Thisbe kills herself on seeing Pyramus lying dead in front of the tomb of Ninus. Engraving by W. Walker, 1775, after C. Monnet.

Ovid. Metamorphoses IV.55-166. Thisbe was a Babylonian maiden beloved by Piramus. They lived in contiguous houses, and as their parents would not let them marry, they contrived to converse together through a hole in the garden wall. On one occasion, they agreed to meet at the tomb of King Ninus, and Thisbe, who was first at the spot, hearing a lion roar, ran away in fright, dropping her garment on the way. The lion seized the garment and tore it. When Piramus arrived and saw the garment, he concluded that a lion had killed Thisbe and killed himself. Thisbe returning to the tomb, saw Piramus dead, and killed herself also. This story is enacted in the "Midsummer night's dream" by Shakespeare. Ninus was the legendary king of Assyria