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In Greek mythology, Procne was a daughter of
Pandion and Zeuxippe. She married
Tereus and had one son: Itys. Tereus loved his
wife's sister, Philomela. He raped her, cut her tongue out and held her captive
so she could never tell anyone. Philomela wove a tapestry that told her story and gave it to Procne. In revenge, Procne killed
her son by Tereus, Itys, and fed him to Tereus unknowingly. Tereus tried to kill the sisters but all three were changed into
birds: Tereus was a hoopoe; Philomela was a swallow; Procne was a nightingale whose song is a song of
mourning for her son Itys. The names "Philomela" and "Procne" are sometimes used in literature to refer to a nightingale, though
only the latter is mythologically correct.
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