ἡ ἀηδών, -όνος – a nightingale (> Epic ἀείδω = to sing)
ἡ ἀηδὼν ᾠδικός ἐστιν ὄρνις· κάλλιστα γὰρ ᾄδει ὁπόθεν ἔλαβε καὶ τὸ ὄνομα· συμβολικὸν δὲ ζῷόν ἐστι τῆς ποιητικῆς τέχνης καὶ οἱ ποιηταὶ μεταφορικῶς πολλάκις „ἀηδόνες“ καλοῦνται. λέγουσι δὲ ὅτι ἡ ἀηδὼν πάλαι ἦν γυνὴ ἣ ἄκουσα ἀπέκτεινε τὸν ὑιὸν, ὀνόματι Ἴτυν· αἰσχύνουσα οὖν ᾔτησε τὸν Δία γενέσθαι ὄρνις· ὁ δὲ Ζεὺς ἀηδόνα αὐτὴν ἐποίησε· ἔτι καὶ νῦν δὲ τῆς νυκτὸς κλαίει βοῶσα τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ ὑιοῦ· Ἴτυν, Ἴτυν.
The nightingale is a songbird: It sings most beautiful whence it also takes its name. It is a symbol for poetry, and poets are often metaphorically called „nightingales“. The story goes that the nightingale was once a woman who accidentally killed her son: Out of shame she asked Zeus to become a bird. Zeus turned her into a nightingale, and even nowadays during the night she still laments her son crying: „Itys, Itys!“