The House of Atreus

The House of Atreus

The Background

The House of Atreus, a tragic story of many generations passed down, is focused around on the

royal family of Mycenae which is said to be one of the most important families in literature. This story is

created from a curse, put on the whole family line.

When It First Begins

Tantalus, the son of Zeus had a foolish idea. He wanted to prove that he was better than the

gods, so he cut up his son Pelops and fed him to the gods thinking that they wouldn’t notice. None of

them noticed, except Demeter. Out of a rage, she cast him in Tartarus with eternal thirst and hunger. He

stood in water that only went up to his chin and above him were delicious fruits that he couldn’t reach.

The gods ‘threw up’ the parts of Pelops that they had eaten and reassembled him.

Pelops and Myrtilus

Pelops wished to marry Hippodamia who was known as a very beautiful woman. Hippodamia’s

father King Oenomaus only expected suitors that could beat him in a chariot race. If the suitor lost, then

they would die. However, Oenomaus excelled at chariot racing. There was no challenger that managed

to beat him so far. When learning this, Pelops managed to bribe Myrtilus, Oenomaus’s charioteer to

help him by telling him that he could sleep with Hippodamia if he won the chariot race. Myrtilus secured

the wheels in wax instead of wood. This made the wheels fall off after a few laps, due to the friction.

The crash killed Oenomaus, which meant that Pelops would marry Hippodamia. However, he had no

intention of keeping his promise to Myrtilus. When Myrtilus learned this, he kidnapped Hippodamia

in an effort to make her his own. Pelops found the two and threw Myrtilus off a cliff. Before he fell, he

cursed Pelops’ house which would lead to the cycle of bloodshed for the next few generations.

Atreus and Thyestes

Pelops’ sons Atreus and Thyestes had many disagreements along their life. The