Philomel | Define Philomel at Dictionary.com philomel Greek 1350-1400 1350-1400; earlier Philomele, Philomela (< Middle French philomèle) < Latin Philomēla < Greek Philómēla Philomela ; replacing Middle English Philomene < Medieval Latin Philomēna, dissimilated variant of Philomēla Dictionary.com Unabridged Examples from the Web for philomel Expand Historical Examples Fresh Fields John Burroughs Poor old philomel Whiffet raised his hands in dismay: “I did not mean for you to sing!” British Dictionary definitions for philomel Expand poetic names for a nightingale Word Origin C14 philomene, via Medieval Latin from Latin philomēla, from Greek Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd.

1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Word Origin and History for philomel Expand n. "nightingale," late 14c., from Greek Philomela, poetic name of the nightingale, in mythology the daughter of Pandion, transformed into a nightingale; probably literally "lover of song," from philos "loving" + melos "a tune, song;" but perhaps "lover of apples" (Greek mela). In the myth, proper name of Pandion's daughter, who was turned into a nightingale (Ovid). Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper Myth of Philomela *** The Myth of Philomela and Procne The mythical story of Philomela by Lilian Stoughton Hyde The Myth of Philomela and Procne King Pandion had two beautiful daughters, called Procne and Philomela.

It came about that the eldest, Procne, was married to King Tereus, who was the son of Mars, the cruel god of war. The wedding festivities lasted for two weeks, or more, with singing and dancing, and much other merry-making; but Hymen, the little marriage-god, was not present among the guests with his torch, neither were the Graces. This was a bad omen, as it meant ill-fortune for the bride; but it was a much worse one when a little owl came in, flew to the rafters overhead, and began to hoot dismally. After Procne had been married a few years, she felt so lonely in the great palace in Thrace, that she begged King Tereus either to let her go home or to send for her sister, Philomela. King Tereus said that her sister should come to her. He ordered a ship launched, and went himself to bring Philomela.

King Pandion did not like to part from his younger daughter, who was the only child he had left; but Philomela wished so much to see her sister that she put her arms around her father's neck, and coaxed him to let her go, until at last he gave a reluctant consent. Now, alas for Philomela, King Tereus was a very cruel, wicked man. When he saw how beautiful this younger sister was, he wished that he had married her instead of Procne. As soon as the ship reached Thrace, he sent Procne away into a great forest, where he had her shut up in a lonely tower. Then, sighing and groaning, he told Philomela that her sister was dead. Philomela was heart-broken, and mourned a long time; but nevertheless she was finally persuaded to become the queen of King Tereus, in Procne's place. The king's wicked plan had succeeded thus far, but he feared that Procne might tell how cruelly she had been treated. This fear made him more cruel still, for he had her tongue cut out, thus making the poor queen dumb.

Picture of Philomela and Procne Now he thought all was safe, but he did not know how skilful Procne was at her weaving and her embroidery. She had never learned to write - even queens could not write in those days; but she could weave most wonderful pictures, and could embroider letters, and put them together to form a few simple words. She needed nothing more to make her story known. For almost a year she worked busily at her loom and with her needle. Then one day she sent one of her maids to Philomela at the palace, with the gift of a piece of tapestry. When Philomela unrolled the tapestry and spread it out before her, she was horrified at what she saw, for she easily understood all that Procne had meant to tell her by the woven pictures. She immediately sent for her sister, by night. The two then planned to fly from the country of King Tereus, taking Procne's little son, Itys, with them. As they stole out of the palace, the great doors creaked on their rusty hinges, and awoke the king. He came rushing out, with a drawn sword, and started in pursuit of the fugitives.

Philomela and Procne ran as fast as they could, dragging Itys between them; but the wicked King Tereus was getting nearer and nearer. All at once the sisters felt themselves borne up on the air, and carried along as if they had wings. The gods, in pity, had changed them into birds. Procne became a swallow; Philomela, a nightingale. The child, Itys, being in no danger from his father's anger, was not changed into a bird, and was therefore left behind. Procne, now a swift-winged swallow, went back to the palace many a day, lingered under the eaves, and even flew in at the open doors, trying to coax her child to come away with her. But Itys saw only a pretty, bright-eyed bird, and could not understand its excited chatter. Philomela, even as a bird, remained broken-hearted. She hid away from other birds, and remained silent while they were singing. At night, however, when all was dark and still, she used to sing under the windows of the peasants, telling the story of her dumb sister's wrongs, and her own sorrow.

The Legend and Myth of Philomela The Myth of Philomela The story of Philomela is featured in the book entitled Favorite Greek Myths by Lilian Stoughton Hyde, published in 1904 by D. C. Heath and Company. Philomela - A Myth with a Moral Many of the ancient Myth Stories, like the legend of Philomela, incorporate tales with morals that provided the old story-tellers with short examples of exciting tales for kids and children of how to act and behave and reflected important life lessons. The characters of the heroes in this type of fable demonstrated the virtues of courage, love, loyalty, strength, perseverance, leadership and self reliance. Whereas the villains demonstrated all of the vices and were killed or punished by the gods. The old, famous myth story and fable, like Philomela, were designed to entertain, thrill and inspire their young listeners... The Myth of Philomela - the Magical World of Myth & Legend The story of Philomela is one of the fantastic stories featured in ancient mythology and legends. Such stories serve as a doorway to enter the world of the Ancient Greeks and Romans.

The names of so many of the heroes and characters are known today through movies and games but the actual story about such characters are unknown. Reading a myth story such as Philomela is the easy way to learn about the stories of the classics. The Magical World of Myth and Legend The Short Story and Myth of Philomela The myth about Philomela is featured in the book entitled The story of Philomela is featured in the book entitled Favorite Greek Myths by Lilian Stoughton Hyde, published in 1904 by D. C. Heath and Company. Learn about the exciting adventures and dangerous quests undertaken by the mythical characters that feature in the hero myths, fables and stories about the gods and goddesses of Ancient Greece and Rome that are available on this website. Myths and Stories about gods and goddesses Philomela A Myth Story of the Ancient World The gods, goddesses of the ancient Myth Stories & Legends The monsters and beasts of classical Mythology The story of Philomela by Caroline H. Harding and Samuel B. Harding A famous Myth Story and fable of the Ancient World for schools and kids Philomela - Name Meaning, What does Philomela mean? What does Philomela mean?

