Well, my tale from Ovid is Tereus. Since I had a bit of an extended spring break and was not in sweet, snowy Bozeman on the Friday before break or the Monday after, I don't really know what these one minute presentations are all about. However, here is a bit of a summary of Tereus.

I thought the entire story was a bit graphic and I enjoyed how descriptive it was. I definitely recommend reading it for yourselves. :D

The characters involved are:

King Pandion- King of Athens

King Tereus- King of Thrace

Procne- Daughter of Pandion and wife of Tereus

Philomela- Daugther of Pandion and sister of Procne

Itys- Son of Tereus and Procne

After seeing that King Tereus of Thrace was just as rich and powerful as he himself was, King Pandion of Athens gave his daughter to Tereus in marriage. The marriage began with bad omens including the deities who bless brides shunning the marriage and an owl interrupting their wedding night. Soon they had a son and named him Itys.

After five years, Procne went to her husband and told him she wished to see her sister and that he should bring her to Thrace. Tereus complied and personally sailed to Athens and King Pandion. Once Procne’s sister, Philomela, entered the room, Tereus became completely infatuated with her. Her beauty was amazing and Tereus had an uncontrollable body. "Thracians are sexually insatiable." He wanted her and started thinking of ways he could have her to himself. He implored and tricked Pandion to let Philomela come with him to see Procne. Pandion gave in and went to bless them and their trip back to Thrace when he felt a strong sense of foreboding.

Tereus and Philomela sailed back to Thrace and Tereus took her to a fort deep in the forest and imprisoned her. He did many unmentionable things to her and she tried to fight back. He became angry and went into a rage and cut out her tongue. Tereus went back to Procne and told her that Philomela was dead.

After a year, Philomela, unable to speak, wove a tapestry and gestured to a servant that it should be delivered to Procne. Procne received the tapestry and saw what her sister had depicted. Using a disguise, Procne rescued Philomela and brought her back the palace. Procne was so angry at her husband and was thinking of ways of revenge when her son, Itys, came in. He was the spitting image of his father and so loving of his mother that it softened Procne’s heart for a moment, but she looked back towards Philomela and knew she had to do what she had to. She grabbed Itys and killed him. The sisters then proceeded to cook his remains and prepared a feast out of him. Philomela leaves the room and Procne proceeds to lie to Tereus saying that she wants to serve him because it was a special day. Tereus ate and called for his son over and over, but Itys did not come. Philomela then comes back into the room with Itys’ head and Tereus understands that he has been eating his own son. The sisters take off running to the forest and Tereus goes after them in a blind rage. As they’re running, they sprout wings and begin to fly and transform into birds. Tereus becomes a hoopoe, Philomela becomes a nightingale, and Procne becomes a swallow.

The Hoopoe.

The Nightingale.

The Swallow.