Thyestes

                     In Greek mythology, Thyestes was described as the son of  Pelops and his wife, Hippodamia1, and and father of Pelopia and Aegisthus.

Thyestes

                                      Thyestes and his brother, Atreus, were exiled by their father (Pelops)  for having murdered their half-brother, Chrysippus, in their desire for the throne of Olympia. They took refuge in Mycenae, where they ascended the throne upon the absence of King Eurystheus, who was fighting the Heracleidae. Eurystheus had meant for their lordship to be temporary, and it became permanent because of his death in conflict.
                                               Atreus, Thyestes' brother became the king of Mycenae, vowed to sacrifice his best lamb to goddess Artemis. Upon searching his flock, however, Atreus discovered a golden lamb which he gave to his wife, Aerope, to hide from the goddess. But Atreus' wife, Aerope, had secret love affair with Thyestes, gave golden lamp to Thyestes. 
                                    Thyestes, then convinced Atreus to agree that whoever had the lamb should be king. Thyestes produced the lamb and claimed the throne.
                             But Zeus sent Hermes to instruct Atreus to make a new agreement with Thyestes by which Atreus should be king if the sun should go backwards. And when Thyestes  agreed to this impossibility, the sun set in the east, as nothing was impossible for Zeus, the king of gods.
                 Atreus again became the king, but Atreus couldn't let it go at that. He was still very angry at his wife and Thyestes. So he pretended to be friendly and invited Thyestes to come over for a special dinner according to family tradition,  (one resembling the dinner that his grandfather Tantalus had once offered to the gods).  Atreus  slaughtered two or three of Thyestes's sons, and cutting them limb from limb, boiled them and served them up to Thyestes, except the extremities, which he showed to Thyestes, once the latter had eaten what he thought to be a delicious meal. Thyestes was forced into exile for eating the flesh of a human. 

Pelopia..........

                                                                               Thyestes  visited the Oracle of Delphi, asking how he could have vengeance on his brother, and the Oracle answered that he must lie with his daughter Pelopia  and beget a son who would avenge him. Later, when Thyestes  came to Sicyon, he found that they were sacrificing to goddess Athena by night, and fearing to profane the rites, he hid in a grove. Pelopia, who happened to lead the dancing groups during the sacrifice, slipped and stained her clothes with the blood of the slain victim, and when she went to a nearby stream to wash off the blood, she was raped by her own father who suddenly came out of the grove. But while he stole her virginity, she stole his sword.

                                                              Soon after that, Atreus came to Sicyon in search of his brother, met Pelopia in the court, and believing that she was Thesprotus's daughter, asked the king that she be given to him in marriage. The king granted Atreus' wish, Atreus married Pelopia, and she afterward bore Aegisthus. Atreus believed this child to be his own, but Aegisthus was in fact the son of Thyestes. 
                            In other version, when Aegisthus was  born, he was abandoned by his mother. He was suckled by a she-goat and survived. A shepherd found the infant Aegisthus and gave him to Atreus, who raised him as his own son.
                                                     After many years, Thyestes was captured by Agamemnon and Menelaus at Delphi and brought to Atreus, who ordered Aegisthus to kill him.   Aegisthus came to the prison to carry out Atreus' order, but he appeared in front of the prisoner wearing the sword that Thyestes had lost when he ravished his own daughter Pelopia. When Thyestes asked him where he had got it, Aegisthus replied that his mother Pelopia had given it to him. They then summoned Pelopia, who declared that she had stolen it from the unknown man who had raped her by night, the same who was Aegisthus' father. This is how father and son learned who they were, but Pelopia, realising who the father of her son was, snatched the sword and plunged it in her breast. Aegisthus then killed Atreus and restored the kingdom to Thyestes.
                             While Thyestes ruled Mycenae, the sons of Atreus, Agamemnon and Menelaus, were exiled to Sparta. There, King Tyndareus accepted them as the royalty that they were. Shortly after, he helped the brothers return to Mycenae to overthrow Thyestes, forcing him to live in Cytheria. As a token of good will and allegiance, King Tyndareus offered his daughters to Agamemnon and Menelaus as wives, Clytemnestra and Helen respectively.

Index                                                           

Atreus

   In Greek mythology, Atreus was described as the son of Pelops and his wife, Hippodamia1.  