Philomela [ phil omela] as a girls' name is of Greek origin, and the meaning of Philomela is " lover of music ". Greek mythology: Philomela is a princess who, after becoming involved in a bloody and vengeful love triangle with her sister and brother-in-law, is transformed into a nightingale, a bird famous for its musical call.

The Significance of the Reference to Philomel in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Shakespeare Author Exact author Home » Literature » Poetry » The Significance of the Reference to Philomel in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Shakespeare The Significance of the Reference to Philomel in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Shakespeare Other essays and articles in the Literature Archives related to this topic include : The Significance of the Play Within a Play Structure of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream • The Friendships of Women in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Shakespeare • A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Analysis of Lines 5-20 of the Epilogue • The Symbol of the Moon in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Shakespeare • The Role of Disguises in As You Like It and A Midsummer Night’s Dream • Appearances versus Reality in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Twelfth Night • The Friendships of Women in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Shakespeare The fleeting but forceful mention of Philomel in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Shakespeare is an oblique reference, noticed perhaps only by the knowing reader, to the Greek myth in which the Philomela

, the princess of Athens, was sexually assaulted by her lustful brother-in-law, Tereus.

When Philomela threatened to tell the world of the violation, claiming that she would move any listener with her capacity for words, Tereus cut out her tongue, silencing her. Philomela was subsequently transformed into a nightingale, a bird known for its unique song. The appeal to Philomel in this important passage from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Shakespeare, then, becomes a signal and symbol in this Shakespeare play that references violence, and though the type of violence alluded to is not physical, the use of this reference indicates that the consequences of psychological violence can be just as severe. Although A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a comedy, there are several darker themes that are integrated throughout it although they are subdued and, as in the case with the reference to Philomela, not always directly noticeable without an understanding of the reference. There are two specific references to Philomel in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The first reference occurs after Titania’s exchange with Oberon, who jealously wants Titania’s changeling for himself.

The exchange which comprises on the important passages from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Shakespeare, in which Titania refused to give over the boy, makes Oberon still more angry, and he decides to brush his wife’s eyes with a potion that is intended to “silence” her love for the young boy and direct her attention and affection back toward her husband. While this act is not overtly violent in terms of physical violation, it does rob Titania of her own decision-making capacity, effectively silencing her and making her unable to express herself or her own desires. Her fairies sing for her, calling upon Philomel to “Sing in our sweet lullaby” so that their “lovely lady” will come to no harm (II.ii.25, 29). The morning lark appears again in Act IV, Scene I, when Titania has fallen in love with Bottom, an unlikely and improbable object of affection. Again, the trilling of the nightingale signals danger, and indeed, Oberon turns to his wife and makes a direct reference to silence, which he describes as sad.

While the tone of the play is rather light-hearted, this reference does add a darker tone to the deeper meanings of these exchanges between husband and wife and forces the reader to look beyond the surface of this event of silencing. This narrative of psychological violence underlies the otherwise comic play, hinting at the subtle but sinister aggression that people who love one another perpetrate against each other. The examples involving Titania are not the only situations in which people are silenced and victimized and again, despite the relatively light-hearted tone of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, there are numerous references throughout the play, involving a wide range of characters, including women in “Midsummer Night’s Dream” Hermia, Helena, and even the inept and verbally bumbling Bottom. Anytime that anyone’s true voice is silenced, Shakespeare seems to suggest, that the person who is not longer able to express his or her thoughts or desires has somehow been done harm. Instead, we must work to protect one another’s right to speech and expression, allowing each person to voice—literally and symbolically—their own truths.

Also, just as in the case of the poor Philomela who was not able to express herself, it should be kept in mind that those who are less powerful must insist upon their right to speak and to be heard, even in situations where others have attempted to marginalize and silence them. Metamorphoses (Kline) 6, the Ovid Collection, Univ. of Virginia E-Text Center Bk VI:675-721 Boreas and Orithyia. 13 BkVI:1-25 Arachne rejects Minerva Tritonian Minerva had listened to every word, and approved of the Aonian Muses ï¿½s song, and their justified indignation. Then she said, to herself, ï¿½To give praise is not enough, let me be praised as well, and not allow my divine powers to be scorned without inflicting punishment.ï¿½ Her thoughts turned to Arachne , of Maeonia , whom she had heard would not give her due credit, in the art of spinning. The girl was not known for her place of birth, or family, but for her skill.

Her father, Idmon of Colophon , dyed the absorbent wool purple, with Phocaean murex. Her mother was dead. She too had been of humble birth, and the father the same. Nevertheless, though she lived in a modest home, in little Hypaepa , Arachne had gained a name for artistry, throughout the cities of Lydia . Often the nymphs of Mount Tmolus deserted their vine-covered slopes, and the nymphs of the River Pactolus deserted their waves, to examine her wonderful workmanship. It was not only a joy to see the finished cloths, but also to watch them made: so much beauty added to art.ï¿½ Whether at first she was winding the rough yarn into a new ball, or working the stuff with her fingers, teasing out the clouds of wool, repeatedly, drawing them into long equal threads, twirling the slender spindle with practised thumb, or embroidering with her needle, you could see she was taught by Pallas . Yet she denied it, and took offense at the idea of such a teacher. ï¿½Contend with meï¿½ she said ï¿½I will not disagree at all if I am beatenï¿½.

Bk VI:26-69 Pallas Minerva challenges Arachne Pallas Minerva took the shape of an old woman: adding grey hair to her temples, and ageing her limbs, which she supported with a stick. Then she spoke, to the girl, as follows. ï¿½Not everything old age has is to be shunned: knowledge comes with advancing years. Do not reject my advice: seek great fame amongst mortals for your skill in weaving, but give way to the goddess, and ask her forgiveness, rash girl, with a humble voice: she will forgive if you will ask.ï¿½ Arachne looked fiercely at her and left the work she was on: scarcely restraining her hands, and with dark anger in her face. Pallas, disguised it is true, received this answer. ï¿½Weak-minded and worn out by tedious old age, you come here, and having lived too long destroys you. Let your daughter-in-law if you have one, let your daughter if you have one, listen to your voice. I have wisdom enough of my own. You think your advice is never heeded: that is my feeling too. Why does she not come herself? Why does she shirk this contest?

