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| Anonymous Sculptor The Nymph Callisto asleep in the Forest ca. 1600 alabaster relief Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Jean-Baptiste Greuze The Nymph Callisto ca. 1775 oil on canvas Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
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| attributed to Andrea Schiavone Jupiter seducing Callisto ca. 1540 oil on canvas National Gallery, London |
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| Caesar van Everdingen Jupiter and Callisto 1655 oil on canvas Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
from The Metamorphoses
Callisto was not in the habit of spinning wool at the distaff
or stylishly dressing her hair; her garment was clasped by a simple
brooch, while a plain white band kept her loose-flowing tresses in order.
Armed with her smooth-polished javelin or bow, she served as a soldier
in Phoebe's troop; of the maidens who hunted on Maénalus' slopes
Diana cherished her best – but no one's favor is lasting.
The sun had climbed to the height of the sky; it was soon after midday.
Callisto entered a forest whose trees no axe had deflowered,
and here she removed the quiver she wore on her shoulder and loosened
the string of her supple bow; then laid herself down on the greensward,
resting her pure white neck on her painted quiver for pillow.
When Jupiter spied her lying exhausted and unprotected,
he reckoned: 'My wife will never discover this tiny betrayal;
or else, if she does, oh yes, the joy will make up for the scolding!'
At once he assume the features and dress of the goddess Diana,
and said to the damsel, 'Young maiden, I see you are one of my dear
companions. Where on the slopes have you hunted today?' The young maiden
raised herself up from the grass and replied, 'Hail, goddess! I judge you
greater than Jove, though he hear it himself.' Jove chuckled to hear it,
delighted she judged him greater than Jove, and gave her a passionate
kiss on the lips, not the kiss that a virgin goddess would give.
As she started to detail where in the forest she'd hunted, he gripped her
tight in his arms, and his subsequent felony gave him away.
* * *
And now, the real Diana arrived with her train of attendants
along Mount Maénalus, flushed with pride in her hunting triumphs.
Sighting Callisto, she called to the girl, who responded by running
away, as she still was afraid that it might be Jupiter there
in the guise of Diana. But seeing her nymphs processing beside her,
she realized it wasn't a trick and attached herself to the others.
How difficult not to betray our guilt in our facial expression!
Her eyes were fixed on the ground, and she wouldn't resume her position
close to the side of the goddess in front of the whole procession.
Her silence and blushes were telling signs that she'd lost her virtue.
Diana, but for being a virgin, could well have detected
her guilty by a thousand tokens. The nymphs are said to have noticed.
Eight moons had waned and the horns of the ninth had begun to appear
when, weary with hunting and overcome by the heat of her brother,
the goddess entered the cool of a wood, where a babbling brook
was smoothly flowing along its familiar sandy bed.
'What a charming spot!' she exclaimed, as she dipped her toe in the water.
'The temperature's perfect, and nobody's here to spy on us bathing
Let's take off our clothes and refresh ourselves with a nice, cool swim.'
Callisto's face turned crimson; while everyone undressed,
she tried to wait; and while she dithered, they stripped off her tunic.
When this was removed, her naked body exposed her shame.
In utter confusion she moved her hands to cover her belly.
'Be gone!' cried the goddess. 'This sacred spring must not be polluted!'
And so her favourite was sternly commanded to leave her presence.
– Ovid (8 AD), translated by David Raeburn (2004)
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| Dosso Dossi Diana and Callisto ca. 1528 oil on canvas Galleria Borghese, Rome |
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| Andrea Schiavone Diana and Callisto ca. 1540 oil on canvas Musée de Picardie, Amiens |
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| Luca Cambiaso The Shame of Callisto before 1585 drawing National Galleries of Scotland |
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| Titian Diana and Callisto ca. 1556-59 oil on canvas National Galleries of Scotland |
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| Peter Paul Rubens Diana and Callisto 1638-40 oil on canvas Museo del Prado, Madrid |
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| Guglielmo della Porta Diana and Callisto ca. 1553-55 bronze relief National Gallery of Art, Washington DC |
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| Johann Rottenhammer Diana and Callisto ca. 1602 oil on copper Royal Collection, Great Britain |
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| Pietro Liberi Diana and Callisto ca. 1650-60 oil on canvas Hermitage, Saint Petersburg |
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| Cornelis van Poelenburgh Landscape with Diana and Callisto ca. 1650 oil on panel Hermitage, Saint Petersburg |
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| Sebastiano Ricci Diana and Callisto (study for fresco) ca. 1707-1708 drawing Royal Collection, Great Britain |
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| Sebastiano Ricci Diana and Callisto 1712-15 oil on canvas Gallerie dell' Accademia, Venice |
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| Anonymous French Printmaker Diana and Callisto 1780s stipple-engraving Hermitage, Saint Petersburg |