# Diana — Metamorphoses character guide

> Diana in Metamorphoses by Ovid.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** stern Diana, Cynthia

**First appearance:** 0022-transformation-of-actaeon-into-a-stag

## Snapshot

The chaste huntress whose fierce protection of her own privacy turns a hunter's accidental glance into a fatal curse.

## Who they are

Diana is the goddess of the hunt and of strict virginity, worshipped in groves and wild places where she bathes with her nymphs. When Actaeon stumbles upon her naked in the water, her outrage is absolute: she transforms him into a stag and lets his own hounds tear him apart. Her severity sets the tone for the poem's recurring theme — gods who punish mortals not for malice but for mere proximity to divine privacy.

## In the story

### [Transformation of Daphne Into a Laurel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/transformation-of-daphne-into-a-laurel)

Mentioned as a model of virginity whom Daphne wishes to emulate.

### [Story of Calisto](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/story-of-calisto)

The chaste goddess whose form Jupiter borrows; she banishes Calisto upon discovering her pregnancy.

### [Transformation of Actaeon Into a Stag](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/transformation-of-actaeon-into-a-stag)

Chaste goddess of the hunt who punishes Actaeon for viewing her nakedness by transforming him into a stag.

### [Story of Arethusa](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/story-of-arethusa)

Goddess who protects Arethusa by transforming her into a fountain and later cleaving the ground to separate her from Alpheus.

### [Story of Niobe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/story-of-niobe)

Daughter of Latona who joins Apollo in punishing Niobe by killing her daughters.

### [Book VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/book-viii)

Cursed by Althaea in her grief over her brothers' deaths.

### [Story of Meleager and Atalanta](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/story-of-meleager-and-atalanta)

Sends the Calydonian boar to ravage Aetolia as punishment for Oeneus's neglect of her worship.

### [Transformation of Daedalion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/transformation-of-daedalion)

Goddess who kills Chione for her pride.

### [Trojan War](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/trojan-war)

Goddess who demands a virgin sacrifice but relents, substituting a hind for Iphigenia.

### [Story of Hippolytus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/story-of-hippolytus)

Goddess who restores Hippolytus to life, disguises him, and grants him immortality as Virbius.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/characters/diana
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/characters