Classical Mythology. Pyramus and Thisbe

(story of) Pyramus and Thisbe

Two young lovers, Pyramus and Thisbe, rendezvous one night under a white mulberry tree. Thisbé arrives first, but the sight of a lioness with a bloody mouth makes her flee; she drops her veil, which is torn by the lioness and stained with blood. When Pyramus arrives, he discovers the bloody veil, believes Thisbé dead and commits suicide. Her blood splashes onto the white mulberries. Thisbé, returning to the mulberry tree, discovers the body of her lover and commits suicide in her turn. According to Ovid, this is the origin of the red color of blackberries.