Itys
Young son of Tereus and Procne murdered by his own mother and served as food to his father in revenge for Philomela's rape.
The Legend of Itys
His mother killed him, cooked him, and fed him to his father — and he was maybe five years old. Itys had no part in his father Tereus's crimes against Philomela. But when Procne learned the truth from Philomela's woven tapestry, she looked at Itys and saw only Tereus's face. She killed the boy, butchered him, and served him at dinner. The scene directly parallels the feast of Thyestes and the sacrifice of Pelops. In all three myths, a child becomes food — the ultimate violation of family and hospitality. When transformed, Itys became a goldfinch (or a sandpiper), his plaintive call interpreted as a permanent cry for his mother. He is the innocent destroyed by a cycle of violence he did not create.
Parents
Tereus, Procne
Symbols
Explore Further
Procne
🗡 herovengeance
Athenian princess married to Tereus who killed her own son Itys to avenge her sister Philomela's rape.
Atreus
🗡 herovengeance
King of Mycenae who murdered his nephews and fed them to his brother Thyestes, establishing the bloodiest family curse in myth.
Polydorus of Troy
🗡 herotragedy
Youngest son of Priam, sent away from Troy with gold for safekeeping, only to be murdered by his host.
Tereus and Philomela
🗡 herovengeance, transformation
The myth of a Thracian king who assaulted his sister-in-law and cut out her tongue, only for the sisters to exact gruesome revenge.
Alcmaeon
🗡 herovengeance
Son of Amphiaraus who killed his own mother Eriphyle on his father's orders and was driven mad by the Erinyes.
Althaea
🗡 heroNone recorded
Queen of Calydon and mother of Meleager who killed her own son by burning the magical brand that the Fates had tied to his life at birth
Aegeus
🗡 herotragedy
King of Athens and father of Theseus who threw himself into the sea when he saw black sails, believing his son was dead.
Absyrtus
🗡 herotragedy
Son of King Aeetes of Colchis, murdered and dismembered by his sister Medea to slow their father's pursuit.
Telegonus
🗡 herotragedy
Son of Odysseus and Circe who unknowingly killed his own father, fulfilling a prophecy that death would come to Odysseus from the sea.
Aegisthus
🗡 herovengeance
Son of Thyestes who murdered Agamemnon to avenge his father, ruling Mycenae with Clytemnestra for seven years.
Thyestes
🗡 herocurse
Brother of Atreus who seduced his sister-in-law and was tricked into eating his own children at the feast of Atreus.
Tantalus
🗡 heropunishment
King invited to dine with the gods who stole nectar and ambrosia and served his son Pelops as a stew to test divine omniscience.