Back بيراموس وثيسبي Arabic Pyramos ha Thisbe Breton Pýramos a Thisbé Czech Pyramus und Thisbe German Piramo kaj Tisbe Esperanto Píramo y Tisbe Spanish Pyramos ja Thisbe Finnish Pyrame et Thisbé French Mito de Píramo e Tisbe Galician פירמוס ותיסבי HE
Pyramus and Thisbe (Ancient Greek: Πύραμος καὶ Θίσβη, romanized: Pýramos kaì Thísbē) are a pair of legendary, ill-fated lovers from Babylon whose story forms part of Ovid's Metamorphoses. The story has been retold by many authors.
Pyramus and Thisbe's parents, driven by rivalry, forbade their union, but they communicated through a crack in the wall between their houses. They planned to meet under a mulberry tree, but a series of tragic misunderstandings led to their deaths: Thisbe fled from a lioness, leaving her cloak behind, which Pyramus found and mistook as evidence of her death. Believing Thisbe was killed by the lioness, Pyramus committed suicide, staining the mulberry fruits with his blood. Thisbe, upon finding Pyramus dead, also killed herself. The gods changed the color of the mulberry fruits to honor their forbidden love.
Ovid's version is the oldest surviving account, but the story likely originated from earlier myths in Cilicia. The tale has been adapted in various forms, inspiring works such as Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream, as well as modern adaptations in literature, opera, and popular culture. The story is depicted in works of art from ancient Roman mosaics to Renaissance paintings.