Atreus

                      Atreus and his brother Thyestes murdered Chrysippus (son of Pelops and the nymph Axioche), who was their half-brother.They had been sent by their mother, Hippodamia, who feared Chrysippus would inherit Pelops's throne instead of her sons. Atreus and Thyestes, together with their mother, were banished by Pelops and took refuge in Mycenae. There Hippodamia hung herself.
                                       In some version, Alcathous,Atreus and Thyestes murdered Chrysippus. After the crime the three brothers fled, Alcathous went to Megara, and Atreus and Thyestes stopped at Mycenae.
                                       In any case, Atreus became king of Mycenae. Atreus vowed to sacrifice his best lamb to goddess Artemis. Upon searching his flock, however, Atreus discovered a golden lamb which he gave to his wife, Aerope, to hide from the goddess. Atreus and Aerope had had two sons, Agamemnon and Menelaus, and a daughter Anaxibia. Aerope had an extramarital affair with her husband brother,Thyestes, gave golden lamb to Thyestes. 
                   Thyestes then convinced Atreus to agree that whoever had the lamb should be king. Thyestes produced the lamb and claimed the throne. 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 tricked Thyestes into eating the flesh of his own sons and then taunted him with their hands and feet. Thyestes was forced into exile for eating the flesh of a human. 

 Then Thyestes visited the Oracle of Delphi, asking how he could have vengeance on his brother, and the Oracle answered that he should have a son by his daughter, Pelopia, who would then kill Atreus. Pelopia, at the time was staying in Sicyon at the court of king Thesprotus,  came to the bank of a river to wash her clothes that had been stained with blood during a sacrificial rite, Thyestes, covering his face, attacked and raped her. She managed to pull out his sword and kept it so she could recognize her offender.

Atreus and Pelopia.....

                 Soon after that, Atreus came to Sicyon in search of his brother, Atreus thought that Pelopia was daughter of king Thesprotus. Atreus married Pelopia, and she afterward bore Aegisthus. Atreus believed this child to be his own, but Aegisthus was in fact the son of Thyestes.
                                In other version, when Aegisthus was  born, he was abandoned by his mother. He was suckled by a she-goat and survived. A shepherd found the infant Aegisthus and gave him to Atreus, who raised him as his own son.
                      Later, Thyestes was captured by Agamemnon and Menelaus at Delphi and brought to Atreus, who sent Aegisthus to kill him. Aegisthus happened to be carrying the sword that once belonged to Thyestes and was later given to him by Pelopia. Thyestes recognized the sword and asked Aegisthus about it. Aegisthus called for Pelopia, who told him how the weapon had got to her. Upon recognizing Thyestes and the fact that he was the rapist, Pelopia stabbed herself with her father's sword.  While Atreus was sacrificing on the shore, Aegisthus slew him and restored his father to the throne, forcing Agamemnon and Menelaus to go into exile to the court of King Polyphides of Sicyon. But the Atrides returned after some years, Agamemnon reigning in Mycenae and Menelaus in Sparta, and Atreus was buried in Mycenae, along with the treasures that he and his children stored in underground chambers.


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Odysseus

In Greek mythology, Odysseus was described as the king of Ithaca, son of son of Laertes and Anticleia (daughter of Autolycus1). In some version, Odysseus was described as the son of  Sisyphus and Anticleia.
                                                                 

Odysseus

  
   When Helen was to be married, many suitors came from the whole of Greek, wishing to win her hand, and among them came Odysseus. King Tyndareus of Sparta, Helen's stepfather, feared then that the preference of one suitor might provoke the enmity of the others, and so Odysseus promised him that, if Tyndareus would help him to win the hand of  Helen's sister Penelope, he would suggest a way by which there would be no dispute among the suitors. 

Odysseus and Penelope

When Tyndareus agreed, promising to help him, Odysseus told him to exact an oath from all the suitors of Helen that they would defend the favored bridegroom against any wrong that might be done him in respect of his marriage. So when Menelaus won the hand of Helen, all accepted it in virtue of the oath, and thus Odysseus married Penelope, who was the prize of such a wise advice. But later the seducer Paris abducted Helen, and so the kings of Greek, being bound by the oath of Tyndareus, were forced, after being summoned by Menelaus and his brother Agamemnon, to join the alliance that sailed to Troy with the purpose of obtaining, either peacefully or by force, the restoration of Helen and the property.

