TEREUS (thracian king)

He married Progne, the daughter of Pandion, and the couple established festivals to celebrate their union and the birth of their son, Itys.^5,1,6 Tereus later sailed to the Cecropian harbor and landed on the shores of the Piræus, where he greeted his father-in-law with a handshake.⁴ During this visit, he added tears to his speech to appear more affectionate, falsely claiming that his wife had requested the meeting.⁴ However, his true motive was a secret desire to possess his sister-in-law, Philomela, whom he watched with intense lust as she embraced her father.^2,4,7

Ignoring the pleas of Philomela's father and her own virgin state, Tereus took her by force after bringing her to his territory.⁷ He confined her in a hidden dwelling within an ancient wood, exulting in his intended crime and deferring his joy in the act.⁷ To prevent her from speaking, Tereus cut out Philomela's tongue.^5,8 The crimes attributed to him occurred in the country of the Bizyæ, where his sacrilegious actions eventually caused swallows to hate the local citadel.^9,10

When the women sought vengeance, Tereus was unable to capture them, and Progne vowed to burn him in the royal palace, cut out his tongue or eyes with a sword, and stab him a thousand times to expel his soul.^11,3 In a tragic turn of events, Tereus unknowingly consumed the flesh of his own son Itys during a banquet while seated on the throne of his ancestors.^5,12 He remained in a state of mental blindness regarding the nature of his meal until Philomela confronted him with the severed head of his son.¹² After learning of the betrayal, he pursued his wives with an axe, but the fable involving these events is said to have taken place in Daulis.^5,13

Tereus was eventually transformed into a hoopoe bird, a creature slightly larger than a quail with feathers on its head that form a crest.^5,14 Philomela avoided Tereus's country because of her terror of him, a fear the Phocians claimed persisted even after she became a bird.¹⁵ In another account, he died during a battle, while in others, he and the Thracians acted as an obstacle to Boreas.^16,17 The Megarians claimed that Tereus had once ruled the area around Pagae in Megaris, leaving a complex legacy of violence and transformation.¹¹