The House of Atreus Amanda Hill

The Beginning Zeus & Plouto Zeus is the King of the Gods and son of the Titans Plouto is a nymph of Mount Sipylos in Lydia Together they gave birth to Tantalus Tantalus was given the region of Sipylus to rule Mount Sipylos is known for the Manisa relief, a face carved into rock cliff near the mountain

Tantalus The Family of Tantalus The accounts of his wife differ Either she was Euryanassa or Eurythemista, both daughters of river gods, or Clytie, daughter of Aphidamantess, or Dione, one of the Pleiades Together they had three children Broteas Pelops Niobe

The Famous Dinner The Crimes of Tantalus Tantalus hosted a dinner in which he invited the Gods Three versions of the crimes of Tantalus He gossiped with mortals about the divine plans of the gods Stole divine nectar and ambrosia to the mortals To test the knowledge of the Gods he cut up and served his son Pelops in a stew

FOILED! The Gods knew The Gods immediately knew that Tantalus fed them Pelops No one except Demeter ate the stew She was distracted by the loss of her daughter, Persephone, to Hades The Gods put Pelops back together They needed to give him an ivory shoulder because Demeter ate his original one

The Punishment of Tantalus The Underworld Tantalus’ kingdom was cursed by the Gods and Tantalus was placed in the Underworld His punishment was that he was forever hungry but could never reach the fruit from the tree above him and he was forever thirsty but could never drink from the pool he stood in We see Tantalus during Odysseus’ journey to the Underworld in the Odyssey

Tantalus’ Children Broteas and Niobe Broteas Niobe A great hunter, refused to honor Artemis so the Goddess drove him mad and he killed himself. It is said that he had a son named Tantalus. Niobe Married King Amphion of Thebes and had six sons and six daughters. She bragged about it to the Titan Leto whose two children, Artemis and Apollo, killed all of Niobe’s children in revenge. She was eventually turned into a rock on Mount Sipylus called the Weeping Rock

Tantalus’ Children Pelops and the Curse Pelops Married Hippodamia after defeating and killing her father in a chariot race and also Myrtilus Pelops gained help from Poseidon Had three sons: Atreus, Thyestes, and Chrysippus Atreus and Thyestes killed Chrysippus and were banished Hippodamia hanged herself His bones were brought to Troy by the Greeks during the Trojan War because prophecy told them it would help them conquer the city

Atreus and Thyestes Brotherly Strife Atreus becomes King of Mycenae and has two sons, Agamemnon and Menelaus, with his wife Aerope He makes a vow to sacrifice his best lamb to Artemis, but he finds a golden lamb too good to give up and gives it to Aerope Aerope and Thyestes were having an affair, and so Aerope gave the golden lamb to him which he used to claim the Mycenae throne Thyestes agreed to give back the throne when the sun moved backwards Zeus made it happen and Atreus reclaimed the throne and banished his brother

Atreus and Thyestes It Gets Worse Atreus finds out about the affair and seeks revenge Atreus invites Thyestes to a feast comprised of pieces of his dead sons, Tantalus and Pleisthenes Thyestes and his daughter, Pelopia, were cast into exile An oracle predicted that if Thyestes had a son with Pelopia the son would one day kill Atreus Therefore, Thyestes rapes his daughter

Atreus and Thyestes Back in Mycenae A famine plagues the city that can only end with the return of Thyestes Atreus searches for Thyestes and finds Pelopia who he marries Pelopia is pregnant with Thyestes son at this point She lets Atreus believe it is his son, Aegisthus Years pass and Agamemnon and Menelaus find Thyestes and bring him back to Mycenae for their father Atreus throws Thyestes into a Dungeon in hopes of ending the famine

Atreus and Thyestes Back in Mycenae Atreus demands that Aegisthus kill Thyestes Pelopia recognizes Thyestes as her rapist and kills herself Aegisthus kills Atreus Thyestes ascends to power for a brief reign Exiles Agamemnon and Menelaus to Sparta King Tyndareus of Sparta help Agamemnon and Menelaus overthrow and exile Thyestes Offers his daughters, Clytemnestra and Helen, to the brothers as a token of good will

Menelaus The Life of Menelaus Helen is stolen from Menelaus and given to Paris as a prize for selecting Aphrodite at the Judgement of Paris Menelaus and Agamemnon take the Greeks to war against the Trojans in the 10 year long Trojan War The Greeks win and Menelaus recovers his lost wife Menelaus and Helen have no male heir

Agamemnon The Life of Agamemnon Agamemnon leaves Clytemnestra behind to go off and fight in the Trojan War They have a son, Orestes Aegisthus has an affair with Clytemnestra while Agamemnon is away Together they have three children Agamemnon returns from war only to be murdered by Aegisthus and Clytemnestra

Orestes The Life of Orestes Years after the death of his father, Agamemnon, Orestes returns to Mycenae and kills both his mother and Aegisthus The Gods decide to exonerate Orestes and this is the end of the curse on the house of Atreus Orestes marries Hermione, the daughter of Menelaus and Helen They have a son, Tisamenus, who takes over the kingdom of Orestes and later dies in battle Eventually dies of a snakebite

The End of the Curse of the House of Atreus

Biblography “Broteas.” Greek Mythology, www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Mortals/Broteas/broteas.html“King Thyestes in Cartwright , Mark. “Tantalus.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, 28 Feb. 2017, www.ancient.eu/Tantalus/. Greek Mythology.” Greek Legends and Myths, www.greeklegendsandmyths.com/thyestes.html. Kamil, Miriam. “The Curse of the House of Atreus.” Ancient Origins, Ancient Origins, 7 Sept. 2014, www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/curse-house-atreus-002048. “PLOUTO.” PLUTO (Plouto) - Lydian Nymph of Greek Mythology, www.theoi.com/Nymphe/NymphePlouto.html. Struck, Peter. Greek & Roman Mythology - Greek Tragedy, www.classics.upenn.edu/myth/php/tragedy/index.php?page=atreus. The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Orestes.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 12 Nov. 2010, www.britannica.com/topic/Orestes-Greek-mythology. The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Niobe.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 18 Apr. 2013, www.britannica.com/topic/Niobe-Greek-mythology.