CLASS 4960 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Sage Gateshead, Aegisthus, Thyestes
Document Summary
Son of zeus and a frequent dinner guest of the gods. Chops up his son, pelops, and stirs him into the gods" food. Only demeter, grieving for persephone, is fooled (eats arm) Gods put pelops back together (with ivory arm) Gods condemn tantalus to eternal punishment in the underworld. Food and water always just out of reach. Oracle wants oenomaus to beware of death at hands of son-in-law. Bribes myrtilus, oenomaus" servant (offers half of kingdom) Atreus and thyestes kill chrysippus for their mother (curse of myrtilus!) Years later, atreus throws a reconciliation banquet for thyestes. Atreus serves thyestes the flesh of his two sons. If he fathers a son by his daughter pelopia, that son will avenge him. Many years later, a disguised thyestes rapes his daughter pelopia. Do not recognize each other after so long. Pelopia: pregnant with her father"s child; doesn"t tell atreus. Atreus" sons agamemnon and menelaus capture thyestes and bring him to.
