Metamorphoses · Chapter
Story of the Sibyl explained
Apollo falls in love with the Cumaean Sibyl and grants her wish to live as many years as grains in a heap of sand, but she forgets to ask for eternal youth, so she ages over centuries.
What happens
Apollo falls in love with the Cumaean Sibyl and grants her wish to live as many years as grains in a heap of sand, but she forgets to ask for eternal youth, so she ages over centuries. The narrative then shifts to the arrival of Aeneas at Cumae, where the Sibyl meets him, and later Macareus encounters Achaemenides.
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 Falling 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
- Mortality and Immortality
The Sibyl's wish for long life without eternal youth highlights the tension between mortal decay and the desire for immortality.
- Love and Desire
Apollo's love for the Sibyl drives the granting of her wish, but her oversight leads to tragic consequences.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“I paused: then pointing to a heap of sand, ‘For every grain, to live a year demand.’ But, ah! unmindful of the effect of time, Forgot to covenant for youth and prime.”
She asked for as many years as grains of sand, but neglected to request eternal youth.
This illustrates the Sibyl's fatal oversight in her wish.
“Seven centuries have I lived; three more fulfil The period of the years to finish still.”
She has lived seven hundred years and has three hundred more to go.
The Sibyl recounts the passage of time since her wish was granted.
