<Location> Acropolis Archaeological Museum, Acropolis, Athens, Greece
Exhibited in the vestibule of the museum. Dated to ca. 430 BCE. Maybe made by Alkamenes.
Prokne is daughter of Pandion, king of Athens. Married to Tereus, king of Thracia and son of god Ares, and bore him a son Ithys. Tereus, however, fell in love with her sister Philomela and he raped her. Then he cut her the tongue and locked her up. Philomela, deprived of speech, weaved her story and sent it to her sister, who freed her. The sisters cut up Ithys, the heir of Tereus, cooked him and served it to Tereus. When Tereus understood what he ate, chased the women, but they escaped, Prokne turing herself into a nightingale, and Philomela into a sparrow.
This statue represents Prokne killing her son; her strong, static body makes striking contrast with the weak, unnaturally twisted body of her son.
