Metamorphoses

Cephalus’s business in Aegina is to bring a message from Athens asking for King Aeacus’s help in the war that King Minos is threatening. Without hesitation, King Aeacus promises to aid Athens and says he has a strong army of young men. Cephalus remarks that he is pleased to see Aegina so full of strong young men but wonders where the familiar faces are.

Aeacus sighs and explains that a terrible plague decimated Aegina. Queen Juno, angry that Aegina was named after one of Jupiter’s mistresses, had infected Aegina with the plague. This is how it began: a fog fills the city and the air becomes hot and toxic. Slithering snakes infect the lakes and fields. First birds and wild animals die, and then oxen, sheep, and horses. The carcasses rot in ditches, oozing contagious liquids.

Next, the peasants and farmers come down with the plague. The sick people’s mouths dry out and they become insufferably hot. Unable to bear clothes, they lie around naked. They go mad, rolling out of their houses and roaming the streets. They are so thirsty that they crawl to the infected springs to drink and swiftly die. Aegina’s doctors try to fight the plague, but their medicine has no effect. Any doctor or devoted friend who cares for a sick person dies, too.

In his despair, King Aeacus wants to die with his people. Many times, he tries to make a sacrifice to Jupiter, but the victim dies before he can kill it. Losing all hope, people start killing themselves. Those still alive fight over the funeral pyres for their dead loved ones. Soon, no one performs the proper burial rites anymore, and corpses lie in the streets.