What is the story of Philomela?

While the myth has several variations, the general depiction is that Philomela, after being raped and mutilated by her sister’s husband, Tereus, obtains her revenge and is transformed into a nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos), a bird renowned for its song.

Why was Philomela raped?

Philomela threatens to tell the world of his unforgivable act so Tereus cuts out her tongue, rapes her again, and leaves her imprisoned in a cabin in the woods. Since she is unable to speak, Philomela weaves the story into a tapestry.

Who raped Philomela?

Tereus
After five years, Procne wanted to see her sister. Tereus agreed to go to Athens and bring Philomela back for a visit. However, Tereus found Philomela so beautiful that he raped her. Then he cut out her tongue so she could not tell what had happened and hid her.

What did Tereus do Philomela?

Pretending that Procne was dead, Tereus later seduced his wife’s sister Philomela and tricked her into a sham marriage. Other versions describe the encounter as a brutal rape. In order to hide his guilt, Tereus cut out Philomela’s tongue. But she revealed the crime to her sister by working the details in embroidery.

What does the name Philomela mean?

lover of music
Origin:Greek. Meaning:lover of music.

What did king Tereus say when Philomela boarded the ship?

As soon as Philomela was on board the brightly painted ship, and the sea was churned by the oars, and the land left behind them, the barbarian king cried ‘I have won! I carry with me what I wished for!

What did King Tereus say when Philomela boarded the ship?

How does Procne rescue Philomela?

In a mad fury, Procne killed her son and Tereus’ only male heir, Itys, and served his flesh in a meal to the king. She then left to rescue Philomela, with the furious King Tereus hot on her heels.

What kind of bird was Philomela turned into?

nightingale
The gods answered their prayers and turned all three of them into birds; Procne into a swallow, Philomela into a nightingale, and Tereus into a hoopoe.

How did the sisters escape from Tereus?

In response to the actions of her husband, Philomela slew her own son and fed him to his unsuspecting father. Both sisters fled but, upon realising what had happened, Tereus took after them in pursuit. In order to escape his wrath when they appeared surely doomed the sisters prayed to the gods to turn them into birds.

How was Philomela freed?

She manages to tell her story and her location by weaving a piece of tapestry and get it sent to her sister Procne who finds her and frees her. The confrontation with Tereus leads to his brutal murder. Exhausted yet freed, Philomela is transformed into a singing nightingale, her sister into a swallow.

How did Philomela communicate to her sister what had been done to her?

How did Philomela communicate to her sister what had been done to her? She made made a blanket and gave it to a servant to take to her sister. Poseidon caused Minos’ wife _____ to fall in love with a bull. (Don’t worry about the dieresis.)

How did Procne rescue Philomela?

In a mad fury, Procne killed her son and Tereus’ only male heir, Itys, and served his flesh in a meal to the king. She then left to rescue Philomela, with the furious King Tereus hot on her heels. The two sisters fled into the woods, pleading with the gods to aid their escape.

What is the Philomela myth?

The material of the Philomela myth has been used in various creative works—artistic and literary—for the past 2,500 years. Over the centuries, the myth has been associated with the image of the nightingale and its song described as both exceedingly beautiful and sorrowful.

Is Philomela a lover of song?

So, Philomela is a lover of fruit, a lover of apples, or, perhaps, a lover of sheep – but not a lover of song. The Greek myths are over two thousand years old – and perhaps, in their earliest forms, much older – and yet many stories from Greek mythology, and phrases derived from those stories, are part of our everyday speech.

Who was Princess Philomela of Athens?

Philomela was identified as being the “princess of Athens ” and the younger of two daughters of Pandion I, King of Athens, and the naiad Zeuxippe. Her sister, Procne, was the wife of King Tereus of Thrace.

Who is Philomela in Shakespeare’s poem Dark Lady?

Emilia Lanier (1569–1645), a poet who is considered by some scholars to be the woman referred to in the poetry of William Shakespeare as ” Dark Lady “, makes several references to Philomela in her patronage poem “The Description of Cookeham” in Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum (1611).