Pyramus and Thisbe are a pair of ill-fated lovers whose story forms part of

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

's ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the ...

''. The story has since been retold by many authors. Pyramus and Thisbe are two lovers in the city of Babylon who occupy connected houses. Their respective parents, driven by rivalry, forbid them to wed. Through a crack in one of the walls they whisper their love for each other. They arrange to meet near a tomb under a

mulberry tree ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 identif ...

and state their feelings for each other. Thisbe arrives first, but upon seeing a lioness with a bloody mouth from a recent kill, she flees, leaving behind her cloak. When Pyramus arrives, he is horrified at the sight of Thisbe's cloak: the lioness had torn it and left traces of blood behind, as well as its tracks. Assuming that a wild beast has killed her, Pyramus kills himself, falling on his sword, a typical Babylonian way to commit suicide, and in turn splashing blood on the white mulberry leaves. Pyramus's blood stains the white mulberry fruits, turning them dark. Thisbe returns, eager to tell Pyramus what had happened to her, but she finds Pyramus's dead body under the shade of the mulberry tree. Thisbe, after praying to their parents and the gods to have them buried together and a brief period of mourning, stabs herself with the same sword. In the end, the gods listen to Thisbe's lament, and forever change the colour of the mulberry fruits into the stained colour to honor forbidden love. Pyramus and Thisbe proved to be faithful lovers to each other until the very end.

Origins

Ovid's is the oldest surviving version of the story, published in 8 AD, but he adapted an existing aetiological myth. While in Ovid's telling Pyramus and Thisbe lived in Babylon, and

Ctesias Ctesias (; grc-gre, Κτησίας; fl. fifth century BC), also known as Ctesias of Cnidus, was a Greek physician and historian from the town of Cnidus in Caria, then part of the Achaemenid Empire. Historical events Ctesias, who lived in the fi ...

had placed the tomb of his imagined king

Ninus Ninus ( el, Νίνος) was a mythology character who according to Greek historians writing in the Hellenistic period and later, was the founder of Nineveh (also called Νίνου πόλις "city of Ninus" in Greek), ancient capital of Assyria. In ...

near that city, the myth probably originated in

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...

(part of Ninus' Babylonian empire) as Pyramos is the historical Greek name of the local Ceyhan River. The metamorphosis in the primary story involves Pyramus changing into this river and Thisbe into a nearby spring. A 2nd-century mosaic unearthed near Nea Paphos on

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

depicts this older version of the myth.

Adaptations

The story of ''Pyramus and Thisbe'' appears in Giovanni Boccaccio's ''

On Famous Women ''De Mulieribus Claris'' or ''De Claris Mulieribus'' (Latin for "Concerning Famous Women") is a collection of biographies of historical and mythological women by the Florentine author Giovanni Boccaccio, composed in Latin prose in 1361–1362. ...

'' as biography number twelve (sometimes thirteen) and in his '' Decameron'', in the fifth story on the seventh day, where a desperate housewife falls in love with her neighbor, and communicates with him through a crack in the wall, attracting his attention by dropping pieces of stone and straw through the crack. In the 1380s, Geoffrey Chaucer, in his ''

The Legend of Good Women ''The Legend of Good Women'' is a poem in the form of a dream vision by Geoffrey Chaucer during the fourteenth century. The poem is the third longest of Chaucer's works, after ''The Canterbury Tales'' and '' Troilus and Criseyde'', and is poss ...

'', and

John Gower John Gower (; c. 1330 – October 1408) was an English poet, a contemporary of William Langland and the Pearl Poet, and a personal friend of Geoffrey Chaucer. He is remembered primarily for three major works, the '' Mirour de l'Omme'', '' Vo ...

, in his ''

Confessio Amantis ''Confessio Amantis'' ("The Lover's Confession") is a 33,000-line Middle English poem by John Gower, which uses the confession made by an ageing lover to the chaplain of Venus as a frame story for a collection of shorter narrative poems. Accord ...

