Chapter 16 Chapter XVI Procne and Philomela
Pandion, the son of Erichthonius, born of the earth, and the goddess Pasitea, later became king of Athens.Pandion married the beautiful water goddess Tseyusipo, who gave birth to twin sons Erechtheus and Potes, and two daughters: Procne and Philomela.
Once, Labdacus, king of Thebes, had a fight with Pandion and led an army to invade Attica.After fierce resistance, the Athenians finally retreated in the city.Seeing that the soldiers were approaching the city, Pandion rushed to the rescue of the heroic Thracian king Tereus.Tereus was the son of Ares, the god of war.He quickly led the army to relieve the siege, and finally drove the Thebes out of Attica.In order to thank him, Pandion married off his daughter Procne to this famous hero.Soon, Procne gave birth to his son Edith.
Unknowingly, five years have passed, and Procne is far away from home, feeling extremely lonely, and he misses his sister Philomela suddenly in his heart.So she said to her husband: "If you love me, please let me go back to Athens and fetch my sister, or you go there and fetch her. Tell your father that she will be fine if she stays here for a while." Will go back. Otherwise the father will be worried and unwilling to let his daughter go for a long time."
Tereus immediately agreed, and with his servants, he sailed to Athens by boat, and soon arrived at the port city of Bairius in Athens, where he was warmly received by his father-in-law.Still on his way to the city, Tereus informed his wife of his wishes, and assured the king that Philomela would not stay long.After arriving at the palace, Philomela came to greet her brother-in-law Tereus in person and kept asking him about her sister.Seeing that she was radiant and glamorous, Tereus fell in love with her like a fire, and secretly made up his mind to deceive Philomela into his hands.He temporarily suppressed the turmoil in his heart, and solemnly talked about Procne's longing for his sister.An evil plan is brewing in his heart, but on the surface he looks like a gentleman, and Pandion is full of praise for him.Philomela was also fascinated by him.She hooked her father's neck with both hands, and begged him to allow her to visit her sister far away.The king reluctantly agreed to his daughter's request, and the daughter was overjoyed and thanked her father quickly.The three of them entered the palace, and the king entertained the guests with delicious food and wine until the evening.
In the early morning of the next day, the elderly Pandion parted from his daughter with tears in his eyes. He held his son-in-law's hand tightly and said, "My dear son, because of your unanimous request, I entrust my beloved little daughter to you. In view of our kinship, and to the gods in the sky, I implore you, love your sister like a loving father, and send her back soon." He said, kissing his child, Then kissed them good-bye and asked them to convey their regards to their daughter Procne and grandson.The boat opened and gradually sailed into the sea.
Soon they were in Thrace.The ship docked firmly, and they went ashore together.The sailors, tired from the journey, all rushed home.But Tereus quietly took Philomela into the depths of the woods, and locked her in a shepherd's hut.Shocked and frightened, Philomela inquired about her sister with tears in her eyes.Tereus lied that Procne was dead, and in order not to make Pandion sad, he deliberately fabricated the story of inviting Philomela.In fact, he rushed to Athens to marry Philomela as his wife.
As he spoke, he began to cry hypocritically, pretending to be sad.No matter how hard Philomela begged, it was of no avail. She had to shed painful tears and reluctantly became Tereus' wife.But it was not long before she recovered her senses, and a foreboding and a terrible suspicion arose in her heart.She wondered silently, why did Tereus lock me in the deep forest far away from the palace, treating me like a prisoner?Why doesn't he let me live in his palace like a real queen?
Once, she overheard the servants talking.Knowing that Procne was still alive, she immediately understood that her marriage to Tereus was a crime, and she became her sister's rival in love.A burst of anger welled up, she hated her brother-in-law for betraying her sister, rushed into his room quickly, and told him loudly that she already knew the truth.She cursed him fiercely, and swore to make public his despicable deeds and evil tricks, and let everyone know that he was a shameless man.Her words angered Tereus, and at the same time, he was terrified.To be on the safe side, he decided not to let anyone know his scandal, but he didn't dare to kill an innocent woman, so he came up with a vicious method.He bound Philomela's hands behind his back, and drew his sword as if to kill her.She waited willingly to die.However, just as she cried out her father's name in pain, Tereus cut off her tongue with a sword.Now he no longer worries about someone revealing his secrets.He left her as if nothing had happened, and sternly ordered the servants to keep her under strict watch and not allow any slack.
When Tereus returned to the palace, Procne asked him why he had not returned with his sister.Then he said, with false tears, that Philomela was dead and buried.Procne was distraught when she heard this, she took off her gold and silver colored dress, put on a long black gauze dress, built an empty tomb for her sister, and placed offerings to honor her dead soul.
A year has passed.Philomela, who was dumbed down by the cruelty, survived tenaciously. She lost all her freedom under strict supervision.However, misfortune made her smarter. She sat by the loom and wove copper-colored characters on the white linen gauze. She wanted to let her sister know her tragic experience.She weaved the linen with painstaking efforts, and then begged the servant to give the linen to Queen Procne with gestures.
The servant agreed without knowing the mystery.Procne spread out the sackcloth and found the words on it, and she knew the appalling atrocities her husband had committed.She wanted to cry but couldn't even utter a sigh, because her pain was too deep, and there was only one thought in her mind: revenge!Take revenge on the mob!
As night fell, the women of Thracia enthusiastically celebrated the Bacchus Dionysian festival.The queen, also wearing a garland of grapes, and carrying a staff of wine, hastened into the jungle with a group of women.She was full of grief and pain in her heart, and she yelled loudly, venting her anger.She eluded the guards, and approached quietly the lonely chalet where her sister Philomela was kept.Unable to restrain her excitement, she threw herself on her sister, dragged her and escaped to the palace of Tereus.She hid her sister in a secret room and told her: "Tears can't save us! I have prepared everything for revenge." At this time, her son Edith came in to greet his mother.Procne looked at him blankly, and whispered to himself: "He looks so much like my father!" The son jumped up beside her, wrapped his little arms around his mother's neck, and kissed her on the face. all over.The mother's heart was only touched for a while, and then she pushed the child away, took out a sharp knife, and stabbed the knife into the heart of her own son with a crazy desire for revenge.
King Tereus sat before the altar of his ancestors, and his wife brought delicious dishes. After he finished eating, he asked: "Where is my son Edith?" I can't get any closer to you!" Procne said with a sneer.
Tereus looked around in bewilderment, when Philomela came in, and she left a bloody child's head at his feet.He suddenly understood everything, immediately overturned the dining table, drew his sword and rushed at the two sisters who were desperately fleeing.They run as if they are flying.Well, they did grow wings, and one flew into the woods, and the other flew to the roof.Procne turned into a swallow, Philomela into a nightingale, with a few drops of blood on her breast, which was the mark left by the murder.
Of course, the despicable Tereus also changed into a hoopoe, with tall feathers and a pointed beak, chasing nightingales and swallows forever and becoming their natural enemy.