The goddess said ï¿½She is here!ï¿½ and, relinquishing the old womanï¿½s form, revealed Pallas Minerva. The nymphs and the Phrygian women worshipped her godhead: the girl alone remained unafraid, yet she did blush, as the sky is accustomed to redden when Aurora first stirs, and, after a while, to whiten at the sun from the east. She is stubborn in her attempt, and rushes on to her fate, eager for a worthless prize. Now, Jupiter ï¿½s daughter does not refuse, and does not give warning, or delay the contest a moment. Immediately they both position themselves, in separate places, and stretch out the fine threads, for the warp, over twin frames. The frame is fastened to the cross-beam; the threads of the warp separated with the reed; the thread of the weft is inserted between, in the pointed shuttles that their fingers have readied; and, drawn through the warp, the threads of the weft are beaten into place, struck by the combï¿½s notched teeth.

They each work quickly, and, with their clothes gathered in tight, under their breasts, apply skilful arms, their zeal not making it seem like work. There, shades of purple, dyed in Tyrian bronze vessels, are woven into the cloth, and also lighter colours, shading off gradually. The threads that touch seem the same, but the extremes are distant, as when, often, after a rainstorm, the expanse of the sky, struck by the sunlight, is stained by a rainbow in one vast arch, in which a thousand separate colours shine, but the eye itself still cannot see the transitions. There, are inserted lasting threads of gold, and an ancient tale is spun in the web. Bk VI:70-102 Pallas weaves her web Pallas Athene depicts the hill of Mars , and the court of the Aeropagus, in Cecrops ï¿½s Athens, and the old dispute between Neptune and herself, as to who had the right to the city and its name. There the twelve gods sit in great majesty, on their high thrones, with Jupiter in the middle. She weaves the gods with their familiar attributes. The image of Jupiter is a royal one.

There she portrays the Ocean god, standing and striking the rough stone, with his long trident, and seawater flowing from the centre of the shattered rock, a token of his claim to the city. She gives herself a shield, a sharp pointed spear, and a helmet for her head, while the aegis protects her breast. She shows an olive-tree with pale trunk, thick with fruit, born from the earth at a blow from her spear, the gods marvelling: and Victory crowns the work. Then she adds four scenes of contest in the four corners, each with miniature figures, in their own clear colours, so that her rival might learn, from the examples quoted, what prize she might expect, for her outrageous daring. One corner shows Thracian Mount Rhodope and Mount Haemus , now icy peaks, once mortal beings who ascribed the names of the highest gods to themselves. A second corner shows the miserable fate of the queen of the Pygmies : how Juno , having overcome her in a contest, ordered her to become a crane and make war on her own people.

Also she pictures Antigone , whom Queen Juno turned into a bird for having dared to compete with Jupiter ï¿½s great consort: neither her father Laomedon , nor her city Ilium were of any use to her, but taking wing as a white stork she applauds herself with clattering beak. The only corner left shows Cinyras , bereaved: and he is seen weeping as he clasps the stone steps of the temple that were once his daughtersï¿½ limbs. Minerva surrounded the outer edges with the olive wreaths of peace (this was the last part) and so ended her work with emblems of her own tree. Bk VI:103-128 Arachne weaves hers in reply The Maeonian girl depicts Europa deceived by the form of the bull: you would have thought it a real bull and real waves. She is seen looking back to the shore she has left, and calling to her companions, displaying fear at the touch of the surging water, and drawing up her shrinking feet. Also Arachne showed Asterie , held by the eagle, struggling, and Leda lying beneath the swanï¿½s wings.

She added Jupiter who, hidden in the form of a satyr, filled Antiope , daughter of Nycteus with twin offspring; who, as Amphitryon , was charmed by you, Alcmena , of Tiryns; by Danaï¿½ , as a golden shower; by Aegina , daughter of Asopus , as a flame; by Mnemosyne , as a shepherd; by Proserpine , Ceres ï¿½s daughter, as a spotted snake.ï¿½ She wove you, Neptune , also, changed to a fierce bull for Canace , Aeolus ï¿½s daughter. In Enipeus ï¿½s form you begot the Aloidae , and deceived Theophane as a ram. The golden-haired, gentlest, mother of the cornfields , knew you as a horse. The snake-haired mother of the winged horse , knew you as a winged bird. Melantho knew you as a dolphin. She gave all these their own aspects, and the aspects of the place.

Here is Phoebus like a countryman, and she shows him now with the wings of a hawk, and now in a lionï¿½s skin, and how as a shepherd he tricked Isse , Macareus ï¿½s daughter. She showed how Bacchus ensnared Erigone with delusive grapes, and how Saturn as the double of a horse begot Chiron . The outer edge of the web, surrounded by a narrow border, had flowers interwoven with entangled ivy. Bk VI:129-145 Arachne is turned into a spiderï¿½ Neither Pallas nor Envy itself could fault that work. The golden-haired warrior goddess was grieved by its success, and tore the tapestry, embroidered with the godsï¿½ crimes, and as she held her shuttle made of boxwood from Mount Cytorus , she struck Idmonian Arachne , three or four times, on the forehead.

The unfortunate girl could not bear it, and courageously slipped a noose around her neck: Pallas, in pity, lifted her, as she hung there, and said these words, ï¿½Live on then, and yet hang, condemned one, but, lest you are careless in future, this same condition is declared, in punishment, against your descendants, to the last generation!ï¿½ Departing after saying this, she sprinkled her with the juice of Hecate ï¿½s herb, and immediately at the touch of this dark poison, Arachneï¿½s hair fell out. With it went her nose and ears, her head shrank to the smallest size, and her whole body became tiny. Her slender fingers stuck to her sides as legs, the rest is belly, from which she still spins a thread, and, as a spider, weaves her ancient web. Bk VI:146-203 Niobe rejects the worship of Latona All of Lydia murmurs: the tale goes through the towns of Phrygia , and fills the whole world with talk. Niobe had known Arachne .

