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PANDION, PANDYON. Pandion, legendary king of Athens, was father of Procne and Philomela. Procne married Tereus, king of Thrace; but Tereus was seized with violent lust for Philomela. He went to Athens to fetch her for a visit with her sister and found Pandion unwilling to part with his daughter. Tereus persuaded him, and Pandion let her go with heavy foreboding. As she left, he wept (Met VI.438-510; OM VI.2217-3684).

In Chaucer's version, Pandion has no forebodings. He weeps because he would not let her go, but Philomena persuades him to give his permission, LGW 2279-2286. Pandion feasts Tereus well and gives him great gifts as he departs, LGW 2299-2308. It appears that Chaucer follows Chrétien's version, La Muance de la Hupé et l'aronde et de rossignol, inserted in Ovide Moralisé VI. [Philomene: Proigne: Tereus]

Pandion occurs once in medial position, LGW 2279; Pandyon, a spelling variant, appears once medially, LGW 2295. Pandiones, the ME genitive case, appears once, medially, LGW 2247.

J.L. Lowes, "Chaucer and the Ovide Moralisé." PMLA 33 (1918): 302-325; Ovid, Met, ed. and trans. F.J. Miller, I: 318-323; Chrétien de Troyes, La Muance de la hupé et l'aronde et de rossignol in OM, ed. C. de Boer, II, deel 21: 336-366.
From CHAUCER NAME DICTIONARY
Copyright © 1988, 1996 Jacqueline de Weever
Published by Garland Publishing, Inc., New York and London.
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