Vertumnus

Greek name: None (Vertumnus is Roman exclusive)

Portrayed by: Rhett Hanenkratt

Vertumnus is the roman god of spring, the changing seasons, and fruit bearing trees. He is the husband of Pomona, the goddess of fruit and gardens.

Vertumnus and Pomona
As told by Ovid, Vertumnus was a suitor of the goddess Pomona. Though Vertumnus loved her dearly, Pomona rejected the idea of finding a husband. Vertumnus had the ability to change his form into whatever he wished, so he tried approaching Pomona in various disguises, though none of them worked. Eventually, he took the form of an old woman and entered the orchard of Pomona. He warned her of the dangers of rejecting a suitor by telling her the story of Iphis and Anaxarete. Iphis, a young man, was a suitor for the young maiden Anaxarete, and he would come to her doorstep every day to tell her of his love for her. Eventually, tired of this, Anaxarete rejected his affection and cruelly mocked him. Heartbroken, Iphis hung himself in her doorway. Anaxarete was unmoved by this, and even mocked Iphis at his funeral. Enraged, Aphrodite turned Anaxarete into a stone statue. Vertumnus, still in disguise, gives Pomona a kiss on the cheek after he tells the story. Pomona realizes that the kiss is too warm to be from an old woman, and uncovers Vertumnus' trick. He is forced to assume is normal form, and Pomona ends up falling in love with him, without any disguise at all (Ovid, trans. More).

In Metamorphoses
In the theatrical adaptation of Ovid's epic by Mary Zimmerman, Vertumnus' story is one of the eleven stories featured in the play. Vertumnus takes on a variety of disguises to try and woo Pomona as he does in the original myth, going from a farmhand, to a soldier, and a fisherman. In this version of the story, Vertumnus tells Pomona the story of Myrrha and Cinyras instead of Iphis and Anaxarete. He is played by the Fifth Man (Zimmerman, 2002).

Vertumnalia
Vertumnus had his own festival in Rome, known as Vertumnalia which took place on August 13th. It was accompanied by frivolous dancing, and the consuming of fruits. (Ovid)