Tereus (King)
heroThracian king who raped Philomela, cut out her tongue, and was transformed into a hoopoe bird.
The Myth
He cut out his victim's tongue so she could not accuse him — and she wove the accusation into a tapestry instead. Tereus married Procne, daughter of the Athenian king Pandion, then raped her sister Philomela while escorting her from Athens. He cut out Philomela's tongue and imprisoned her. But Philomela wove a tapestry depicting the crime and sent it to Procne. The sisters took revenge by killing Itys, Tereus and Procne's son, and feeding him to his father. When Tereus discovered the truth and drew his sword, the gods transformed all three into birds. Tereus became a hoopoe — a bird with a war-crest and a call that sounds like "where? where?" as if still hunting for his prey. Ovid and Sophocles both told this story.
Parents
Children
Symbols
Fun Fact
The hoopoe's call was interpreted by Greeks as pou-pou (where-where) — Tereus eternally searching for his victims.
Explore Further
Tereus and Philomela
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Itys
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Pandion
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Philomela
heroAthenian princess whose tongue was cut out by her rapist Tereus, who wove her story into a tapestry...
Procne
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Tereus
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