he tragic story of Pyramus and Thisbe sounds very much like Romeo and Juliet, and one wonders if it is where William Shakespeare got his inspiration for the play. The tale was first told by Ovid in Metamorphoses. This Roman myth is as follows:
Two neighboring youths, Pyramus and Thisbe, fall in love. The only problem is that their families hate each other. They are forbidden to meet in person, so they communicate through a small chink in the shared wall between their houses. One day, they decide to meet at Ninus' tomb (Ninus is believed to be the one who started the city of Nineveh, capital of Assyria). They long to be together, as lovers do, to declare their feelings in person.
However, a horrible misunderstanding ensues! When Thisbe arrives, she sees a lioness with a bloody mouth who has just finished killing her prey. Terrified, Thisbe flees, but leaves behind her veil. The lioness randomly shreds the veil, smearing it with blood. When Pyramus arrives, he sees the veil, and he is horrified, assuming the lioness has slaughtered Thisbe.
As was the Roman way, he commits suicide by falling on his sword. As he falls, his blood stains the white fruit born by the Mulberry tree. Thisbe returns to the tomb to find Pyramus dead. Grief stricken, she, too falls on Pyramus' sword and kills herself. In pity, the gods permanently turn the fruit of Mulberry trees a crimson color.