Pelopia and the Birth of Aegisthus
Thyestes fathers Aegisthus through his daughter Pelopia, creating the next generation of the feud that will eventually destroy Atreus and Agamemnon.
The Story
After the terrible feast prepared by Atreus, Thyestes sought a way to take revenge on his brother.
In later mythic tradition, an oracle told Thyestes that a son born from his own daughter would eventually kill Atreus.
His daughter Pelopia was living away from Mycenae.
Thyestes encountered her without revealing his identity and fathered a child by her.
During the encounter Pelopia obtained the sword carried by the unknown man.
She later returned to Mycenae, where Atreus took her as his wife.
When Pelopia gave birth to a son, she abandoned the infant.
The child survived and was raised under the protection of Atreus.
He was named Aegisthus.
Atreus believed the boy belonged to his own household and did not initially understand his true parentage.
Years later Thyestes was captured and brought before Atreus.
Atreus ordered the young Aegisthus to kill him.
But Thyestes recognised the sword Aegisthus carried.
It was the same weapon Pelopia had taken from the man who fathered her child.
The truth was revealed.
Aegisthus was not the son of Atreus.
He was the son of Thyestes and Pelopia.
The discovery had devastating consequences.
Pelopia, confronted with the truth of Aegisthus' conception, took her own life in influential versions of the story.
Aegisthus then turned against Atreus.
The child raised within Atreus' own household became the instrument of Thyestes' revenge.
The feud between the brothers had produced another generation shaped by secrecy, violence and inherited vengeance.
Key Figures
Why It Matters
The birth of Aegisthus connects the feud of Atreus and Thyestes directly with the later murder of Agamemnon. Aegisthus becomes both a product of the family's violence and one of the principal agents through whom that violence continues.
Traditions & Variations
The surviving traditions concerning Pelopia and the conception of Aegisthus vary in detail, especially in later mythographic and dramatic sources. The recognition through Thyestes' sword and Aegisthus' role as the avenger of Thyestes became important elements of the story.