As a girl, before her marriage, she had lived in Maeonia , near Mount Sipylus . Nevertheless she was not warned by her countrywomanï¿½s fate, to give the gods precedence, and use more modest words. Many things swelled her pride, but neither her husband Amphion ï¿½s marvellous art in music, nor both of their high lineages, nor the might of their great kingdom of Thebes , pleased her, though they did please her, as much as her children did. And Niobe would have been spoken of as the most fortunate of mothers, if she had not seemed so to herself. Now Manto , the daughter of Tiresias , prescient of the future, stirred by divine impulse, went through the middle of the streets, declaiming. ï¿½Women of Thebes, Ismenides , go, as a crowd, and wreathe your hair with laurel, and bring incense with holy prayer to Latona , and Latonaï¿½s children , Diana and Apollo.

Latona commands it through my mouth.ï¿½ They obey: all the Theban women , as commanded, dress their temples with sweet-bay, and bring incense and words of prayer to the sacred flames. Look, Niobe comes, followed by a crowded thong, visible, in her Phrygian robes woven with gold, and as beautiful as anger will let her be. Turning her lovely head with the hair falling loose over both her shoulders, she pauses, and looks around with pride in her eyes, from her full height, saying ï¿½ What madness, to prefer the gods you are told about to the ones you see? Why is Latona worshipped at the altars, while as yet my godhead is without its incense? Tantalus is my father, who is the only man to eat the food of the gods. My mother is one of the seven sisters, the Pleiades . Great Atlas , who carries the axis of the heavens on his shoulders, is one of my grandfathers. Jupiter is the other, and I glory in having him as my father-in-law as well. The peoples of Phrygia fear me.

Cadmusï¿½s royal house is under my rule: and the walls, built to my husbandï¿½s lyre, and Thebesï¿½s people, will be ruled by his power and mine. Whichever part of the palace I turn my eyes on, I look at immense wealth. Augment it with my beauty, worthy of a goddess, and add to this my seven daughters, as many sons, and soon my sons- and my daughters-in-law! Now, ask what the reason is for my pride, and then dare to prefer Latona to me, that Titaness , daughter of Coeus , whoever he is. Latona, whom the wide earth once refused even a little piece of ground to give birth on. Land, sea, and sky were no refuge for your goddess. She was exiled from the world, until Delos , pitying the wanderer, gave her a precarious place, saying ï¿½Friend, you wander the earth, I the sea.ï¿½ There she gave birth to twins, only a seventh of my offspring. I am fortunate (indeed, who can deny it?) and I will stay fortunate (and who can doubt that too?). My riches make me safe.

I am greater than any whom Fortune can harm, and though she could take much away, she would leave me much more. Surely my comforts banish fear. Imagine that some of this host of children could be taken from me, I would still not, bereaved, be reduced to the two of Latonaï¿½s family. In that state, how far is she from childlessness? Go home ï¿½ enough of holy things ï¿½ and take those laurel wreaths from your hair!ï¿½ They relinquish them, and leave the rite unfinished, except what is their right, reverencing the goddess in a secret murmur. Bk VI:204-266 The godsï¿½ vengeance: Niobeï¿½s sons are killed The goddess was deeply angered, and on the summit of Mount Cynthus she spoke to her twin children. ï¿½See, it will be doubted whether I, your mother, proud to have borne you, and giving way to no goddess, except Juno, am a goddess, and worship will be prevented at my altars through all the ages, unless you help me, my children. Nor is this my only grief.

This daughter of Tantalus has added insult to injury, and has dared to put her children above you, and has called me childless, may that recoil on her own head, and has shown she has her fatherï¿½s tongue for wickedness.ï¿½ Latona would have added her entreaties to what she had related, but Phoebus cried ï¿½Enough! Long complaint delays her punishment! Phoebe said the same, and falling swiftly through the air, concealed by clouds, they reached the house of Cadmus . There was a broad, open plain near the walls, flattened by the constant passage of horses, where many wheels and hard hooves had levelled the turf beneath them. There, a number of Amphion ï¿½s seven sons mounted on their strong horses, and sitting firmly on their backs, bright with Tyrian purple, guided them using reins heavy with gold.

While Ismenus , one of these, who had been the first of his motherï¿½s burdens, was wheeling his horseï¿½s path around in an unerring circle, and hauling at the foaming bit, he cried out ï¿½Oh, I am wounded!ï¿½ and revealed an arrow fixed in his chest, and loosing the reins from his dying hands, slipped gradually, sideways, over his mountï¿½s right shoulder. Next Sipylus , hearing the sound of a quiver in the empty air, let out the reins, just as a shipmaster sensing a storm runs for it when he sees the cloud, and claps on all sail, so that not even the slightest breeze is lost. Still giving full rein, he was overtaken, by the arrow none can avoid, and the shaft stuck quivering in his neck, and the naked tip protruded from his throat. Leaning forward, as he was, he rolled down over the mane and the galloping hooves, and stained the ground with warm blood.

Unlucky Phaedimus , and Tantalus , who carried his grandfatherï¿½s name, at the end of the usual task imposed on them, had joined the exercise of the young men, and were gleaming with oil in the wrestling match. And now they were fully engaged, in a tight hold, chest to chest, when an arrow, loosed from the taut bow, pierced them both, as they were. They groaned as one, and fell as one, their limbs contorted with pain. As they lay there, they cast a last dying look, as one, and, as one, gave up the ghost. Alphenor saw them die, and striking at his breast in anguish, he ran to them to lift their cold bodies in his embrace. In this filial service he also fell, for Delian Apollo tore at his innermost parts with deadly steel. As the shaft was removed, a section of his lung was drawn with it, caught on the barbs, and with his lifeï¿½s blood his spirit rushed out into the air. But it was not a simple wound that longhaired Damasicthon suffered.

