Many Greek myths explain the origin of plants, animals, flowers and natural phenomena through a metamorphosis, a transformation. The Latin poet Ovid gathered more than two hundred such stories in his Metamorphoses, a poem that inspired painters and sculptors for centuries, from Bernini to Titian.
| Character | Becomes | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Daphne | Laurel | Flees Apollo and asks her father, a river god, for help |
| Narcissus | Narcissus (flower) | Falls in love with his own reflection |
| Echo | A voice | Punished by Hera, can only repeat others' last words |
| Arachne | Spider | Challenges Athena at weaving |
| Io | Heifer | Zeus hides her from Hera's jealousy |
| Callisto | Bear, then a constellation | Punished by Artemis or Hera |
| Actaeon | Stag | Sees Artemis bathing; his own hounds tear him apart |
| Hyacinthus | Hyacinth (flower) | Killed by accident by Apollo's discus |
| Adonis | Anemone | Killed by a boar, mourned by Aphrodite |
| Galatea | From statue to woman | Aphrodite grants the sculptor Pygmalion's wish |
| Baucis and Philemon | Oak and linden | Reward for welcoming Zeus and Hermes |
| Lycaon | Wolf | Serves Zeus human flesh |
Daphne and Apollo
Apollo mocked Eros for his little bow. The love god took revenge: he struck Apollo with a golden arrow that kindles love and the nymph Daphne with a lead one that makes love flee. As Apollo chased her, Daphne called on her father, who turned her into a laurel. Ever since, Apollo has worn a laurel wreath, and laurel crowned the winners of the Pythian Games and poets: hence laureate.
Narcissus and Echo
The nymph Echo kept Hera busy with chatter while Zeus courted other nymphs; the goddess condemned her to repeat only the last words of others. Echo fell in love with the beautiful Narcissus, who rejected her. As punishment Narcissus fell in love with his own reflection in a spring and wasted away; a flower grew where he died. He gives us the word narcissism.
Arachne
The young Lydian Arachne boasted she wove better than Athena. The goddess challenged her: Athena wove the gods in their glory, Arachne their amorous deceptions, with flawless art. Furious, Athena turned her into a spider, condemned to weave for ever. Scientists still call spiders and scorpions arachnids.
Midas
King Midas obtained from Dionysus the gift that everything he touched turned to gold. He soon found that food and water turned to metal too; he begged the god to take back the gift and washed in the river Pactolus, whose sands were full of gold ever after. Today someone who succeeds at everything has "the Midas touch".
See also constellations and myths and myths and words.