# Transformation of Clytie explained — Metamorphoses

> Chapter companion for Metamorphoses by Ovid.

## What happens

Clytie, abandoned by Apollo, wastes away from grief and is transformed into a sunflower (heliotrope), which forever turns its head toward the sun. The story is told among sisters, some of whom doubt the power of the gods, and ends with Alcithoe beginning her tale.

## Themes in this chapter

### Transformation and Metamorphosis

Clytie's transformation into a sunflower is a central metamorphosis in this chapter.

### Love and Desire

Clytie's excessive love for Apollo leads to her grief and eventual transformation.

## Character check-ins

### Clytie

Deserted by Apollo, she pines away and is transformed into a sunflower.

### Apollo

Angry Phoebus who scornfully abandons Clytie.

## Key lines

> Though guilty Clytie thus the Sun betray’d, By too much passion she was guilty made.

Although Clytie betrayed the Sun, her excessive passion made her guilty.

_Explains Clytie's guilt as stemming from her overwhelming love._

> Still the loved object the fond leaves pursue, Still move their root the moving sun to view, And in the heliotrope the nymph is true.

The leaves of the flower still follow the beloved sun, and the nymph remains faithful in the heliotrope.

_Describes the eternal turning of the sunflower toward the sun as a symbol of Clytie's enduring love._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/transformation-of-clytie
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/metamorphoses_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters