemnons wife, Clytemnestra.
Son of Miletus and brother of Byblis. Byblis fell incestuously in love with Caunus, but as she could not get him she tried to kill herself, but was metamorphosed into a nymph.
Daughter of Neptunus and Gaia. Charybdis was once a naiad, but was metamorphosed into a monster at the Sicilian coast by the Strait of Messina, opposite of the sea monster Scylla. Charybdis was a maelstrom which sucked any ship passing too close by into the deeps.
Centaur, son of Philyra and Saturnus and father of Ocyrhoë. Chiron was known for his wisdom and raised many heroes and godsons. Chiron was immortal since he was son of the Titan Saturnus, but after being hit by one of Hercules' arrows by accident he was poisoned by the Lernaean Hydra's blood. He then asked for death and was given it. When he died he was metamorphosed into the constellation known as Centaurus.
Son of Pygmalion's daughter Paphos, husband of Cenchreis, father of Myrrha and Adonis, and king of Cyprus. He was deceived and seduced by Myrrha from which the result was Adonis.
Son of Apollo and the nymph Hyrie. A spoiled youth he had been given tamed animals by Phylius, but when he was denied a bull he tried to kill himself, and was metamorphosed into a swan.
Centaur, husband of Hylonome. He dearly loved his centaur wife, but participating in the battle against the Lapiths he was fatally wounded by a spear. He died in the arms of Hylonome, who took her own life shortly afterwards to join him.
Nymph, daughter of Peneus. She was metamorphosed into a laurel to escape the amorous god Apollo. As a sign of his love for her, Apollo wears the laurel around his head.
Nymph who could only repeat others, not talk for herself. She fell in love with Narcissus, but was rejected as everyone else. In her heartache she faded away until nothing was left, but her voice.
Son of Triopas and king of Thessaly. He was punished with insatiable hunger for killing a nymph and sold everything he owned, including his daughter, Mestra. Nothing could satisfy his hunger and eventually he ate himself to death.
A statue carved out of ivory by Pygmalion. Pygmalion fell in love with Galatea and after Pygmalion had sacrificed to Venus (mythology) during her festival, Galatea was made into a real woman.
Son of Theseus and the Amazon Queen Antiope and stepson of Phaedra. Phaedra tried to seduce Hippolytus, but as he rejected her she convinced Theseus that Hippolytus had raped her. This made Theseus use one of his three wishes to curse Hippolytus which eventually killed him. Hippolytus was deified as Virbius.
Son of Megareus and descendant of Neptunus through his grandfather, Onchestus. Raced and won over Atalante (the princess) with the help of Venus, thereby winning Atalante's hand. They were both metamorphosed into lions after having had intercourse in a temple.
A beautiful boy loved by Apollo. One day as Apollo was throwing a discus and Hyacinthus ran to catch it, he was struck by the discus and died. Apollo made the hyacinth in his memory.
Female centaur. She was present at the battle against the Lapiths, where she lost her husband, the centaur Cyllarus. Heartbroken, she committed suicide to join him
Son of Daedalus. Daedalus constructed wings made of feathers and wax for him and his son to escape from Crete. Icarus flew too close to the Sun which made the wax melt and Icarus fell to his death in the sea.
Daughter of Numitor and descendant of Aeneas. She was by Mars the mother of the twins Romulus and Remus, the two founders of Rome. Her alternative name is Rhea Silvia.
Nymph, daughter of Inachus. Io was raped by Jupiter and in jealousy Juno metamorphosed Io into a cow. Io wandered until she reached Egypt where she prayed that the punishment would end. Jupiter heard her and calmed Juno. Juno metamorphosed Io into a human form again, but in the process also deified her as the Egyptian goddess Isis.
Daughter of Telethusa and Ligdus. She was raised as a boy and fell in love with the girl Ianthe. Iphis prayed that the women could be married so the Egyptian goddess Isis metamorphosed Iphis into a man.
Father of Pirithous, and king of the Lapiths in Thessaly. He was invited to the banquet of the Olympian gods, but instead of being grateful he tried to rape his hostess, Juno. Juno transformed herself into a cloud from which the centaurs were born. Ixion was punished in Tartarus by being bound to an ever-spinning wheel of fire.
Son of King Aeson of Iolcus, Thessaly. Jason was sent to Colchis to get the golden fleece by his uncle Pelias, who had usurped the throne from Aeson. For this expedition Jason collected a large number of heroes, the Argonauts, and let the ship Argo build.
Wife of Olenus. She boasted that she was more beautiful than any god and was turned to stone. Her husband chose to share her fate though he could have avoided it.
Daughter of King Aeetes of Colchis. She protected Jason from the tasks her father set him, and eventually married him. When he divorced her, she went insane, killed her old family, and married Aegeus.
The most famous of the three Gorgons, daughters of the sea god Phorcys. Medusa was a terrible monster that turned people to stone if they beheld her, but was killed by Perseus and from her blood sprang Pegasus, the winged horse.
King of Phrygia. Midas was granted the ability to turn everything he touched into gold by Bacchus, but when he saw that this ability made him unable to eat and drink he hated his new-gained power. Bacchus advised him to wash the magic off in the river Pactolus. Later Midas was called upon to decide whether Pan or Apollo played the most beautiful music, but doubting that Apollo was the best he was given donkey ears.
A cannibalistic monster, half bull and half man, he was the issue of Queen Pasiphaë's affair with a bull, which had been sent to Crete by Neptunus to be sacrificed, but was spared by Minos. Daedalus created a plinth the shape of a heifer which Pasiphaë could hide inside, in that way making the bull cover her. Minotaurus was killed by Theseus.
