Metamorphoses · Chapter
Description of Famine explained
The goddess Ceres sends Famine to afflict Erisichthon with insatiable hunger as punishment for his impiety.
What happens
The goddess Ceres sends Famine to afflict Erisichthon with insatiable hunger as punishment for his impiety. Famine enters his chamber at night and breathes a wasting blast upon him, causing an endless, tormenting hunger that no amount of food can satisfy.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Rising action.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This is the story's dramatic climax because it presents the emotional and psychological peak of Telethusa’s de…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Divine Power and Human Folly
Ceres wields her divine authority to punish Erisichthon's impiety, demonstrating the gods' power over mortals.
- Transformation and Metamorphosis
Erisichthon undergoes a psychological transformation into a state of perpetual hunger, a form of living torment.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“She clasp'd his limbs, by impious labour tired, With battish wings, but her whole self inspired; Breathed on his throat and chest a tainting blast, And in his veins infused an endless fast.”
Famine embraced the sleeping Erisichthon and breathed a corrupting breath upon him, instilling an unending hunger.
The moment of affliction where Famine curses Erisichthon.
“Starves at full tables, and complains of want.”
Even when surrounded by abundant food, he remains starving and unsatisfied.
Illustrates the paradox of his insatiable hunger.
