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Metamorphoses · Chapter

Story of Iphis and Anaxarete explained

Vertumnus, disguised as an old woman, warns Pomona against pride and cruelty by recounting the tale of Iphis, a low-born youth who fell hopelessly in love with the noble Anaxarete.

What happens

Vertumnus, disguised as an old woman, warns Pomona against pride and cruelty by recounting the tale of Iphis, a low-born youth who fell hopelessly in love with the noble Anaxarete. Despite his desperate pleas and gifts, she scorned him until he hanged himself at her gate. When Anaxarete saw his funeral procession, she was turned to stone. Vertumnus then reveals his true divine form, and Pomona, moved by his beauty, returns his love.

Themes in this chapter

  • Love and Desire

    Iphis's unrequited love drives him to suicide, while Vertumnus's persistent desire ultimately wins Pomona's heart.

  • Transformation and Metamorphosis

    Anaxarete is transformed into a stone statue as punishment for her cruelty, and Vertumnus shifts from disguise to his true godly form.

Characters to notice

  • Vertumnus

    Disguises himself as an old woman to counsel Pomona, then reveals his true radiant form to win her love.

  • Pomona

    The nymph who initially shuns love but is swayed by Vertumnus's story and his divine appearance.

  • Venus

    The Cyprian queen in whose temple the statue of Anaxarete is said to stand.

Key passages

  • “The nymph, more hard than rocks, more deaf than seas, Derides his prayers, insults his agonies;”

    Pomona is as unyielding as stone and as unhearing as the ocean, mocking Iphis's pleas and taking pleasure in his suffering.

    Highlights Pomona's initial cruelty and the theme of unfeeling pride.

  • “Struck with the sight, inanimate she seems; Set are her eyes, and motionless her limbs; Her features without fire, her colour gone, And, like her heart, she hardens into stone.”

    Upon seeing Iphis's corpse, Anaxarete freezes, her eyes fixed and limbs still, losing all vitality and color as she turns into a statue, mirroring her former hardness of heart.

    Describes the literal metamorphosis as a consequence of emotional coldness.

  • “The sight so warms the fair admiring maid, Like snow she melts: so soon can youth persuade. Consent, on eager wings, succeeds desire; And both the lovers glow with mutual fire.”

    Pomona is so captivated by Vertumnus's youthful beauty that her resistance dissolves like snow, and she quickly agrees to a mutual, passionate love.

    Contrasts Pomona's change of heart with Anaxarete's stony fate, emphasizing the power of divine persuasion.

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