He was hit where the shin begins, and where the sinews of the knee leave a soft place between. While he was trying to pull out the fatal shaft with his hand, another arrow was driven into his throat as far as the feathers. The rush of blood expelled it, and gushing out, spurted high in the air, in a long jet. The last son, Ilioneus , stretched out his arms in vain entreaty. ï¿½O you company of all the gods, spare me!ï¿½ he cried, unaware that he need not ask them all. The archer god Apollo was moved, though already the dart could not be recalled: yet only a slight wound killed the boy, the arrow not striking deeply in his heart. Bk VI:267-312 Niobeï¿½s daughters are killed: Her fate. The rumour of trouble, the peopleï¿½s sorrow, and the tears of her own family, confirming sudden disaster to the mother, left her astounded that the gods could have done it, and angered that they had such power, and dared to use it.

Now, she learned that the father, Amphion , driving the iron blade through his heart, had, in dying, ended pain and life together. Alas, how different this Niobe from that Niobe, the one, who a moment ago chased the people from Latona ï¿½s altar, and made her way through the city with head held high, enviable to her friends, and now more to be pitied by her enemies.ï¿½ She threw herself on the cold bodies, and without regard for due ceremony, gave all her sons a last kiss. Turning from them she lifted her bruised arms to the sky, and cried out ï¿½Feed your heart, cruel one, Latona, on my pain, feed your heart, and be done! Be done, savage spirit! I am buried seven times. Exult and triumph over your enemy! But where is the victory? Even in my misery I have more than you in your happiness. After so many deaths, I still outdo you!ï¿½ She spoke, and the twang of a taut bowstring sounded, terrifying all of them, except Niobe. Pain gave her courage.

The sisters, with black garments, and loosened hair, were standing by their brothersï¿½ bodies. One, grasping at an arrow piercing her side, falling, fainted in death beside her brotherï¿½s face. A second, attempting to comfort her grieving mother, fell silent, and was bent in agony with a hidden wound. She pressed her lips together, but life had already fled. One fell trying in vain to run, and her sister fell across her. One tried to hide, while another trembled in full view. Now six had been dealt death, suffering their various wounds: the last remained. The mother, with all her robes and with her body, protected her, and cried out ï¿½Leave me just one, the youngest! I only ask for one, the youngest of all!ï¿½ While she prayed, she, for whom she prayed, was dead. Childless, she sat among the bodies of her sons, her daughters, and her husband, frozen in grief. The breeze stirs not a hair, the colour of her cheeks is bloodless, and her eyes are fixed motionless in her sad face: nothing in that likeness is alive.

Inwardly her tongue is frozen to the solid roof of her mouth, and her veins cease their power to throb. Her neck cannot bend, nor her arms recall their movement, nor her feet lead her anywhere. Inside, her body is stone. Yet she weeps, and, enclosed in a powerful whirlwind, she is snatched away to her own country: there, set on a mountain top, she wears away, and even now tears flow from the marble. Bk VI:313-381 The story of Latona and the Lycians Now all men and women are indeed afraid of the anger manifested by divine being, and all pay more respect to the great power of the goddess, the mother of the twins. As often happens, because of recent events they tell old stories, and one says ï¿½In Lycia ï¿½s fertile fields, in ancient times, also, the farmers spurned the goddess, and not without suffering for it. The thing is not well known, it is true, because the men were unknown, nevertheless, it was wonderful.

I myself saw the place, and the lake made notable by the strangeness of it, since my father, getting old, and unable to endure the journey, had ordered me to collect some choice cattle from there, and one of the men of that country had offered himself as a guide. While I crossed the pastureland with him, there was an old altar, black with ashes, standing in the middle of a lake, surrounded by trembling reeds. My guide stopped and, shivering with fear, said in a murmur ï¿½Have mercy on me!ï¿½ and I, similarly, said in a murmur ï¿½Have mercy!ï¿½ Then I asked him whether it was an altar to the Naiads , Faunus , or a local god, and my friend replied ï¿½Young man, it is no mountain spirit in this altar. She calls it hers, whom the queen of heaven once banned from the world, and whom vagrant Delos , a lightly floating island, would barely accept, at her prayer. There, between Pallas ï¿½s olive tree and a date-palm, Latona bore her twins, against their step-mother Juno ï¿½s will.

Having endured her labour, even then she fled Juno, carrying the divine twins clasped to her breast. Then, inside the borders of Lycia, home of the Chimaera , as the fierce sun scorched the fields, the goddess, weary from her long struggle, and parched by the radiant heat, felt her thirst: also her hungry children had drunk all her rich milk. By chance she saw a smallish lake in a deep valley. Countrymen were there, gathering bushy osiers, rushes, and the fine marsh sedges. The Titanï¿½s daughter approached, and putting her knee to the ground, rested, to enjoy a drink of the cool water. The group of rustics denied it to her. The goddess, denied, spoke. ï¿½Why do you forbid me your waters? The use of water is everyoneï¿½s right. Nature has not made the sun, or the air, or the clear waves, private things. I come for a public gift, and yet I beg you to grant it to me as a suppliant. I was not preparing to bathe my limbs and my weary body here, only to quench my thirst.

My mouth lacks moisture from speaking, my throat is dry, and thereï¿½s scarcely a path here for speech. A drink of water would be nectar to me, and I would bear witness to accepting life from it, as well: you will be giving life from your waves. Let these children move you, also, who stretch their little arms out from my breast.ï¿½ And it chanced that they did stretch out their arms. Who would not have been moved by the goddessï¿½s winning words? Yet, despite her prayers they persisted in denying her, with threats, if she did not take herself off, and added insults besides. Not content with that, they also stirred the pool with their hands and feet, and churned up the soft mud from the depths, by leaping about, maliciously.

Anger forgot thirst, for now the daughter of Coeus could not bear to beg from the unworthy, nor speak in words inferior to those of a goddess, and stretching her palms to the heavens, she said ï¿½Live in that swamp for ever!ï¿½ It happened as the goddess wished: It is their delight to be under the water, now to submerge their bodies completely in the deep pool, now to show their heads, now to swim on the surface. Often they squat on the edges of the marsh, often retreat to the cool lake, but now as before they employ their ugly voices in quarrelling, and shamefully, even though they are under the water, from under the water they try out their abuse. Now their voices are also hoarse, their inflated throats are swollen, and their croaking distends their wide mouths. Their shoulders and heads meet, and their necks appear to have vanished. Their backs are green; their bellies, the largest part of their body, are white, and, as newly made frogs, they leap in their muddy pool.

