In mythology wife of Tereus, who rapes her sister Philomela. She retaliates by killing her son Itys, and feeding him to his father. The sisters are turned into birds, a swallow and a nightingale.
Above: Detail from Athenian red-figure clay vase, about 500-450 BC. Munich, Antikensammlungen 2638 © Munich, Antikensammlungen.