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<span style='font-size:8pt;line-height:100%'>*Note: there are lots of unlisted children and marriages as well, I only listed those with bearing on the story. I must really love you guys to put up with Visio for you.</span>
Just about the greatest sin which a mortal can commit in Greek myth is hubris. It is incumbent upon mankind to revere and do honor to the gods. When mortals start thinking that they are as good or better than the gods, then bad things happen to those people. This is the case with the grandfather and aunt of Atreus.
Tantalus: Being the son of Zeus, Tantalus was admitted to the halls of the gods and invited to banquets and the like. He was honored above other mortals because of this. But he became corrupt. He is said to have told mortals the secret things he learned from the gods, he stole nectar and ambrosia from the gods, and he even fed his own son Pelops to the gods at a banquet. Pelops is later restored to life by Demeter and given an ivory shoulder to replace the part she ate.
For this Tantalus was damned to spend eternity suffering various tortures. He is said to be up to his chin in water and with fruit laden branches hanging about his head. But if he tries to get a drink of water, it recedes leaving only parched earth. And if he tries to take a fruit, the branches are blown high so that he can not reach them. Therefore he suffers in thirst and hunger. To add to this torment, there is a precariously hanging rock above his head which he forever dreads falling.
Niobe: Niobe was greatly blessed by the gods with the birth of her many children and her marriage to the King of Thebes. However, Niobe boasted that she was greater then Leto because Leto had had only two children (albeit the gods Apollo and Artemis). Leto was insulted by this and asked her children to take vengeance. Apollo struck down all the male children and Artemis struck down all the female save only one, Chloris, who was spared because she prayed to Leto (or in other version another was spared as well).
Niobe was so distraught by this turn of events that she cried, tore her hair, raked her bosom, etc. (this is the way Greeks are depicted as mourning). Apollo eventually took pity on her and transformed her into a rock. So great was her grief that this rock continued to weep. Later, Niobe’s grandson Nestor is given an extraordinarily long life to make up for the lost lives of the Niobids.
This family just continues to get into more and more trouble though…
Pelops: After being restored to life by the gods, Pelops decided it would probably be best to leave his cannibalistic father behind. Pelops began wandering and making his own fortune in the world. He falls for Hippodamia, but her father has a policy that the only person who can marry her must beat him in a horse race. If they fail, they are put to death.
Pelops figures the only way to win is to cheat so he gets the king’s charioteer, Myrtilus (son of Hermes), to help him. For this aid, Pelops promises Myrtilus half of the kingdom (which he would win if he won the race).
This worked out, but Pelops reneged on the promise and killed Myrtilus. Before he died Myrtilus cursed Pelops and his family. You have to believe that the curse of a god’s son will stick.
Pelops becomes a great king and unites all of the Peloponnesus, which in fact is named after him. Unfortunately he will forever be known as an oath breaker and murderer.
Atreus: Atreus and his brothers were fierce rivals for the throne of Mycenae. Hippodamia, mother of Atreus and Thyestes plotted against their half-brother Chrysippus and killed him, thereby eliminating a contender for the throne.
At some point Atreus made a promise to Artemis to sacrifice to her his finest sheep. When he went to choose amongst his herd, there appeared in the flock a golden lamb. He became greedy and kept the lamb for himself, thus angering Artemis. Meanwhile, his wife Aerope was having an affair with his brother Thyestes. She conspired with Thyestes to set up a deal with Atreus that whoever should have the golden lamb should be king. Atreus figured that this was good since he was hiding the lamb safely so he agreed. Unknown to him the lamb had been stolen by Thyestes so Thyestes became king.
Atreus then got a message from the gods that he should convince Thyestes that if the sun where to reverse course then he should get the kingship. Thyestes figured this was a safe bet and agreed only to have the gods reverse the course of the sun on him. Atreus became king and banished his brother.
Later Atreus learned of his wife’s adultery with his brother and decided to take some extreme action. He pretended to want to make amends with Thyestes and invited him for a banquet. In the noble tradition of his family, the main course was Thyestes children. Atreus after the feast produced the severed limbs of the children and told Thyestes what had been done. And for good measure he banished Thyestes again.
Thyestes learned from an oracle that his revenge would only come if he begat a child with his own daughter. He raped his daughter Pelopia and from this union Aegisthus was born.
Aegisthus made good on the prophesy by killing Atreus and restoring Thyestes to the throne of Mycenae. Agamemnon and Menelaus were banished.
Agamemnon and Menelaus eventually return and overthrow and banish Thyestes once more.
So this is the state of the House of Atreus before the start of the Trojan Cycle. Basically, they are decended from a long line of adulterers, murderers, cannibals, and oath-breakers.
This post has been edited by hooligan: 24 April 2008 - 06:04 AM
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