                                       It had been prophesied that Odysseus would not return to his island for a long time if he joined the Greek army against Troy, so he pretended to be crazy when Palamedes came to Ithaca to enroll him. He put on torn clothes, and tried to sow the land with salt, while ploughing the fields with a goat and an ox. Palamedes then put the Odysseus's infant son, Telemachus, in front of the plough which made Odysseus stop, revealing his sanity. After this, Odysseus hated Palamedes, and in some version, later Odysseus got his revenge through forging a letter from the Tojan king to Palamedes and burying gold under his tent. When the letter and the gold were discovered Palamedes was accused of treason and sentenced to death.

Achilles disguised as woman and Odysseus

 Odysseus and other envoys of Agamemnon then traveled to Scyros to recruit Achilles because of a prophecy that Troy could not be taken without him. Thetis, Achilles's mother, disguised the youth as a woman to hide him from the recruiters because an oracle had predicted that Achilles would either live a long, uneventful life or achieve everlasting glory while dying young. When Odysseus found that one of the girls at court was not a girl, he came up with a plan to reveal the truth. Raising an alarm that they were under attack Odysseus knew that the young Achilles would instinctively run for his weapons and armor, thereby revealing himself. Seeing that she could no longer prevent her son from realizing his destiny, Thetis then had Hephaestus make a shield and armor.

Odysseus with Diomedes in Trojan war

                  During the Trojan war Odysseus played an important part. Together with Diomedes he stole king Rhesus' horses, but the very next day he was wounded in battle. When Achilles was killed he held the Trojans back while Ajax carried the dead hero back to the camp. After the burial it was decided that Odysseus and not Ajax should get Achilles armor. Odysseus was also the one to convince 50 of the Greek heroes to hide inside the Trojan horse.

                                     When the Trojan War ended, Odysseus set sail for his homeland of Ithaca with a number of companions in several ships. They first stopped in the land of the Cicones. After sacking the city there, they were driven off and suffered significant losses. Next they arrived at the land of the lotus-eaters, so named because the people there ate the honey-sweet fruit from the lotus plant. This fruit acted like a drug, and when some of the Greeks ate it, they lost all desire to return home. Odysseus had to drag them to the ships and tie them down before he could set sail again.

Odysseus blinding Polyphemus

                  Odysseus next arrived at the land of the Cyclopes2, a race of one-eyed savage giants. When Odysseus and some of his men went into a large cave, the Cyclopes2 Polyphemus trapped them inside by rolling a huge stone across the entrance. Polyphemus, a son of Poseidon, proceeded to kill and eat several of Odysseus's men, and the survivors lost nearly all hope of escaping. Odysseus came up with a plan. After blinding Polyphemus with a stake, he and his men escaped the cave by clinging to the undersides of the giant's sheep as they were let out to graze. Odysseus and his companions ran to their ships and set sail. Polyphemus hurled rocks at them and called on Poseidon to take revenge against Odysseus.
                                  Odysseus landed next on the island of Aeolus, the keeper of the winds. Aeolus listened eagerly to Odysseus's tales of the Trojan War and gave the hero a bag containing all the storm winds. With these winds, Odysseus would be able to sail safely and quickly to Ithaca. After setting sail, however, his men became curious about the bag. Thinking that it might contain gold and jewels, they opened it and released the winds. The winds tossed the ships about and blew them back to the island of Aeolus. Aeolus refused to help Odysseus again and ordered the ships to leave.
                    After sailing for some time, Odysseus came to the land of the Laestrygonians, a race of cannibal giants. The giants destroyed all but one of his ships and ate many of his men. Barely escaping these dreadful creatures, Odysseus and his surviving companions traveled on to the island of Circe, a powerful enchantress. Circe cast a spell on some of Odysseus's men and turned them into pigs. Protected by a magical herb given to him by Hermes, Odysseus forced the enchantress to reverse her spell, and his men resumed their human form. Circe then invited Odysseus and his men to remain as her guests.

Odysseus and Circe

              Odysseus stayed with Circe for a year. Circe bore Odysseus three sons: Ardeas (or Agrius), Latinus; and Telegonus, who ruled over the Tyrsenoi. She told Odysseus that he must visit the underworld and consult the blind prophet Tiresias before returning to his homeland. Reluctantly and full of dread, Odysseus went to the kingdom of the dead. While there, he met his dead mother, Anticlea, and the spirits of Agamemnon, Achilles, and other Greek heroes. Tiresias told Odysseus what to expect and do during the rest of his journey and after he returned home to Ithaca.