Bk VI:382-400 The tale of Marsyas When whoever it was had finished relating the ruin of the men of Lycia, another storyteller remembered the satyr , Marsyas , whom Apollo , Latonaï¿½s son , had defeated, playing on the flute , that Tritonian Minerva invented. He had exacted punishment. Marsyas cried ï¿½Why do you peel me out of myself? ï¿½Aah! I repentï¿½, he screamed in agony. ï¿½Aah! Music is not worth this pain!ï¿½ As he screams, the skin is flayed from the surface of his body, no part is untouched. Blood flows everywhere, the exposed sinews are visible, and the trembling veins quiver, without skin to hide them: you can number the internal organs, and the fibres of the lungs, clearly visible in his chest. The woodland gods, and the fauns of the countryside, wept, and his brother satyrs, Olympus his friend and pupil, still dear to him then, and the nymphs, and all who pastured their fleecy sheep and horned cattle on those mountains.

The fertile soil was drenched, and the drenched earth caught the falling tears, and absorbed them into its deep veins. It formed a stream then, and sent it into the clear air. From there it ran within sloping banks, quickly, to the sea, the clearest river of Phrygia , taking Marsyasï¿½s name. Bk VI:401-438 The marriage of Procne and Tereusï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ From such tales as these the company turns immediately to the present, and mourns the loss of Amphion and his children. The mother was blamed, though even then one man, her brother Pelops , is said to have wept for her and, after taking off his tunic, to have shown the ivory, of his left shoulder. This was of flesh, and the same colour as his right shoulder, at the time of his birth. Later, when he had been cut in pieces, by his father, it is said that the gods fitted his limbs together again.

They found the pieces, but one was lost, between the upper arm and the neck. Ivory was used in place of the missing part, and by means of that Pelops was made whole. The princes, of countries to the southwest, near neighbours of Thebes , gathered, and the cities related to Thebes urged their kings to go and offer sympathy. Argos and Sparta , and Peloponnesian Mycenae , Calydon not yet cursed for rejecting Diana , fertile Orchomenos , and Corinth famous for bronze; warlike Messene , Patrae , and low-lying Cleonae , Nelean Pylos , and Troezen not yet ruled by Pittheus ; and whichever of the other cities were southwest of the Isthmus , lying between its two seas, or seen to the northeast of the Isthmus, lying between its two seas. But who can believe this? Athens , alone, did nothing. War prevented them doing so. A Barbarian army had crossed the sea and brought terror to the walls of the city of Mopsopius . Tereus of Thrace routed these Barbarians, with his army of auxiliaries, and won a great name by his victory.

Since Tereus was a master of men and riches, and happened to trace his descent from mighty Mars himself, Pandion , king of Athens, made them allies, by giving him his daughter Procne in marriage. Neither Juno , who attends on brides, nor Hymen , nor the three Graces , was there. The Eumenides , the Furies , held torches snatched from a funeral. The Eumenides, the Furies, prepared their marriage bed, and the unholy screech owl brooded over their house, and sat on the roof of their chamber. By this bird-omen, Procne and Tereus were joined. By this bird-omen, they were made parents. Thrace of course rejoiced with them, and they themselves gave thanks to the gods, and the day when Pandionï¿½s daughter married her illustrious king, and the day on which Itys their son was born, they commanded to be celebrated as festivals: so, always, our real advantages escape us.

Bk VI:438-485 Tereusï¿½s passion for Procneï¿½s sister Philomela Now, Titan , the sun, had guided the turning year through five autumns when Procne said, coaxingly to her husband, ï¿½If any thanks are due me, either send me to see my sister, or let my sister come here. You can promise my father she will return after a brief stay. It would be worth a great deal to me, if you allowed me to see Philomela .ï¿½ Tereus ordered his ship to sea, and with sail and oar reached the harbour of Cecrops , and landed on the shore of Piraeus . As soon as he gained access to his father-in-law, right hand was joined to right hand, and they began by wishing each other favourable omens.

Tereus had started to tell of the reason for his visit, his wifeï¿½s request, and promise a speedy return if she were sent back with him, when, see, Philomela entered, dressed in rich robes, and richer beauty, walking as we are used to being told the naiads and dryads of the deep woods do, if only one were to give them like her culture and dress. Seeing the girl, Tereus took fire, just as if someone touched a flame to corn stubble, or burned the leaves, or hay stored in a loft. Her beauty was worthy of it, but he was driven by his natural passion, and the inclination of the people of his region is towards lust: he burnt with his own vice and his nationï¿½s. His impulse was to erode her attendants care, and her nurseï¿½s loyalty, even seduce the girl herself with rich gifts, to the extent of his kingdom, or rape her and defend the rape in savage war. There was nothing he would not dare, possessed by unbridled desire, nor could he contain the flame in his heart.

Now he suffered from impatience, and eagerly returned to Procneï¿½s request, pursuing his own wishes as hers. Desire made him eloquent, and whenever he petitioned more strongly than was seemly, he would make out that Procne wished it so. He even embellished his speeches with tears, as though she had commissioned him to do that too. You gods, what secret darknesses human hearts hide! Due to his efforts, Tereus is viewed as faithful, in his deceit, and is praised for his crime. Moreover Philomela wishes his request granted, and resting her forearms on her fatherï¿½s shoulders, coaxing him to let her go to visit her sister, she urges it, in her own interest, and against it. Tereus gazes at her, and imagining her as already his, watching her kisses, and her arms encircling her fatherï¿½s neck, it all spurs him on, food and fuel to his frenzy. Whenever she embraces her father, he wishes he were that father: though of course his intentions would be no less wicked. The father is won over by the twin entreaties.

The girl is overjoyed, and thanks her father, and thinks, poor wretch, that what will bring sorrow to both sisters is actually a success for both. Bk VI:486-548 Tereus forces Philomela Now little was left of Phoebus ï¿½s daily labour, and his horses were treading the spaces of the western sky . A royal feast was served at Pandionï¿½s table, with wine in golden goblets. Then their bodies sated, they gave themselves to quiet sleep. But though the Thracian king retired to bed, he was disturbed by thoughts of her, and remembering her features, her gestures, her hands, he imagined the rest that he had not yet seen, as he would wish, and fuelled his own fires, in sleepless restlessness. Day broke, and Pandion , clasping his son-in-lawï¿½s right hand, in parting, with tears welling in his eyes, entrusted his daughter to him.

