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Metamorphoses · Chapter

Story of Tereus, Procne, and Philomela explained

Tereus, king of Thrace, marries Procne and later rapes her sister Philomela, cutting out her tongue to silence her.

What happens

Tereus, king of Thrace, marries Procne and later rapes her sister Philomela, cutting out her tongue to silence her. Philomela weaves a tapestry revealing the crime, and Procne, in revenge, kills her son Itys and serves him as a meal to Tereus. The sisters flee, and all three are transformed into birds: Procne into a swallow, Philomela into a nightingale, and Tereus into a lapwing.

Themes in this chapter

  • Violence and Revenge

    Procne's brutal revenge for Tereus's rape of Philomela drives the plot.

  • Transformation and Metamorphosis

    The sisters and Tereus are transformed into birds as a final metamorphosis.

Characters to notice

  • Tereus

    King of Thrace, rapes Philomela and is served his son Itys as revenge.

  • Philomela

    Sister of Procne, raped by Tereus, later helps serve Itys to him.

  • Procne

    Wife of Tereus, kills her son Itys and serves him to her husband.

  • Itys

    Son of Tereus and Procne, killed and served as a meal to his father.

Key passages

  • “The boundless passion boils within his breast, And his projecting soul admits no rest.”

    Tereus's uncontrollable lust for Philomela consumes him completely.

    Describes Tereus's obsessive desire.

  • “Within yourself your Itys you may find.”

    You have eaten your own son Itys.

    Procne reveals the horrific truth to Tereus.

  • “Now on real wings themselves they raise, And steer their airy flight by different ways.”

    The sisters are transformed into birds and fly away.

    Describes the metamorphosis of Procne and Philomela.

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