Odysseus and Sirens

                                 After leaving the underworld, Odysseus went back to Circe's island for a short stay. Before he set sail again, the enchantress warned him about some of the dangers he still faced and advised him how to survive them. The first of these dangers was the Sirens, evil sea nymphs who lured sailors to their deaths with their beautiful singing. Odysseus ordered his men to plug their ears with wax so they would not hear the Sirens' song. Wanting to hear their songs himself, he had his men tie him to the ship's mast so that he could not be lured away.  Crazed with the Sirens' song Odysseus tried to sign to the crew to let him go, but they could not hear anything, and had promised the hero that they would not let him go no matter what.

              Odysseus and his men next faced the monsters Scylla and Charybdis, who guarded a narrow channel through which their ship had to pass. Odysseus barely escaped the monsters, and he lost some of his men to them. The survivors reached the island of the sacred cattle of the sun god Helios. Both Tiresias and Circe had warned Odysseus not to harm any of these animals, but his men ignored the warning and killed some of them as a sacrifice and for food. 

Odysseus and Helios cattle

When Helios complained to the gods, Zeus sent a storm that destroyed Odysseus's ship and drowned all his remaining companions. Alone, Odysseus was washed ashore on the island of Ogygia, where Calypso compelled him to remain as her lover for many years before he finally escaped upon Hermes telling Calypso to release Odysseus.

Odysseus and Calypso

                     After almost nine years, Odysseus finally leaves Calypso and at last arrives in Ithaca, where his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus, have been struggling to maintain their authority during his prolonged absence. Recognized at first only by his faithful dog and a nurse, Odysseus proves his identity, with the aid of goddess Athena by accomplishing Penelope’s test of stringing and shooting with his old bow.

Odysseus and Penelope reunion

 He then, with the help of Telemachus and two slaves, slays Penelope’s suitors. Penelope still does not believe him and gives him one further test. But at last she knows it is he and accepts him as her long-lost husband and the king of Ithaca.

                          Later, when Telegonus learned from his mother Circe that he was son of Odysseus, he sailed in search of his father. Having come to Ithaca, he drove away some of the cattle, and when Odysseus defended them, Telegonus  wounded him with the spear he had in his hands, which was barbed with the spine of a stingray, and Odysseus died of the wound. Telegonus then recognized him, and bitterly lamented what he had done.  According to other version, Odysseus died of old age.

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Oeneus

In Greek mythology, Oeneus was described as was king of Pleuron and Calydon in Aetolia. Oeneus was the son of of Porthaon and Euryte, and brother of Agrius and Melas.

Oeneus....

                               Oeneus was married to Althaea by whom he became the father of Toxeus, Thyreus, Clymenus, and Meleager, and of two daughters, Gorge and Deianeira. According to other version, Deianeira  was daughter of Dionysus, the wine god. When Dionysus had come as a guest to Oeneus, he fell in love with Althaea.  Dionysus seduced Althaea with the full consent of her husband, Oeneus, who had received the gift of the vine (grape plant). Oeneus introduced wine-making to Aetolia, which he learned from Dionysus.
 In some version, Meleager was was described as the daughter of Ares, the god of war, as Althaea had an illicit sexual relationship with Ares.

Oeneus forgot to sacrifice the first fruits of his harvest to goddess Artemis

                           Once, Oeneus neglected to sacrifice the first fruits of his harvest to the powerful goddess Artemis, she sends a great wild boar to ravage the land. Heroes come from all over Greece to participate in the Calydonian boar hunt that ensues. The athletic heroine Atalanta wounds the boar, and Meleager finishes it off. There exist varying accounts of the ensuing events; in one, Meleager’s mother, Althaea, causes his death and then kills herself.

                       Oeneus’s second wife was Periboea (daughter of Hipponous), with whom he became father of Tydeus. In one version, Tydeus was described as the son of Oeneus by his own daughter, Gorge. Tydeus, was exiled for murder, and Oeneus was deposed by his own brother, Agrius.

                        Tydeus died on the expedition of the Seven Against Thebes, but his son Diomedes returned and restored Oeneus to the throne. Oeneus handed Calydon over to his son-in-law Andraemon, the husband of Gorge. Oeneus either died of natural causes or was killed by the surviving sons of Agrius who laid an ambush against him while Diomedes was transporting him to Peloponessus. He was buried in Argos by Diomedes, and a town was named Oenoe after him.