'', were the first to tell the story in English. Gower altered the story somewhat into a cautionary tale. John Metham's '' Amoryus and Cleopes'' (1449) is another early English adaptation. The tragedy of '' Romeo and Juliet'' ultimately sprang from Ovid's story. Here the star-crossed lovers cannot be together because Juliet has been engaged by her parents to another man and the two families hold an ancient grudge. As in Pyramus and Thisbe, the mistaken belief in one lover's death leads to consecutive suicides. The earliest version of ''Romeo and Juliet'' was published in 1476 by

Masuccio Salernitano Masuccio Salernitano (1410–1475), born Tommaso Guardati, was an Italian poet. Born in Salerno or Sorrento, he is best known today for ''Il Novellino'', a collection of 50 "novelle" or short stories, each prefaced by a letter of dedication to ...

, while it mostly obtained its present form when written down in 1524 by Luigi da Porto. Salernitano and Da Porto both are thought to have been inspired by Ovid and Boccaccio's writing.

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's most famous 1590s adaptation is a dramatization of Arthur Brooke's 1562 poem ''

The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet ''The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet'' is a narrative poem by Arthur Brooke, first published in 1562 by Richard Tottel, which was a key source for William Shakespeare’s ''Romeo and Juliet''. Brooke is reported to have translated it ...

'', itself a translation of a French translation of Da Porto's novella. In Shakespeare's '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (Act V, sc 1), a comedy written in the 1590s, a group of " mechanicals" enact the story of "Pyramus and Thisbe". Their production is crude and, for the most part, badly done until the final monologues of

Nick Bottom Nick Bottom is a character in Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' who provides comic relief throughout the play. A weaver by trade, he is famously known for getting his head transformed into that of a donkey by the elusive Puck. Bott ...

, as Pyramus and

Francis Flute Francis Flute is a character in William Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. His occupation is a bellows-mender. He is forced to play the female role of Thisbe in "Pyramus and Thisbe", a play-within-the-play which is performed for Theseu ...

, as Thisbe. The theme of forbidden love is also present in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (albeit a less tragic and dark representation) in that a girl, Hermia, is not able to marry the man she loves, Lysander, because her father Egeus despises him and wishes for her to marry

Demetrius Demetrius is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning “Demetris” - "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, Dimitri, Dimitrie, Dimitar, Dumi ...

, and meanwhile Hermia and Lysander are confident that Helena is in love with Demetrius.

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

performed a humorous performance of “Pyramus and Thisbe” on the 1964 television special ''

Around the Beatles ''Around the Beatles'' was a 1964 television special featuring the Beatles, produced by Jack Good for ITV/ Rediffusion London. It was taped in Wembley Park Studios (now Fountain Studios) in London on 28 April 1964, and broadcast internationa ...

''. Primarily based around William Shakespeare's adaptation, the performance featured

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

as Pyramus,

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

as his lover Thisbe, George Harrison as Moonshine, and Ringo Starr as Lion, with

Trevor Peacock Trevor Edward Peacock (19 May 1931 – 8 March 2021) was an English actor, screenwriter and songwriter. He made his name as a theatre actor, later becoming known for his Shakespearean roles. Later in his career, he became best known for playing ...

in the role of Quince. Spanish poet

Luis de Góngora Luis de Góngora y Argote (born Luis de Argote y Góngora; ; 11 July 1561 – 24 May 1627) was a Spanish Baroque lyric poet and a Catholic priest. Góngora and his lifelong rival, Francisco de Quevedo, are widely considered the most prominent ...

wrote a ''Fábula de Píramo y Tisbe'' in 1618, while French poet Théophile de Viau wrote ''Les amours tragiques de Pyrame et Thisbée'', a tragedy in five acts, in 1621. In 1718 Giuseppe Antonio Brescianello wrote his only opera, ''La Tisbe'', for Württemberg court. François Francoeur and

