Ino is Semele’s sister and was one of Bacchus’s caregivers when he was young. Juno—who is vengeful towards all of Semele’s relatives—sends a demon to Ino and her husband Athamas to poison them with crime, lust, and madness. Ino flees from Athamas, who suddenly tries to seize and kill her and her children, running off a cliff into the ocean with a baby in her arms. Neptune transforms Ino and the baby into sea-gods.
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Ino Character Timeline in Metamorphoses
The timeline below shows where the character Ino appears in Metamorphoses. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 4: Ino and Athamas
Everyone in Thebes now acknowledges Bacchus as a new god. Semele’s sister Ino—who helped raise her nephew Bacchus—is fiercely proud of Bacchus, as well as of her own...
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Tisiphone grabs a bloody torch and travels to Ino and Athamas’s palace. Ino and Athamas are frightened by the ominous presence of the Fury,...
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Athamas goes mad, telling his hunters to trap Ino and her two children, whom he believes are a lioness and cubs. He runs after...
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Ino’s companions run to the cliff and grieve because they believe she has died. They curse...
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