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Meleager

                                                     In Greek mythology, Meleager was described as the son of Oeneus, king of Calydon, and Althaea.  According to some versions, Althaea had an illicit sexual relationship with Ares, god of war and  Meleager was described as the son of Ares.

Meleager and Atalanta

                                                When Meleager was born, the Moirai (Fates) predicted he would only live until a brand, burning in the family hearth, was consumed by fire. Overhearing them, Althaea immediately doused and hid the brand .

Birth of Meleager

                                                      Meleager married Cleopatra, daughter of Idas and Marpessa, and had a daughter, Polydora.  Meleager was one of the Argonauts.
                                     Meleager's father, Oeneus, while sacrificing the first fruits of the annual crops of the country to all the gods, had forgotten goddess Artemis. To punish his negligence, the goddess sent a boar of extraordinary size and strength that prevented the land from being sown, and destroyed both cattle and people. To get rid of the nuisance, King Oeneus assembled the noblest men, and promising to give the Boar's skin as a prize to him who should kill the beast.

Calydonian Boar hunt.....

                        (see Calydonian Boar....the hunt)  The Calydonian hunters then, led by Meleager, hunted the boar, which was shot first by Atalanta. After her, Amphiaraus shot it in the eye, and then Meleager finished it by a stab in the flank.  However, on receiving the skin as prize, Meleager, being in love with Atalanta, gave it to the huntress. 

Meleager and Atalanta

But the sons of Thestius who took part in the hunt representing the Curetes (an Aetolian people) did not approve of Meleager's gallant gesture because, in their view, a woman should not get a prize in the face of men. So, they reasoned, if Meleager did not take the skin, it belonged to them by right of birth. Meleager, however, was not in a disposition of accepting instructions regarding what he should do with the prize he had won, and in the course of the dispute that ensued he slew the sons of Thestius, giving the skin to Atalanta. 

Meleager giving the boar skin to Atalanta

                                      Unfortunately, these "sons of Thestius" were Meleager's uncles, and his own mother's brothers, herself being a daughter of the same Thestius. And having heard of her brothers' death, Althaea was possessed by such a grief that she caused his own son to die by taking the brand out of the chest, kindle it, and let it be totally consumed by the flames.

Death of Meleager

                                                       Meleager wife Cleopatra and his mother, Althaea, hanged themselves after the death of Meleager. According to some versions, Meleager sisters Eurymede and Melanippe  grieved so much the death of their brother that they were turned into birds by Artemis. 

                     In one (rare) versions, When Hercules came to underworld to  to fetch the hound Cerberus, he met  Meleager. Following Meleager's advice that Hercules came to Calydon and married Meleager's sister Deianira.

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Lyrcus

           In Greek mythology, Lyrcus was described as the son of primordial king of Argos, Phoroneusand (son of the river god Inachus).  When Io, daughter of Inachus, king in Argos, was captured by brigands. Her father Inachus sent several men to search for her. One of these was Lyrcus, who searched land and sea without finding the girl, and finally quit the quest. But Lyrcus was too afraid of Inachus to return to Argos without her, and went instead to Caunus in Caria, where he married the daughter of King Aegialus, Hilebia, who fell in love with Lyrcus as soon as she saw him and persuaded her father to arrange for the marriage of them. Aegialus gave Lyrcus as dowry a good share of his kingdom, and accepted him as his son-in-law.

Lyrcus

Years passed and Lyrcus and his wife had no children. Lyrcus made a journey to the oracle at Didyma, to ask how he might obtain offspring. The answer was , that he would beget a child upon the first woman with whom he should have sex after leaving the shrine. At this he was mighty pleased, and began to hasten on his homeward journey back to his wife, sure that the prediction was going to be fulfilled according to his wish. But on the journey, when Lyrcus reach Bybastus. Staphylus, the son of Dionysus and Ariadne,  welcomed Lyrcus in a friendly manner and enticed him to much drinking of wine. Staphylus had a hidden motive behind it, as Staphylus wanted a male heir and knew about prediction made by oracle at Didyma. When Lyrcus had his senses dulled with wine, Staphylus send his own daughter, Molpadia, into Lyrcus bed chamber. Drunk Lyrcus had sex with Molpadia and then both fell asleep.

