Atreus, In Greek legend, the son of Pelops. Atreus became king of Mycenae and drove out his brother Thyestes. Plagued by a curse on the house of Pelops, Atreus murdered his own son Pleisthenes and was eventually killed by the nephew he had raised as a son. Two more sons, Agamemnon and Menelaus, fought in the Trojan War.
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Learn about the legend of Atreus, king of Mycenae
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Greek mythology Summary
Greek mythology, body of stories concerning the gods, heroes, and rituals of the ancient Greeks and Classical antiquity. That the myths contained a considerable element of fiction was recognized by the more critical Greeks, such as the philosopher Plato in the 5th–4th century bce. In general,
myth Summary
Myth, a symbolic narrative, usually of unknown origin and at least partly traditional, that ostensibly relates actual events and that is especially associated with religious belief. It is distinguished from symbolic behaviour (cult, ritual) and symbolic places or objects (temples, icons). Myths are
Mycenae Summary
Mycenae, prehistoric Greek city in the Peloponnese, celebrated by Homer as “broad-streeted” and “golden.” According to legend, Mycenae was the capital of Agamemnon, the Achaean king who sacked the city of Troy. It was set, as Homer says, “in a nook of Árgos,” with a natural citadel formed by the