François Rebel François Rebel (19 June 17017 November 1775) was a French composer of the Baroque era. Born in Paris, the son of the leading composer Jean-Féry Rebel, he was a child prodigy who became a violinist The following lists of violinists are availab ...

composed ''Pirame et Thisbé'', a lyric tragedy in five acts and a prologue, with libretto by

Jean-Louis-Ignace de La Serre Jean-Louis-Ignace de La Serre, sieur de Langlade, was an 18th-century French novelist and playwright born in Cahors in 1662 and died 30 September 1756. Royal censor, he authored a biography of Molière. He was wrongly attributed some works by Ma ...

; it was played at the Académie royale de musique, on October 17, 1726. The story was adapted by

John Frederick Lampe John Frederick Lampe (born Johann Friedrich Lampe; probably 1703 – 25 July 1751) was a musician and composer. Life Lampe was born in Saxony, Germany but came to England in 1724 and played the bassoon in opera houses. In 1730, he was hired by ...

as a "Mock Opera" in 1745, containing a singing "Wall" which was described as "the most musical partition that was ever heard." In 1768 in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Johann Adolph Hasse composed a serious opera on the tale, titled '' Piramo e Tisbe''. Edmond Rostand adapted the tale, making the fathers of the lovers conspire to bring their children together by pretending to forbid their love, in ''Les Romanesques'', whose 1960 musical adaptation, ''

The Fantasticks ''The Fantasticks'' is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and book and lyrics by Tom Jones. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the 1894 play ''The Romancers'' (''Les Romanesques'') by Edmond Rostand, concerning two neigh ...

,'' became the world's longest-running musical. Pyramus and Thisbe were featured in ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

'' 2012 episode " The Daughter Also Rises". Nick and Lisa's misunderstood love was compared to Thisbe and Pyramus’ forbidden love. Much like the crack in the wall, Lisa and Nick met through a crack between two booths in an Italian restaurant. Lisa and Nick are portrayed as the two characters during a later portion of the episode. They go to finish off their story and head for the tree under which Pyramus and Thisbe's fate presented itself.

In art

File:Pyramus and Thisbe Pompeii.jpg, Painting in Pompeii File:Paphos - Pyrame et Thisbé.jpg, Roman mosaic at Paphos, Cyprus File:Piramos dan Thisbe.jpg, Painting attributed to Jasper van der Laanen (1585–1634) File:Pyramus und Thisbe (Unterlindenmuseum Colmar) jm01289.jpg, 16th century,

Unterlinden Museum The Unterlinden Museum (French: ''Musée Unterlinden'') is located in Colmar, in the Alsace region of France. The museum, housed in a 13th-century Dominican religious sisters' convent and a 1906 former public baths building, is home to the Isenhe ...

Colmar File:Nicolaus Knüpfer - Pyrame et Thisbé.jpg, Nicolaus Knüpfer, early 17th century File:Nicolas Poussin - Landscape during a Thunderstorm with Pyramus and thisbe - Google Art Project.jpg, Nicholas Poussin, 1651 File:Andreas Nesselthaler - Pyramus and Thisbe, 1795.jpg, Andreas Nesselthaler, 1795 File:Pierre Gautherot - Pyramus and Thisbe, 1799.jpg , Pierre Gautherot, 1799

Citations

General references

Primary sources

* Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'' iv.55–166

Secondary sources

* Bulfinch, Thomas
''The Age of Fable; Or, Stories of Gods and Heroes''
(2nd ed.), Sanborn, Carter, and Bazin, 1856

External links

Carlos Parada, Greek Mythology link
''pXt''
A

visual novel A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...

adaptation of the story from ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''
Queen LeerWhy, Thisbe?
(Song and music video) {{DEFAULTSORT:Pyramus And Thisbe Ancient Cilicia Characters in Greek mythology Mythological lovers Mythological duos Metamorphoses characters Babylon in fiction