Lyrcus and Molpadia

                   The next morning Lyrcus discovered the trap that his host had laid for him. When Lyrcus saw Molpadia by his side, he was exceedingly angry. He upbraided Staphylus violently for his conduct. Finally seeing that there was nothing to be done, Lyrcus took off his belt and gave it to Molpadia, telling her to keep it until their future child had come of age. Then the child would possess a token by which he might be recognized, if he should ever come to his father at Caunus. Lyrcus sailed away home.
                          When King Aegialus heard the whole story about the oracle and about Molpadia he banished Lyrcus. There was then a war of great length between Lyrcus and Aegialus. Hilebia was on the side of Lyrcus, for she refused to repudiate her husband. Lyrcus became king of Caunus. Years later Basilus, the son of Lyrcus and Molpadia, came to the land of Caunus. Lyrcus recognized him as his son, and made him ruler over his peoples.

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Oenomaus

In Greek mythology, Oenomaus, the king of Pisa. was described as the son of  Ares, the god of war, and the naiad Harpina (daughter of the river god Phliasian Asopus) or Sterope1 (one of the Pleiades). According to some versions, Sterope1 (one of the Pleiades) was described as Oenomaus wife. In other version, Evarete  (the daughter of Acrisius and Eurydice) or Eurythoe (daughter of Danaus) was described as Oenomaus wife. Oenomaus had two daughter Hippodamia and Alcippe, and two son Leucippus and Dysponteus

Oenomaus

                                                 Oenomaus was bound to refuse any idea of giving his daughter,Hippodamia,  in marriage, either because he himself was in love with her, or because an oracle had predicted his death at the hands of his daughter's husband. Oenomaus pretended to be willing to give his daughter in marriage, and offered as a prize to the suitors the hand of his daughter, and each suitor had to take up Hippodamia  on his own chariot and flee as far as the Isthmus of Corinth. Then Oenomaus pursued him and if he overtook him he killed him; and only if the suitor were not overtaken, he was given Hippodamia as wife.

                                        Oenomaus, with the arms and horses that Ares gave him, slew many suitors, cutting off their heads and nailing them to his house. And he used to sacrifice to Zeus whenever he engaged in a chariot-race with one of the suitors. As he killed them, the suitors were laid disrespectfully in a common grave.

Hippodamia, Oenomaus and Pelops

          Pelops, son of King Tantalus of Lydia, came to ask for Hippodamia's hand in marriage, but when he saw the nailed heads of his predecessors, he regretted having come, for the king's horses were known to be swifter than the wind. Worried about losing, Pelops went to the seaside and invoked Poseidon, his former lover.Reminding Poseidon of their love, he asked Poseidon for help. Smiling, Poseidon caused a chariot drawn by winged horses to appear. Still unsure of himself, Pelops
 thought that this four-horse race was impossible to win by fair means, he sought the confidence of the Oenomaus's charioteer Myrtilus, to whom he promised half of the kingdom if he should help him to win the race.  According to some versions, when Pelops appeared, Hippodamia fell immediately in love with him, and that it was she who persuaded Myrtilus to help this suitor. In any case,  Myrtilus, son of Hermes, expected to rule over half of the kingdom.  In some versions, Myrtilus was himself in love with Hippodamia and agreed to help Pelops to win the race for the first night in bed with Hippodamia. The night before the race, while Myrtilus was putting Oenomaus's chariot together, he replaced the bronze linchpins attaching the wheels to the chariot axle with fake ones made of beeswax.

The race began, and went on for a long time. But just as Oenomaus was catching up to Pelops and readying to kill him, the wheels flew off and the chariot broke apart. Myrtilus survived, but Oenomaus was dragged to death by his horses. In some version, Oenomaus killed by Pelops. When Myrtilus tried to claim his reward and have sex with Hippodamia, Pelops killed Myrtilus by throwing him off a cliff into the sea. As Myrtilus died, he cursed Pelops. This curse would haunt future generations of Pelops' family, including Atreus, Thyestes, Agamemnon, Aegisthus, Menelaus, Orestes and Chrysippus.


INDEX

Sisyphus

In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was described as the founder and first king of Ephyra, and the son of Aeolus, king of Thessaly and Enarete.  In some versions, the sorceress Medea  gave Sisyphus the throne of Ephyra, later known as Corinth.  According to other version, Sisyphus earned the crown by founding the city, which he populated with people grown out of mushrooms. 