ï¿½Dear son, since affectionate reasons compel it, and both of them desire it (you too have desired it, Tereus ), I give her over to you, and by your honour, by the entreaty of a heart joined to yours, and by the gods above, I beg you, protect her with a fatherï¿½s love, and send back to me, as soon as is possible (it will be all too long a wait for me), this sweet comfort of my old age.ï¿½ You too, as soon as is possible (it is enough that your sister is so far away), if you are at all dutiful, Philomela , return to me!ï¿½ So he commanded his daughter and kissed her, and soft tears mingled with his commands. As a token of their promise he took their two right hands and linked them together, and asked them, with a prayer, to remember to greet his absent daughter, and grandson, for him. His mouth sobbing, he could barely say a last farewell, and he feared the forebodings in his mind.

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 ï¿½I have won! I carry with me what I wished for! He exults, and his passion can scarcely wait for its satisfaction. He never turns his eyes away from her, no differently than when Jupiterï¿½s eagle deposits a hare, caught by the curved talons, in its high eyrie: there is no escape for the captive, and the raptor gazes at its prize. Now they had completed their journey, and disembarked from the wave-worn ship, on the shores of his country. The king took her to a high-walled building, hidden in an ancient forest, and there he locked her away, she, pale and trembling, fearing everything, in tears now, begging to know where her sister was. Then, confessing his evil intent, he overcame her by force, she a virgin and alone, as she called out, again and again, in vain, to her father, her sister, and most of all to the great gods.

She quivered like a frightened lamb, that fails to realise it is free, wounded and discarded by a grey wolf, or like a dove trembling, its feathers stained with its blood, still fearing the rapacious claws that gripped it. After a brief while, when she had come to her senses, she dragged at her dishevelled hair, and like a mourner, clawed at her arms, beating them against her breasts. Hands outstretched, she shouted ï¿½Oh, you savage. Oh, what an evil, cruel, thing you have done. Did you care nothing for my fatherï¿½s trust, sealed with holy tears, my sisterï¿½s affection, my own virginity, your marriage vows? You have confounded everything. I have been forced to become my sisterï¿½s rival. You are joined to both. Now Procne will be my enemy! Why not rob me of life as well, you traitor, so that no crime escapes you? If only you had done it before that impious act. Then my shade would have been free of guilt.

Yet, if the gods above witness such things, if the powers of heaven mean anything, if all is not lost, as I am, then one day you will pay me for this! I, without shame, will tell what you have done. If I get the chance it will be in front of everyone. If I am kept imprisoned in these woods, I will fill the woods with it, and move the stones, that know of my guilt, to pity. The skies will hear of it, and any god that may be there!ï¿½ Bk VI:549-570 Philomela is mutilated The kingï¿½s anger was stirred by these words, and his fear also. Goaded by both, he freed the sword from its sheath by his side, and seizing her hair gathered it together, to use as a tie, to tether her arms behind her back. Philomela , seeing the sword, and hoping only for death, offered up her throat. But he severed her tongue with his savage blade, holding it with pincers, as she struggled to speak in her indignation, calling out her fatherï¿½s name repeatedly.

Her tongueï¿½s root was left quivering, while the rest of it lay on the dark soil, vibrating and trembling, and, as though it were the tail of a mutilated snake moving, it writhed, as if, in dying, it was searching for some sign of her. They say (though I scarcely dare credit it) that even after this crime, he still assailed her wounded body, repeatedly, in his lust.ï¿½ï¿½ He controlled himself sufficiently to return to Procne , who, seeing him returned, asked where her sister was. He, with false mourning, told of a fictitious funeral, and tears gave it credence. Procne tore her glistening clothes, with their gold hems, from her shoulders, and put on black robes, and built an empty tomb, and mistakenly brought offerings, and lamented the fate of a sister, not yet due to be lamented in that way. Bk VI:571-619 The truth is revealed The sun-god has circled the twelve signs, and a year is past. What can Philomela do?

A guard prevents her escape; the thick walls of the building are made of solid stone; her mute mouth can yield no token of the facts. Great trouble is inventive, and ingenuity arises in difficult times. Cleverly, she fastens her thread to a barbarianï¿½s loom, and weaves purple designs on a white background, revealing the crime. She entrusts it, when complete, to a servant, and asks her, by means of gestures, to take it to her mistress. She, as she is asked, takes it to Procne , not knowing what it carries inside. The wife of the savage king unrolls the cloth, and reads her sisterï¿½s terrible fate, and by a miracle keeps silent. Grief restrains her lips, her tongue seeking to form words adequate to her indignation, fails. She has no time for tears, but rushes off, in a confusion of right and wrong, her mind filled with thoughts of vengeance. It was the time when the young Thracian women used to celebrate the triennial festival of Bacchus . (Night knew their holy rites: by night, Mount Rhodope rang with the high-pitched clashing of bronze).

By night the queen left her palace, prepared herself for the rites of the god, and took up the weapons of that frenzied religion. Tendrils of vine wreathed her head; a deerskin was draped over her left side; a light javelin rested on her shoulder. Hurtling through the woods with a crowd of her companions, terrifying, driven by maddening grief, Procne embodies you, Bacchus. She comes at last to the building in the wilderness, and howls out loud, giving the ecstatic cry of Euhoe, breaks the door down, seizes her sister, disguises her with the tokens of a wild Bacchante, hides her face with ivy leaves, and dragging her along with her, frightened out of her wits, leads her inside the palace walls. When Philomela realised that she had reached that accursed house, the wretched girl shuddered in horror, and her whole face grew deathly pale. Procne, once there, took off the religious trappings; uncovered the downcast face of her unhappy sister, and clutched her in her arms.

