Procne and Philomena

Procne (Πρόκνη) and Philomena (Φιλομήλα) were the daughters of King Pandion I of Athens. When Tereus, the king of Thrace, aided their father in the war against Labdacus, the king of Thebes, Pandion gave Procne to Tereus in marriage.

At first the marriage between Tereus and Procne was happy. She bore her husband a son, which they named Itys. The problems in their marriage began when Philomena visited her sister in Thrace. Philomena, who was a beautiful maiden, became the object of Tereus' violent lust.

During his wife's absence, Tereus raped his sister-in-law. To prevent anyone knowing of his crime, he cut out Philomena's tongue and threw Philomena in his dungeon. Upon Procne's return, Tereus claimed that her sister had returned home.

Several years passed and Philomena was still in his dungeon. During those years, Philomena weaved a robe for her sister. Her artistic skill in weaving allowed her to give a realistic representation of her ordeal, clearly showing how Tereus had raped her during her sister's absence, how he had cut out her tongue and left her to sit helplessly in prison.

Somehow she managed to give this robe to Procne. Procne was shocked to see the graphic account on the robe and the suffering of her sister. Without Tereus' awareness, Procne secretly went to the dungeon and found her sister.

Recovering her sister, Procne began to plan for her revenge upon her callous husband. Procne killed her own son Itys, and served his flesh to Tereus during supper. Once Tereus ate his son's flesh, Procne appeared with Philomena and told her husband that he had eaten his own son. Horrified, Tereus drew his sword, with the intention of killing his wife and sister-in-law, and pursued Procne and Philomena out into the forest.

Before they were overtaken, the two sisters prayed to the gods. Procne was transformed into a nightingale, while Philomena became a swallow. Tereus was frustrated with their escape, and was transformed into a hoopoe.

After this event, the relationship between Athens and Thrace became strained.