Atreus
heroKing of Mycenae who murdered his nephews and fed them to his brother Thyestes, establishing the bloodiest family curse in myth.
The Myth
He cooked his brother's children and served them at a reconciliation dinner — the original revenge served cold. After Thyestes seduced Atreus's wife and tried to steal his throne, Atreus lured him back with a false offer of peace. He killed Thyestes's young sons, butchered them, and cooked their flesh into a stew. At the feast, Thyestes ate unknowingly. Atreus then produced the children's severed heads and hands. The House of Atreus was cursed from that day forward: Agamemnon sacrificed Iphigenia, Clytemnestra murdered Agamemnon, Orestes killed Clytemnestra. Every generation inherits the violence. Seneca's Thyestes is one of the most disturbing plays in classical literature.
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Symbols
Fun Fact
The phrase House of Atreus became a byword for a family destroyed by inherited violence.
Explore Further
Thyestes
heroBrother of Atreus who seduced his sister-in-law and was tricked into eating his own children at the...
Agamemnon
heroAgamemnon led the Greek coalition against Troy but was murdered upon return by his wife...
Clytemnestra
heroClytemnestra murdered Agamemnon on his return from Troy, driven by rage over Iphigenia's sacrifice.
Menelaus
heroMenelaus was the king of Sparta whose stolen wife Helen was the cause of the Trojan War — yet he...
Orestes
heroOrestes killed his mother to avenge his father — then was acquitted by Athena's court.
Pelops
heroPelops was the prince served as food to the gods by his father Tantalus, restored to life with an...
Pelops (King)
heroSon of Tantalus, restored to life by the gods with an ivory shoulder, who won his bride by cheating...
Hippodamia of the Lapiths
heroLapith princess whose wedding to Pirithous was disrupted when centaurs attempted to abduct her,...
Iphigenia
heroIphigenia was Agamemnon's eldest daughter, sacrificed at Aulis to gain winds for Troy — or rescued...
Aegisthus
heroSon of Thyestes who murdered Agamemnon to avenge his father, ruling Mycenae with Clytemnestra for...
Electra
heroDaughter of Agamemnon who plotted with her brother Orestes to avenge their father's murder by...
Myrtilus
heroCharioteer of King Oenomaus bribed by Pelops to sabotage his master's chariot, then murdered by...