But Philomela could not bear to lift her eyes, seeing herself as her sisterï¿½s betrayer. With her face turned towards the ground, wanting to swear by the gods, and call them to witness, that her shame had been visited on her by force, she made signs with her hands in place of speech. Procne burned, and could not control her anger, reproaching her sister for weeping, saying ï¿½Now is not the time for tears, but for the sword, or for what overcomes the sword, if you know of such a thing. I am prepared for any wickedness, sister; to set the palace alight with a torch, and throw Tereus, the author of this, into the midst of the flames; or to cut out his eyes and tongue, and the parts which brought shame to you; or to force out his guilty spirit through a thousand wounds! I am ready for any enormity: but what it should be, I still do not know yet.ï¿½ Bk VI:619-652 The pitiless feast While Procne was going over these things, Itys came to his mother.

His arrival suggested what she might do, and regarding him with a cold gaze, she said ï¿½Ah! How like your father you are!ï¿½ Without speaking further, seething in silent indignation, she began to conceive her tragic plan. Yet, when the boy approached, and greeted his mother, and put his little arms round her neck, and kissed her with childish endearments, she was moved, her anger was checked, and her eyes were wet with the tears that gathered against her will. But, realising that her mind was wavering through excess affection, she turned away from him, and turned to look at her sisterï¿½s face again, till, gazing at both in turn, she said ï¿½Why should the one be able to speak his endearments, while the other is silent, her tongue torn out?ï¿½ Though he calls me mother, why can she not call me sister? Look at the husband you are bride to, Pandion ï¿½s daughter! This is unworthy of you!

Affection is criminal in a wife of Tereus ï¿½ Without delay, she dragged Itys off, as a tigress does an unweaned fawn, in the dark forests of the Ganges . As they reached a remote part of the great palace, Procne, with an unchanging expression, struck him with a knife, in the side close to the heart, while he stretched out his hands, knowing his fate at the last, crying out ï¿½Mother! Mother!ï¿½, and reaching out for her neck.ï¿½ That one wound was probably enough to seal his fate, but Philomela opened his throat with the knife. While the limbs were still warm, and retained some life, they tore them to pieces. Part bubble in bronze cauldrons, part hiss on the spit: and the distant rooms drip with grease. The wife invites the unsuspecting Tereus to the feast, and giving out that it is a sacred rite, practised in her country, where it is only lawful for the husband to be present, she sends away their followers and servants. Tereus eats by himself, seated in his tall ancestral chair, and fills his belly with his own child.

And in the darkness of his understanding cries ï¿½Fetch Ithys hereï¿½. Bk VI:653-674 They are transformed into birds Procne cannot hide her cruel exultation, and now, eager to be, herself, the messenger of destruction, she cries ï¿½You have him there, inside, the one you ask for.ï¿½ He looks around and questions where the boy is. And then while he is calling out and seeking him, Philomela , springs forward, her hair wet with the dew of that frenzied murder, and hurls the bloodstained head of Itys in his fatherï¿½s face. Nor was there a time when she wished more strongly to have the power of speech, and to declare her exultation in fitting words. The Thracian king pushed back the table with a great cry, calling on the Furies , the snake-haired sisters of the vale of Styx . Now if he could, he would tear open his body, and reveal the dreadful substance of the feast, and his half-consumed child.

Then he weeps, and calls himself the sepulchre of his unhappy son, and now pursues, with naked sword, the daughters of Pandion. You might think the Athenian women have taken wing: they have taken wings. One of them, a nightingale, Procne, makes for the woods. The other, a swallow, Philomela, flies to the eaves of the palace, and even now her throat has not lost the stain of that murder, and the soft down bears witness to the blood. Tereus swift in his grief and desire for revenge, is himself changed to a bird, with a feathered crest on its head. An immoderate, elongated, beak juts out, like a long spear. The name of the bird is the hoopoe, and it looks as though it is armed. Bk VI:675-721 Boreas and Orithyia This tragedy sent Pandion down to the shadows of Tartarus before his time, before the last years of old age. His rule over the kingdom, and his wealth passed to Erectheus , whose ability for sound government, and superiority in warfare, was never in doubt.

He had four sons and the same number of daughters, and two of the daughters were rivals in beauty. Of these two, Procris made you happy in marriage, Cephalus , grandson of Aeolus . But you, Boreas , god of the north wind, were long denied your beloved, Orithyia , harmed by your origins, with Tereus , among the Thracians . This was so while Boreas wooed her, and preferred prayers to force. But when charm got him nowhere, he bristled with anger, which is his usual mood for too much of the time, and said ï¿½I deserve it! Why have I relinquished my own weapons, force and ferocity, and anger and menacing moods, and turned to prayers, that are unbecoming for me to use? Force is fitting for me. By force, I drive forward the mists, by force move the sea. I overturn knotted oaks, harden the snow, and strike earth with hail.

And, when I meet my brothers under the open sky (since that is my battleground) I struggle so fiercely with them that the midst of the heavens echoes with our collisions, and lightnings leap, hurled from the vaulted clouds. So, when I penetrate the hollow openings of the earth, and apply my proud back to the deepest cave roofs, I trouble the shades, and the whole world with the tremors. That is how I should have sought a wife, and not become Erectheusï¿½s son-in-law by prayer but by action.ï¿½ With these, or other equally forceful words, Boreas unfurled his wings, by whose beating the whole world is stirred, and made the wide ocean tremble. Trailing his cloak of dust over the mountain summits, he swept the land, and, shrouded in darkness, the lover embraced his Orythia, with his dusky wings, as she shivered with fear. As he flew, his own flames of passion were fanned, and burned fiercer. Nor did the thief halt in his flight through the air, till he reached the walls of the city and people of Thrace, the Cicones .

There the girl from Attica married the chilly tyrant, and became a mother, giving birth to twin brothers, who took after their mother, in everything else but their fatherï¿½s wings. Yet they say the wings were not present, on their bodies, when they were born, but while they still were lacking beards, to match their red hair, Calais , and Zetes , as boys, were wingless. But both alike, soon after, began to sprout the pinions of birds on their shoulders, and both their jaws and cheeks grew tawny. And, when their boyhood was over, the youths sailed, as Argonauts , with the Minyans , in that first ship, through unknown seas, to seek the glittering wool of a golden fleece.

Question: What is the alternative name for the bird Philomel?
Answer: NIGHTINGALE