Home > Thyestes

Atreus retook the throne using advice he received from Hermes. Thyestes agreed to give the kingdom back when the sun moved backwards in the sky, a feat that Zeus accomplished. Atreus retook the throne and banished Thyestes.

Atreus then learned of Thyestes' and Aerope's adultery and plotted revenge. He killed Thyestes' sons and cooked them, save their hands and feet. He served Thyestes his own sons and then taunted him with their hands and feet. This is the source of modern phrase: Thyestian Feast, or one at which human flesh is served.

An oracle then advised Thyestes that, if he had a son with his own daughter ( Pelopia), that son would kill Atreus. Thyestes did so and the son, Aegisthus, did kill Atreus. However, when Aegisthus was first born, he was abandoned by his mother, ashamed of her incestuous act. A shepherd found the infant Aegisthus and gave him to Atreus, who raised him as his own son. Only as he entered adulthood did Thyestes reveal the truth to Aegisthus, that he was both father and uncle to the boy. Aegisthus then killed Atreus.

Aegisthus and Thyestes ruled over Mycenae jointly, exiling Atreus' sons, AgamemnonAgamemnon ( Greek: ) ("very resolute"), one of the most distinguished of the Greek heroes, was the son of King Atreus of Mycenae (or Argos) and Queen Aerope, and brother of Menelaus. Another account makes him the son of Pleisthenes (the son or father of A and MenelausMenelaus (also transliterated as Menelaos , in Greek mythology, was a king of Sparta and son of Atreus and Aerope. Atreus was murdered by his nephew, Aegisthus, who took possession of the throne of Mycenae and ruled jointly with his father Thyestes. Durin to SpartaThis page is about the ancient and modern Greek city of Sparta. For other uses see: Sparta (disambiguation Sparta was an ancient city in Greece, the capital of Laconia and the most powerful state of the Peloponnesus. The city lay at the northern end of th, where King TyndareusIn Greek mythology, Tyndareus (or Tyndareos was a Spartan king, son of Oebalus (or Perieres) and Gorgophone (or Bateia), husband of Leda and father of Castor, Polydeuces (Pollux), Philonoe, Clytemnestra and Helen. Tyndareus' wife, Leda, was seduced by Zeu gave the pair their wives, his daughters, ClytemnestraClytemnestra (also Klytaimnestra or Clytaemnestra "praiseworthy wooing") was the wife of Agamemnon, king of the Greek kingdom of Mycenae or Argos. She is the daughter of Tyndareus and Leda and mother of Iphigeneia, Orestes, Chrysothemis and Electra. She i and HelenThis article is about Helen of Troy. For other uses of Helen, see Helen (disambiguation). Helen of Troy redirects here. For the figure in punk music, see Helen Wellington-Lloyd. Helen (Greek ) was a figure from Greek mythology. The name is perhaps related. When Tyndareus died, he gave his throne to Menelaus, who then helped Agamemnon overthrow Aegisthus and Thyestes.

When Agamemnon left Mycenae for the Trojan War, Aegisthus seduced his wife, Clytemnestra, and plotted to kill her husband upon his return. They succeeded, killing Agamemnon and his new concubine, Cassandra. Eight years later, Agamemnon's son, Orestes returned to Mycenae and, with the help of his sister Electra, killed both their mother, Clytemnestra, and Aegisthus.