ProkneProcne

She and her sister, Philomela, were Athenian princesses and the daughters of Pandion; Prokne married Tereus, the king of Thrake (Thrace).

Tereus attacked (or offended) Philomela and in order to keep his outrage a secret he cut out Philomela’s tongue and hid her away in an isolated place; Philomela was able to weave her sad story onto a piece of needlework and send it to her sister.

Prokne found Philomela and the two of them killed Prokne’s son, Itys, and served the cooked body of the child to her evil husband, Tereus; Tereus tried to slay the sisters but all three were transformed into birds; Tereus became a hoopoe, Philomela became a swallow and Prokne became a nightingale; Prokne is often referred to as the Daughter of Pandion, i.e. the swallow, and her wailing marked the beginning of Spring.

• Works and Days, line 567