Vertumnus
Roman god of seasonal change and gardens, a shape-shifter with no direct Greek equivalent
The Myth of Vertumnus
Vertumnus was an Etruscan deity adopted by Rome, whose name derives from vertere, "to turn," reflecting his power over the turning seasons. He was a master shape-shifter who could take any form, and this ability featured prominently in his courtship of Pomona. Propertius devoted a famous elegy to a statue of Vertumnus that stood in the Vicus Tuscus, Rome's Etruscan quarter, in which the god boasts of his ability to become a reaper, a vine-dresser, a soldier, or a fisherman. He presided over the transformation of plants from flower to fruit, the turning of one season into the next, and by extension all forms of change and exchange. Merchants in the Vicus Tuscus worshipped him as a patron of trade.
Parents
None recorded
Symbols
Fun Fact
A statue of Vertumnus in Rome was famous for being redecorated each season in appropriate fruits and flowers
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Pomona
⚡ godFruit trees, orchards, gardens
Roman goddess of fruit trees and orchards, with no direct Greek equivalent
Thallo
⚡ godSpring, growth
Goddess of spring blossoms and one of the original Attic Horae who presided over the budding of plants
Circe
⚡ godSorceress goddess of transformation
A powerful sorceress who lived on the island of Aeaea. Circe transformed Odysseus's men into swine and later became his lover and advisor.
Flora
⚡ godFlowers, spring, blossoming plants
Roman goddess of flowers and spring, equivalent to the Greek Chloris
Demeter
⚡ godGoddess of harvest and the Eleusinian Mysteries
Demeter was the goddess of grain, harvest, and fertility whose grief over Persephone's abduction explained the seasons and whose Mysteries promised hope beyond death.
Faunus
⚡ godForests, fields, flocks, prophecy
Roman god of the wild, forests, and flocks, equivalent to the Greek Pan
Auxo
⚡ godGrowth, summer
Goddess of plant growth and one of the original Attic Horae who presided over the increase of crops
Periclymenos
🗡 heroShape-shifting, combat
Grandson of Poseidon who could change shape at will and sailed with the Argonauts
Hermaphroditus
⚡ godtransformation
Son of Hermes and Aphrodite who was fused with the nymph Salmacis into a single being of both sexes.
Mars
⚡ godWar, agriculture, guardianship
Roman god of war and agriculture, second in importance only to Jupiter, far more honoured than his Greek counterpart Ares
Silvanus
⚡ godForests, boundaries, woodland
Roman god of forests and uncultivated land, protector of boundaries between wild and civilised spaces
Carpo
⚡ godHarvest, autumn
Goddess of the autumn harvest and one of the original Attic Horae who presided over the fruiting of crops