Procris

Lore & Background

Procris was the third daughter of Erechtheus, king of Athens, and Praxithea. Her sisters included Creusa, Oreithyia, and Chthonia, among others, and her brothers included Cecrops and Pandorus. She married Cephalus, son of King Deioneus of Phocis. Homer mentions her in the Odyssey as one of the dead spirits Odysseus saw in the Underworld. Sophocles wrote a tragedy called Procris that has been lost, as has a version contained in the Greek Cycle, but at least six different accounts of her story still exist.

Reader's Guide

The story of Procris survives in at least six distinct versions, reflecting the fluidity of Greek mythological tradition. The earliest account, by Pherecydes of Athens, involves Cephalus testing Procris' fidelity by disguising himself and seducing her, leading to her eventual death when he mistakes her for a wild animal while hunting. Ovid provides two versions: an earlier one where Procris misinterprets her husband calling for a breeze as the name of a lover, and a later one involving the goddess Eos (Aurora) and a magical spear and dog. Other accounts, such as those in the Bibliotheca, Hyginus, and Antoninus Liberalis, introduce elements like Procris curing King Minos of a genital curse and receiving a dog and javelin as gifts. The story of the dog Laelaps and the Teumessian fox, which were turned to stone by Zeus, was told in the lost epic Epigoni. Procris' tale was later included in Boccaccio's De Mulieribus Claris, the first Western collection of biographies devoted exclusively to women.

Did You Know?

• Homer mentions Procris in the Odyssey as one of the dead spirits Odysseus saw in the Underworld.
• Sophocles wrote a tragedy called Procris that has been lost.
• At least six different accounts of Procris' story still exist.
• The name of Procris' dog was Laelaps.