The house of Atreus, or the house of Pelops as it is sometimes known, was probably the unluckiest family of all Greek mythology. Death, murder, human sacrifice, incest, war, cannibalism and crimes against the gods form a curse that was passed down through each generation, dooming all who were born or married into the family. Some of the most famous characters and myths of the ancient Greeks were involved, including Helen of Troy, the Trojan War, King Menelaus and his brother King Agamemnon, Orestes and Electra, Pelops, and even Tantalus, the sinner who was punished for eternity in Tartarus.
Tantalus
Tantalus was king of an area around Mount Sipylus in Lydia, and a favourite of the gods, often being invited to dine with them. Famously, he offended the gods so much that he was thrown into Tartarus in Hades to be punished for eternity. In The Odyssey, Tantalus’ punishment is described; he suffers eternal thirst and hunger, but can never reach the water and fruit surrounding him (Book 11, lines 582-92). His terrible offence differs according to different accounts, but more usually he is accused of having cooked and served up his own son Pelops as food for the gods, in order to test their omniscience. The gods, understandably, were furious. Although this was not the official beginning of the curse, Tantalus’ line had already been tainted.
Pelops and the Chariot Race
The gods brought Pelops back to life, and he ruled as king in Lydia. He set his heart on winning the hand of the lovely Hippodameia, daughter of Oenomaus. However, Oenomaus had resolved never to let his daughter marry, after a prophecy warned him that he would die by the hand of her husband. He challenged all suitors to a chariot race, which, using immortal horses given to him by Ares, he inevitably won. After winning, he would execute the unlucky suitor. Pelops enlisted the help of Myrtilus, Oenomaus’ charioteer. Myrtilus replaced the linchpins in the chariot wheels with ones of wax, causing the chariot to crash, dragging Oenomaus to his death. Pelops refused to honour the bribe he had offered to Myrtilus, and threw him to his death into the sea. As he fell, Myrtilus cursed Pelops, a curse that affected his family for generations to come.
Atreus and Thyestes
The two eldest sons of Pelops, Atreus and Thyestes, fought constantly between themselves for the rule of Mycenae; the kingship passed between them several times before their deaths. When Atreus found out that his wife, Aerope, had committed adultery with Thyestes, he drowned her and punished Thyestes by killing and serving his sons to him, disguised as ordinary food. Thyestes sought help from an oracle, and was told he might have his revenge if he sired a child with his own daughter, Pelopia. His son, Aegisthus, was the result of that rape. Pelopia grabbed Thyestes’ sword, and Thyestes quickly fled. Later, Atreus married Pelopia, believing her to be the daughter of a different king, bringing the child Aegisthus up as his own. Years later, Atreus’ two sons, Menelaus and Agamemnon, captured Thyestes. As Aegisthus was about to kill him, Thyestes recognised his own sword and revealed his identity as Aegisthus’ father. Thyestes, unwilling to kill his own father, deceived and killed Atreus instead.
Menelaus and Helen of Troy
Menelaus married the beautiful Helen, later to be known as Helen of Troy, who was taken from him by the Trojan prince Paris, beginning a ten year war between Greece and Troy. Considering the other members of his family, Menelaus seems to have escaped lightly.
Agamemnon
Before sailing to Troy, Agamemnon sacrificed his own daughter Iphigenia to appease the anger of Artemis. Angered by this, his wife, Clytemnestra, began an affair with Aegisthus while her husband was away, plotting to murder him on his return. In some versions of the story, Aegisthus killed Agamemnon; in others, Clytemnestra lured her husband to his death at her hands.
The Oresteia – Orestes’ Revenge
Agamemnon’s son, Orestes, had been sent away by Aegisthus, who wished to rule in the king’s place. According to Homer, Orestes returned and successfully carried out vengeance by killing Aegisthus. In other versions of the myth, Orestes brought the wrath of the Furies down upon himself for the kin murder of his mother. In Euripides’ Electra, Orestes’ sister Electra was the driving force in seeking revenge against their mother, though it is Orestes who is pursued by the Furies.
The End of the Curse of the House of Atreus?
In Aeschylus’ Eumenides and Euripides’ Electra, Orestes is instructed to travel to Athens, where he will be absolved of his kin murder and purified in the eyes of the gods once more. Orestes ruled in Mycenae and Argos, and was born a son by Hermione, daughter of Helen and Menelaus. This son, Tisamenus, united the kingdoms of Sparta and Argos before being killed by the Heraclids.
The sufferings of the house of Atreus have captured the imaginations of writers and artists throughout the centuries.
Sources and Recommended Reading
March, Jenny. (1998) Cassell Dictionary of Classical Mythology. London: Cassell
Homer. The Odyssey, trans. E. V. Rieu. (2003) Penguin Classics. London: Penguin
Euripides. Electra, in trans. Philip Vellacott (2002) Medea and Other Plays. Penguin Classics. London: Penguin
Aeschylus. The Oresteia, trans. Robert Fagles (1977) Penguin Classics, Reprint Edition. London: Penguin
Victoria Hooper - Victoria Hooper is the acquisitions editor and acting editor for Polluto, a Spectrum Fantastic Arts award winning magazine published by ...
