3-072-216 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Death of Procris, 1770s. Additional Info: The story of Cephalus and his wife Procris was described by the Roman poet Ovid in Book VII of "Metamorphoses." Procris offered her husband, who was an avid hunter, two gifts that she had received from Artemis a never-erring javelin and the fastest hunting dog. However, these gifts did not bring them luck. One day, when Cephalus went hunting and heard a noise in the brush, he threw his miraculous weapon in that direction, thinking that the noise had been made by an approaching animal. However, it turned out that he had killed his beloved wife, who had been following him secretly in the forest in order to check his fidelity.