Tereus

Also known as: the Odrysian king / the Thracian Tereus · Family: Thrace · Role: king · First appears: Fable 59

Tereus, king of Thrace, gained an illustrious name after routing his enemies with auxiliary forces and conquest. Powerful in riches and men, and said to descend from mighty Gradivus, he was united by Pandion to Progne in marriage under ominous omens; they became parents of Itys, and the marriage and birth were celebrated as festivals. Before departing, Pandion entrusted Progne to Tereus’s care.

Tereus later abducted and assaulted Philomela, imprisoned her in a concealed forest dwelling, and cut out her tongue to prevent her from revealing his crime. He falsely told Progne that her sister had died, but Progne and Philomela took revenge by serving Itys’s remains to him and revealing what he had eaten. Tereus pursued the daughters of Pandion with a drawn sword before being transformed into a lapwing; elsewhere, Tereus and the Thracians were an obstacle to Boreas.