Procne

Procne (; , Próknē ) or Progne is a minor figure in Greek mythology. She was an Athenian princess as the elder daughter of a king of Athens named Pandion. Procne was married to the king of Thrace, Tereus, who instead lusted after her sister Philomela. Tereus forced himself on Philomela and locked her away. When Procne discovered her sister and her gruesome fate, she took revenge against her husband by murdering their only child, a young boy named Itys. Procne's story serves as an origin myth for the nightingale. Family Procne's mother was the naiad Zeuxippe and her siblings were Philomela, Erechtheus, Butes and possibly Teuthras. She married King Tereus of Thrace and became the mother of Itys (Itylos). Mythology Procne was given to wife to Tereus, a king of Thrace, in some versions because he assisted king Pandion in a war against the Laconians, so Pandion gave him a daughter in marriage. During their marriage they had a son named Itys. As years passed, Procne began to feel homesick, and asked her husband to fetch her her younger sister Philomela, so Tereus travelled to Athens in order to escort Philomela to her sister. Pandion was unsuspecting and Philomela excited, Tereus however conceived a great passion for the beautiful Philomela, which only grew and grew during the journey back home. In one version, Tereus lied about Procne having died, and asked Pandion for Philomela's hand in marriage. When they reached the shore, he dragged her into the woods (and, as Ovid introduced, a cabin) and raped her in spite of her protests and pleading. Philomela then threatened to tell everyone, so he in fear cut her tongue off, and put guards to prevent her from escaping. He then returned to Procne claiming that Philomela had died during the journey; Procne greatly mourned her sister.