Sisyphus

                              Sisyphus married Merope , the only one of the seven Pleiades (daughters of the Titan Atlas and Pleione) to have wedded a mortal rather than consorting with the gods. He was the father of Glaucus3, Ornytion, Almus, and Thersander by his wife Merope.  
                                               In the neighbor of Sisyphus , Autolycus a notorious thief, would steal anything he could get his hands on. But Autolycus always escaped detection because he could change the form or color of anything he stole. Autolycus repeatedly stole cattle from Sisyphus’s herd. Sisyphus noticed that cattle were missing and that the herd of Autolycus seemed to be expanding in number, but could not prove any theft.
                                                 In an attempt to catch Autolycus in the act, Sisyphus secretly marked the inside of the hooves of his cattle.  The later discovery of his mark on cows in Autolycus’s herd proved that his neighbor was a thief. In some versions, Sisyphus was not satisfied merely with proving Autolycus a thief and recovering his cattle. Seeking revenge, he seduced Anticleia, the daughter of Autolycus and later the mother of Odysseus. So in some versions Sisyphus was described as the father of Odysseus.
                                         Sisyphus and his brother Salmoneus  hated each other. In some versions, Sisyphus found out from an oracle that if he had children by his brother’s daughter, they would destroy their grandfather. He secretly had sex with Salmoneus's daughter Tyro and she bore him a son. But when she found out what the child would do to Salmoneus, she killed the boy. It was soon after this that Tyro was seduce by sea god, Poseidon, in the guise of the river-god Enipius and bore him Pelias and Neleus. 
                                          As a king Sisyphus promoted navigation and commerce but was avaricious and deceitful. Sisyphus also killed travelers and guests, a violation of Xenia which fell under Zeus' domain. He took pleasure in these killings because they allowed him to maintain his iron-fisted rule.
                          Sisyphus saw Zeus  kidnap a river nymph, Aegina, but he promised to keep the hiding place secret. But Sisyphus betrayed Zeus, however, when he revealed the location to the river god Asopus (nymph's father), in exchange for a spring of pure water. The punishment Zeus inflicted was death.
                                        
                                             When Death (Thanatos) came, Sisyphus tied him up and escaped. This caused an uproar since no human could die with Thanatos disabled. Eventually the god of war,  Ares, who was annoyed that his battles had lost their fun because his opponents would not die, intervened. The exasperated Ares freed  and turned King Sisyphus over to Thanatos as well. In other version, As long as Thanatos was tied up, nobody could die. Because of this, sacrifices could not be made to the gods and those that were old and sick were suffering. The gods finally threatened to make life so miserable for Sisyphus that he would wish he was dead. He then had no choice but to release Thanatos .

Thanatos  again went after Sisyphus. But before Sisyphus went to the Underworld, he told his wife, the Pleiad Merope, to throw his naked body into the middle of the public square and not to bury him, give him a funeral feast, perform any sacrifices to Hades or Persephone, or place a coin under his tongue (which was used to pay Charon, who ferried the dead for passage across the river Styx to the Underworld).
                                     Appealing to Queen Persephone, Sisyphus told her that he had no right to be there. As one of the unburied, who had no fare for Charon, he should have been abandoned on the far side of the river Styx. Furthermore, Sisyphus argued, his wife’s neglect of funeral ceremonies and sacrifices might set a bad example for other widows in the future.

Sisyphus pleaded for permission to return to the surface of the earth for just three days. This brief time would allow him to arrange for his funeral, to punish his wife for neglecting her duties, and to teach her respect for the lords of the Underworld. Persephone fell for his pleas and allowed Sisyphus to go home. Sisyphus, of course, had no intention to return to the world of darkness. He reneged on his promise to descend again in three days. Indeed, he lived many more years until old age claimed him at last.

Sisyphus..................in Tartarus....................

                               For his offenses to Zeus, Persephone and Thanatos, Sisyphus was condemned to eternal punishment in Tartarus, the lowest region of the Underworld. Sisyphus would forever roll a massive boulder to the top of a steep hill. But his efforts were always in vain, for whenever Sisyphus neared the top, the rock would roll right back down again. Sisyphus was thus forced to start his labor all over again.
  

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