Thyestes

Overview

Thyestes is the brother and rival of Atreus whose struggle for the throne of Mycenae culminates in the horrific Feast of Thyestes. His later pursuit of revenge produces Aegisthus and carries the family feud into the generation of Agamemnon.

Generation

Heroic Age

Notes

Thyestes is the brother of Atreus and one of the central figures in the origins of the House of Atreus curse. Their rivalry for power at Mycenae becomes inseparable from betrayal within the family.

Aerope, the wife of Atreus, becomes involved with Thyestes. In important traditions she gives Thyestes a golden lamb or fleece connected with the right to rule, allowing him to challenge his brother's claim to the throne.

Atreus eventually regains the advantage and appears to offer reconciliation. The invitation to a banquet, however, is a trap. Atreus has killed the sons of Thyestes and serves their flesh to their father.

Thyestes unknowingly eats the meal before Atreus reveals the truth. The crime becomes one of the darkest acts of revenge in Greek mythology and deepens the violence already attached to the family.

After the feast, Thyestes seeks a way to destroy Atreus. In later tradition an oracle declares that a son born from Thyestes and his daughter Pelopia will kill Atreus. That child is Aegisthus.

Aegisthus is eventually raised within the household of Atreus without his true parentage being understood. Once the truth is revealed, Aegisthus kills Atreus and restores Thyestes to power.

The importance of Thyestes extends beyond his own generation. Aegisthus later becomes the lover of Clytemnestra and participates in the murder of Agamemnon, son of Atreus. The feud between the two brothers therefore survives through their descendants.

Thyestes represents the reciprocal nature of the family curse. He is first victim, then avenger, and his attempts to answer violence with violence ensure that the conflict continues into the next generation.