Aglauros is the sister of Minerva and Herse. She is disobedient and selfish, once looking into a basket that the goddess Pallas Athena forbade her to look inside. Later, Aglauros tries to demand gold in exchange for introducing Mercury to her sister Herse, whom Mercury desires. Minerva eventually gets fed up with Aglauros’s greedy nature and sends Envy to transform her into a mildewed statue.
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Aglauros Character Timeline in Metamorphoses
The timeline below shows where the character Aglauros appears in Metamorphoses. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 2: The Raven and the Crow
...three sisters, making them swear not to look inside it. Minerva and Herse obeyed, but Aglauros broke her oath and looked in the basket. The crow—who was Minerva’s raven attendant at...
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Book 2: Aglauros
...on a disguise. He neatens his appearance and makes his way to the maidens’ lodgings. Aglauros—Herse’s sister and the girl who’d defied Pallas and peeked into the basket—greets the god. Mercury...
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At Aglauros’s request, Mercury leaves. Minerva, Aglauros’s sister, thinks angrily of Aglauros’s greedy sins. Minerva travels to...
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Envy follows Minerva to Athens. There, she strokes Aglauros’s breast, infecting her heart with poison. Then she implants Aglauros’s mind with images of Herse...
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Book 2: Europa
After punishing Aglauros, Mercury returns to the sky. Jupiter asks Mercury to go drive a herd of royal...
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