Pelops (King)
heroSon of Tantalus, restored to life by the gods with an ivory shoulder, who won his bride by cheating in a chariot race and cursed his line.
The Myth
The gods killed him, ate part of him, and brought him back — with an ivory shoulder to replace the one Demeter accidentally consumed. After his father Tantalus served him as a stew, the gods reassembled Pelops. Demeter had eaten his left shoulder, so Hephaestus made him an ivory replacement. Poseidon, enchanted by the restored youth, gave him a golden chariot and winged horses. Pelops used them to win the hand of Hippodamia by defeating her father Oenomaus in a chariot race — but he cheated, bribing Oenomaus's charioteer Myrtilus to sabotage the wheels. He then killed Myrtilus, who cursed the entire Pelopid line. That curse produced Atreus, Thyestes, Agamemnon, and the chain of murders.
Parents
Symbols
Fun Fact
The Peloponnese — island of Pelops — is named after him, making a resurrected cannibal victim the namesake of southern Greece.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
Explore Further
Pelops
heroPelops was the prince served as food to the gods by his father Tantalus, restored to life with an...
Tantalus
heroA king who offended the gods by serving them his own son as a meal. His punishment in Tartarus —...
Tantalus (Punishment)
heroKing invited to dine with the gods who stole nectar and ambrosia and served his son Pelops as a...
Atreus
heroKing of Mycenae who murdered his nephews and fed them to his brother Thyestes, establishing the...
Hippodamia of the Lapiths
heroLapith princess whose wedding to Pirithous was disrupted when centaurs attempted to abduct her,...
Myrtilus
heroCharioteer of King Oenomaus bribed by Pelops to sabotage his master's chariot, then murdered by...
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...
Demeter
godGoddess of grain, harvest, and the fertility of the earth. When her daughter Persephone was...
Demeter (Grain)
godDemeter was the goddess of grain, harvest, and fertility whose grief over Persephone's abduction...
Demeter Thesmophoros
godAn epithet of Demeter as bringer of divine law and civilised customs, honoured at the Thesmophoria,...
Hephaestus
godThe divine blacksmith of Olympus, god of fire and the forge. Despite being lame, Hephaestus created...