Phyllis. Phyllis is a character in Greek mythology, daughter of a Thracian king.
She marries Demophon, King of Athens and son of Theseus, while he stops in Thrace on his journey home from the Trojan War. Demophon, duty bound to Greece, returns home to help his father, leaving Phyllis behind.
She sends him away with a casket, telling him that it contains a sacrament of Rhea and asking him to open it only if he has given up hope of returning to her. From here, the story diverges.
In one version, Phyllis realizes that he will not return and commits suicide by hanging herself from a tree. Where she is buried, an almond tree grows, which blossoms when Demophon returns to her.
In another version, Demophon opens the casket and, horrified by what he sees inside, rides off in such great haste that his horse stumbles and he accidentally falls on his own sword. There is also some confusion regarding which nut tree she becomes, as hazelnuts were long called nux Phyllidos, and are still sometimes called filberts today. In English, this version goes back at least to Gower, who wrote in Confessio Amantis:.mw-parser-output.templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output.templatequote.templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0} That Phyllis in the same throwe Was schape into a notetre, That alle men it mihte se, And after Phyllis phill