Laura Wright 
There are punishments worse than death.
In Greek mythology, Erysichthon of Thessaly discovered one of them.
He offended the goddess Demeter by destroying a sacred grove and cutting down an ancient oak associated with her worship.
For his crime, Erysichthon was not struck dead.
He was allowed to live.
Instead, Demeter condemned him to an appetite that could never be satisfied.
The more he ate, the hungrier he became.
Eventually, Erysichthon consumed everything he owned.
Then he began consuming himself.
Ovid and the Story of Erysichthon
One of the best-known versions of the story comes from the Roman poet Publius Ovidius Naso, better known simply as Ovid.
Born in 43 BC, Ovid became one of the great poets of ancient Rome.
Around AD 8, he was banished from Rome under circumstances that have remained the subject of considerable debate.
Among the memorable figures appearing in his writing was Erysichthon, a man whose arrogance brought down one of mythology’s most horrifying curses.
The Sacred Grove of Demeter
Erysichthon was the offspring of the King of Thessaly and Triopas.
Near his home stood a grove sacred to Demeter, goddess of agriculture and the harvest.
Erysichthon disliked it.
Eventually, he decided the entire grove should be destroyed.
His men were ordered to cut down the trees.
But one tree was different from all the others.
The Ancient Oak
Standing within the grove was an enormous sacred oak.
Wreaths hung from its branches, each representing a prayer that Demeter had answered.
When Erysichthon’s men reached the ancient tree, they stopped.
They would go no farther.
Whatever their master’s orders, they were unwilling to destroy something so obviously sacred to a goddess.
Erysichthon had no such hesitation.
If his servants wouldn’t cut down the tree, he would do it himself.
Erysichthon Takes the Axe
Erysichthon seized an axe and began chopping into the sacred oak.
Blow after blow struck the trunk.
Eventually, the great tree fell.
But Erysichthon had destroyed more than a tree.
A dryad nymph was associated with it.
As the oak came crashing down, the nymph was killed.
Before dying, she placed a curse upon the man responsible.
Demeter soon arrived.
She was too late to save the nymph.
But she could avenge her.
Demeter’s Curse
Demeter decided that Erysichthon would suffer for what he had done.
His punishment was beautifully suited to his crime.
He had destroyed something sacred to the goddess of agriculture and food.
So Demeter cursed him with hunger.
Not ordinary hunger.
Erysichthon would possess an appetite that could never be satisfied.
He ate.
The hunger remained.
He ate more.
The hunger became worse.
No quantity of food could satisfy him.
The More He Ate, the Hungrier He Became
Erysichthon consumed enormous quantities of food.
Nothing helped.
His appetite became ravenous.
Every attempt to satisfy it only intensified his suffering.
Food disappeared.
Then his wealth began disappearing with it.
Erysichthon sold his possessions so he could continue eating.
One by one, the things he owned were converted into money.
And the money was converted into food.
Still, he remained hungry.
Eventually, there was almost nothing left to sell.
Except another human being.
Erysichthon Sells His Daughter
Erysichthon had a daughter named Mestra.
His hunger had already consumed his wealth and possessions.
Now it consumed whatever remained of his humanity.
Erysichthon sold his own daughter into slavery so that he could obtain more money for food.
But Mestra’s story did not end in bondage.
According to one version of the myth, Poseidon took pity upon her.
The sea god freed Mestra and granted her an extraordinary ability.
She could change her shape.
If someone attempted to enslave her again, she could transform herself and escape.
Unfortunately, her father discovered how useful that ability could be.
Sold Again and Again
Another version of the myth says Mestra already possessed her shape-shifting ability while she remained with Erysichthon.
Once her father discovered what she could do, he devised a horrifying way to exploit it.
He sold her.
Mestra escaped by changing form.
Then Erysichthon sold her again.
Each time she escaped, she could return.
And each time she returned, her father could sell her once more.
The money purchased food.
The food disappeared.
And Erysichthon remained hungry.
His curse had transformed his daughter into a commodity he could sell repeatedly to feed an appetite that could never be satisfied.
But even that could not continue forever.
Nothing Left to Eat
Eventually, Erysichthon reached the end.
His possessions were gone.
His wealth was gone.
His dignity was gone.
His daughter had been repeatedly sacrificed to his appetite.
Still, the hunger remained.
There was nothing left that he could consume.
Except himself.
The Man Who Ate Himself
Erysichthon began eating his own flesh.
The curse that began with the destruction of Demeter’s sacred grove finally reached its inevitable conclusion.
He consumed his own body.
Piece by piece, Erysichthon devoured himself until there was nothing left.
His hunger had finally consumed the only thing remaining.
The hungry man himself.
The Monstrous Appetite
The story of Erysichthon is gruesome, but its horror lies in more than its ending.
His punishment is an extension of his original crime.
Erysichthon sees something sacred and valuable, but recognizes only something he wants destroyed.
The grove exists for his convenience.
The tree exists for his axe.
Later, his possessions exist only to purchase food.
Even his daughter becomes something that can be sold.
Everything around him is gradually reduced to something he can consume.
Eventually, nothing remains outside himself.
So the appetite turns inward.
That is what makes Demeter’s punishment so effective.
She doesn’t simply kill Erysichthon for destroying her sacred grove.
She gives him exactly what his behavior already suggests he possesses:
an appetite without limits.
And then she allows it to devour him.
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