123
See also: The abduction of Persephone 50–51 ■ Cupid and Psyche 112–13 ■ Carna and Janus 121 ■
Pyramus and Thisbe 124 ■ Blodeuwedd 170–71ANCIENT ROME
desperation, he let his hair grow
gray and arrived disguised as an
old woman. The scheme worked;
Pomona let in the old woman—and
was startled to find herself being
kissed in a passionate embrace.
Sinking to the ground, withered
and bent, Vertumnus gestured
to an elm tree around which a
grapevine was twined. He tried to
persuade Pomona of the advantages
of marriage, and the perils of
rejecting a suitor. “If this tree stood
alone,” he said, “and was not
married to the vine, it would be of
little interest. You shun marriage,when really you should follow the
example of the tree. If you will take
the advice of an old woman, you
should reject all others and choose
Vertumnus to share your bed. He
loves the fruits you grow, though
not as much as he loves you.”Eventual love
Pomona would not listen to the old
woman’s reasoning and so, finally,
Vertumnus shed his disguise to
reveal himself to her in the full
glory of his divine youth. When
she saw his true shape, Pomona fell
for Vertumnus as deeply as he hadfor her, and told him that she
never wanted him to take any
shape again but his own.
Pomona and Vertumnus were
a good match. Together they held
sway over fruits, orchards, growth,
and the changing seasons. The
annual Vertumnalias, their joint
festival, occurred on August 13 and
marked an opportunity for Roman
citizens to give their thanks for the
year’s bountiful harvest. It was
celebrated by the flamen Pomonalis
(“priest of Pomona”) in the Pomonal,
a sacred grove near Ostia, the
principal port of Rome. ■Ovid The myth of Pomona and
Vertumnus comes down to
us from the Metamorphoses
of the Roman poet Ovid. The
Metamorphoses is a long narrative
poem comprising 15 books and
more than 250 myths. One of the
most influential texts in literature,
it has inspired masterpieces by
writers, artists, and composers
from Dante, Chaucer, Shakespeare,
and Kafka to Titian, Richard
Strauss, and many more.
Publius Ovidius Naso was born
into an important family in Sulmo
(modern Sulmona, east of Rome) in
43 bce. By the age of 18, he wasalready a poet. Ovid’s
fascination with both Greek
and Roman mythology found
expression in the Heroides,
letters from mythological
heroines to their lovers. This
was followed by Metamorphoses,
and his long poem on the Roman
ritual calendar, Fasti.
In 8 ce, Ovid was exiled by
the Emperor Augustus to Tomis,
on the Black Sea, where he died
in 17 ce, unreprieved. Exactly
why Ovid was exiled in this
manner is not known. Ovid
himself said it was due to
“a poem and a mistake.”Oxherd
He pretended
to be an oxherd,
holding a goad
to drive cattle.Soldier
He disguised
himself as a
soldier in full
armor.Vine-dresser
He posed as a
vine-dresser
carrying a
pruning knife.Fisherman
He turned up
with a rod and
line; still she
sent him away.Old woman
Pomona spoke
to Vertumnus
when he wore
this disguise.Harvester
Vertumnus
dressed as a
reaper with a
basket of corn.Fruit-picker
He also arrived
to pick fruit, a
ladder over his
shoulder.Vertumnus’s disguises were many and varied.
When one did not persuade Pomona to talk to him,
he moved on to another.US_122-123_Pomona_and_Vertumnus.indd 123 01/12/17 4:22 pm