CLAS 203 Lecture Notes - Lecture 19: Euripides, Thyestes, Aegisthus
25 Jan 2018
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Thyestes is thrown into prison at delphi, captured by agamemnon and menelaus. Atreus learns about his capture and tells aegisthus to kill thyestes. Aegisthus is in fact the son of thyestes; he is the product of a rape. Aegisthus goes to prison and draws his sword. Thyestes recognizes his own sword, lost while sexually assaulting pelopeia. She recognizes the sword and realizes it is her father who raped her. Pelopeia told aegisthus that he was the product of a rape. Pelopeia kills herself with the sword horrified by the fact that it is her own father who assaulted her. Aegisthus takes the bloody sword to atreus who rejoices as the sight of the sword; he thinks it means thyestes is finally dead. However, the blood is the one of pelopeia. Atreus rejoices and goes to sacrifice to the gods to thank them for finally killing his enemy. He goes to wash his hands in the river after the sacrifice.
