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Ocyrrhoe, a MythSource painting
Greek

Ocyrrhoe

01Identity

Ocyrrhoe in Greek tradition

Henry T. Riley's 1889 English translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses presents Ocyrrhoe's gift for prophecy as the beginning of a story that turns back upon her. She is Chiron's daughter and speaks to an unnamed infant, predicting a future of health and restored life. Her words also place her immortal father under a prophecy of eventual death after a serpent wound. The Fates curtail the forecast. Then Ocyrrhoe herself changes from human form into a mare named Enippe. The episode connects foreknowledge with vulnerability: she can speak of another's future, but cannot avoid the metamorphosis ahead of her. This is a literary account, not historical evidence of prophecy.

SourceThe Metamorphoses of Ovid: Book II, pp. 72–73

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02The myths

The myths of Ocyrrhoe

1 myth, with sources recorded for each.

Ocyrrhoe's Prophecy and Transformation

Ocyrrhoe speaks to an unnamed infant about the future it will enter. Her words hold promise and danger together: the child will bring health and restore life, while Chiron's immortality will end after a serpent wound. Before she can complete her prediction, the Fates cut her off.

The story then turns from what Ocyrrhoe foresees to what happens to her. Her voice and human form change, and she becomes a mare whom Riley's account names Enippe. The ending belongs to Ocyrrhoe rather than the infant: her own new name marks the completed transformation. This is a literary metamorphosis in Riley's 1889 translation of Ovid, not a historical prophecy.

Ocyrrhoe's Prophecy and Transformation, a MythSource painting of the scene

2 sources· checked 2026-09-29

  1. 1The Metamorphoses of OvidT1
  2. 2The Metamorphoses of OvidT1