Metamorphoses (play) - Character Guide

Character Guide

Characters listed as in the script

• Woman by the Water: The narrator for the opening scene who poetically comments on the creation of the world and man.
• Scientist: In the opening scene, adorned in a white lab coat and holding earthly elements, explains the scientific possibility of the creation of the world
• Zeus: The Greek God, referred in the play as, "Lord of the heavens", who represents a divine creator in the opening scene. Later, Zeus and Hermes disguise themselves as beggars and find shelter in Baucis and Philemon's home.
• Three Laundresses: Used as a narrative device as the three, unnamed women exchange the stories of "Midas" and "Alcyone and Ceyx" as they are enacted on stage.
• Midas and his Daughter: Midas is an exorbitantly rich king who is granted by Bacchus the ability to turn anything he touches into gold. He accidentally turns his daughter into gold in the first scene, and concludes the play by finding a sacred pool that restores himself as well as his daughter to their original, healthy states.
• Lucina: The goddess of childbirth.
• Silenus: A follower of Bacchus who shows up drunk at Midas' palace. Midas treats Silenus well, and because of his kindness is granted a wish of his choice.
• Bacchus:Roman God of wine and partying. He grants Midas a gift for saving a follower of his, the golden touch, though he warns Midas it is a very bad idea for a heavinly gift.
• Ceyx, a King: King, husband of Alcyone, and Captain of a sea vessel. Dies at sea by Poseidon's wrath. His body is later carried ashore by Hermes, and transforms into a living seabird along with Alcyone.
• Alcyone: Ceyx's wife and daughter of Aeolus, Master of the Winds. Awaits for Ceyx's return after his departure, sees false visions of Ceyx as prompted by Morpheus, and finally is transformed into a seabird after Ceyx's body is finally returned to her.
• Hermes: Son of Zeus. Returns Ceyx's body to Alcyone. Later accompanies Zeus to earth disguised as beggars to "see what people were really like."
• Aphrodite: Goddess of love and beauty. Hears the prayers of Ceyx at sea when his ship is sinking. Sends Iris, the rainbow, to the cave of Sleep, who will show Alcyone a vision of Ceyx.
• Erysichthon and his Mother: Erysichthon scorned the gods and found nothing sacred. Was cursed by Ceres with an insatiable hunger after cutting down a sacred tree. Erysichthon tries to sell his mother, who later turns back into a child by Poseidon's grace. Erysichthon eventually eats himself, though the audience doesn't see it firsthand.
• Ceres: Roman Goddess of the Harvest. Roman equivalent to Demeter. She sends Oread to find Hunger so she can punish Erysichthon for cutting down her tree.
• Oread: A nymph Ceres sends to find Hunger.
• Hunger: Commanded, or rather permitted, to latch onto Erysichthon forever.
• Orpheus: Husband of Eurydice. Travels to the Underworld to retrieve Eurydice after her death. Hades agrees to her release on the condition that Orpheus doesn't look back at her as they walk out of the Underworld; which Orpheus does. He is haunted with the memory of losing his wife forever.
• Eurydice: Wife of Orpheus who dies after stepping on a snake. She is eventually doomed to the Underworld after Orpheus breaks his promise to Hades, and will spend as eternity not remembering the face of her husband.
• Vertumnus, God of Springtime: An admirer of Pomona and disguises himself in various costumes in order to get close of Pomona. Tells the story of Myrrha to sway Pomona into loving him.
• Pomona, Wood Nymph: A skilled gardener who refused to have a lover. Finally falls for Vertumnus after heeding his message and telling him to be himself.
• Cinyras, a King: Father to Myrrha who eventually sleeps with her after being tricked by the Nursemaid while being drunk and blindfolded.
• Myrrha: Daughter of Kind Cinyras who denied Aphrodite so many times that Myrrha was seized with a passion for her father. She eventually has three sexual encounters with her father, the third of which he discovers her identity during intercourse. She flees and her final whereabouts remain unknown.
• Nursemaid: A servant who agrees to help Myrrha have sexual relations with her father.
• Phaeton: Son of Apollo, who after many years of neglect, finally confronts his father, convinces Apollo to let him have control of the sun, and burns the Earth. Phaeton reveals his story to the Therapist.
• Therapist: A psychologist who follows a Freudian example and psycho analyzes Phaeton's story.
• Apollo: God of the sun, music, and light. Father of Phaeton. At first he was hesitant to let his son drive his chariot but eventually gave in.
• Eros: Primordial god of love and lust. Depicted as blind, winged, and naked. Falls in love with Psyche.
• Psyche: The opposite character of Eros. Questions love's reason and eventually receives love. Goddess of pure beauty.
• Q & A: Narrators of the Eros and Psyche scene. Q only asks questions and A answers them. They discuss the relationship of love and the mind.
• Baucis: A poor woman and wife of Philemon. Together they offer their homes to Zeus and Hermes and are rewarded by being turned into trees to spare each other death.
• Philemon: A poor man and husband of Baucis. Together they offer their homes to Zeus and Hermes and are rewarded by being turned into trees to spare each other death.
• Various Narrators: Members of the ensemble who take turns in narrating various scenes.