Granddaughter of Pygmalion, daughter of King Cinyras of Cyprus, and mother of Adonis by Cinyras. She tricked her father into intercourse, but was discovered and fled. After having been on the run for 9 months she asked the gods not to be seen among those alive or dead, and was thus metamorphosed into the myrrh tree. A month later the tree gave birth to Adonis.
Son of Liriope. He fell in love with his own reflection and wasted away until death. When he died he was metamorphosed into the plant of the same name.
Centaur famously known for being mortally wounded by Hercules, and on his deathbed deceiving Hercules' wife, Deïanira, into using his tainted blood to kill Hercules.
Daughter of Tantalus and wife of King Amphion of Thebes. Boasted that she had more children than Latona. In revenge the goddess' two children, Diana and Apollo, killed all of Niobe's. In grief she wept until she was turned to stone.
Son of Hecuba and King Priam of Troy. He was famous for seducing and abducting Helen of Sparta (later Helen of Troy) with the help of Venus. Helen's husband, Menelaus, along with Agamemnon invoked The Oath of Tyndareus, thereby starting the Trojan War.
Son of Danaë and Jupiter. Jupiter fell into Danaë's womb as a golden rain while she was imprisoned in a tower by her father, Acrisius, because it had been foreseen that his daughter's son would cause his death. When Perseus was born, Acrisius put him and his mother in a coffin which he set afloat. The coffin drifted to Seriphus where King Polydectes later wanted Danaë. In order to get rid of Perseus he sent him on the seemingly impossible quest to slay the gorgon Medusa, but Perseus borrowed an invisibility hat, winged sandals, and a scimitar from Mercury and was helped by Minerva.
Daughter of Pandion and sister of Procne. She was raped by her brother-in-law, Tereus. To make sure she did not tell Procne he muted her by cutting out her tongue and imprisoned her in a forest. A year later she was rescued by her sister and in revenge the sisters fed Tereus his and Procne's son, Itys. Philomela was metamorphosed into a bird along with her sister and brother-in-law.
Blind king of Salmydessos, Thrace. His sons were seduced by his queen, their stepmother, so he blinded them. As a punishment the harpies would plague him by stealing or tainting his food. He was relieved from the harpies by Zetes and Calais.
Daughter of Pandion, wife of Tereus, sister of Philomela, and mother of Itys. She feeds Itys to Tereus after he has raped Philomela and cut out her tongue. She was metamorphosed into a bird along with her sister and husband.
Daughter of Erechteus of Athens and wife of Cephalus, who accidentally kills her with his hunting spear (which never misses) because he mistook her for a boar.
Daughter of Ceres and Jupiter, wife of Pluto, and queen of the Underworld. She is kidnapped by Pluto and eats of the pomegranate seeds while in the Underworld. She is sentenced by Jove to spend half the year with Ceres, half with Pluto. Roman equivalent of the Greek Persephone.
Sculptor from Cyptrus, father of Paphos, grandfather of Cinyras, and great-grandfather of Myrrha and Adonis. A bachelor, Pygmalion sculpts a beautiful woman out of ivory. He falls in love with this statue and prays to Venus to bring it to life. She grants his prayer, and the statue, Galatea, has a daughter with him, Paphos.
Ionianphilosopher and mathematician from Samos. He is described as a wise man who had gazed at and understood things and the mechanisms behind them; something nature usually denies men to see. In his great speech he teaches among other things about the changeability of everything, the benefits of vegetarianism, and Phoenix.
Roman god of agriculture and harvest. Brother and husband of Ops and father of Jupiter and his siblings. Saturnus led the rebellion against Uranus, but was later overthrown by Jupiter who precipitated him into Tartarus. Roman equivalent of the Greek Cronus.
Daughter of King Nisus of Megara. She fell in love with Minos, king of a besieging army and betrayed her city to him, but he spurned her. Was transformed into a sea bird, pursued by her father who was transformed into a sea eagle.
Daughter of Crataeis. Metamorphosed, by Circe, into a terrifying sea monster on the Italian coast by the Strait of Messina with fierce dogs around her waist, snapping sailors passing by.
Roman god of the Sun, the son of Hyperion. Trusted his chariot to his son Phaethon by Clymene, which resulted in disaster. Witnessed the adultery of Venus and Mars, and informed Venus's husband Vulcanus. For this Venus made him fall in love with Leucothoe, while forgetting his previous lover Clytia.
Son of Mars, father of Itys, husband of Procne, and king of Thrace. He raped Philomela (Procne's sister), then cut out her tongue, but was later tricked by Philomela and Procne into eating Itys. Ultimately both sisters and Tereus were metamorphosed into birds.
Son of Aethra and Aegeus. During a visit at King Pittheus of Troizen Aegeus slept with the king's daughter, Aethra. He hid his sword under a rock and told Aethra that if she bore him a son she should tell this son when he was strong enough to remove the rock. He should then travel to Athens with the sign of his origin, the sword.
Pyramus' girlfriend whom he is forbidden to wed. When they decide to meet a lioness scares off Thisbe and mutilates the veil she left behind. Pyramus finds the veil and believing Thisbe is dead he kills himself. When Thisbe finds his corpse she kills herself as well. The mulberry fruits were given their stained colour to symbolize the forbidden love.
Goddess of hearth, home and family. She had a sacred fire which was tended to by six virgin priestesses, Vestals, and which was connected to the safety of the city. The priestesses were severely punished if the fire went out and it was to be rekindled from the rays of the sun if that happened. Roman equivalent of the Greek Hestia.
God of forging and fire. Son of Jupiter and Juno and husband of Venus. Forged among other things the weapons of Achilles. Roman equivalent of the Greek Hephaistos.
