The myth of the cruel king Erysichthon and his long-suffering daughter Mestra and her special powers appears in the Roman poet Ovid’s famous collection Metamorphoses, a series of poems dealing with the transformation of humans, usually at the hands of the Gods. You can listen to a podcast about Metamorphoses here. 

You can read a translation of Ovid’s story of Mestra and Erysichthon here. Then, watch this version read by the English poet Ted Hughes and accompanied by detailed etchings. 

The story stands out from the other poems in Metamorphoses for several reasons. While the collection is full of Gods transforming humans as punishment (without any input from the humans themselves), Mestra is transformed by Poseidon as an act of mercy (although this is also an act of repentance because he had previously attacked her). Mestra is also notable because she has agency in her shape-shifting abilities, and can change herself at will into many forms. This allows her to escape her captor’s clutches and save herself from her father’s ruin. You can see some depictions throughout history of Mestra and her father here. 

The myth is also notable for its depiction of Hunger, a goddess who rarely makes an appearance. Learn more about Hunger, also called Limos, here.

Erysichthon is not the only mortal who met a grim downfall for angering the Gods. Greek mythology is full of the Gods punishing mortals for defying them or violating the boundary between mortals and Gods. Explore more stories animated by TED-Ed in the myths of Icarus, Sisyphus, and Phaethon. 

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