The story in Ovid's Metamorphoses, Book VIII, tells the tale of Erisicthon, a man who disrespects the gods by cutting down a sacred oak tree in a grove of Ceres. As punishment, his daughter Metra is cursed with insatiable hunger, leading Erisicthon to sell her multiple times in his desperate attempts to feed himself. Metra pleads to Neptune, who had previously been in love with her, for the ability to transform herself in order to escape being sold. She is able to evade capture by constantly changing her form, from a mare to a bird, a cow to a stag. Despite this, Erisicthon's hunger continues to consume him to the point where he begins to devour his own limbs in an attempt to satisfy his insatiable appetite. Ultimately, he becomes the victim of his own impiety, facing the consequences of his actions. Acheloüs, the river god telling the story, also reveals his own ability to change forms, but laments the limited number of transformations he possesses. The tale serves as a cautionary reminder of the consequences of greed and disrespect for the divine.
