The Two Houses
The House of Atreus
and
The Royal House of Thebes
The House of Atreus
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Preface:
The house of Atreus is one of the most famous
families in Greek mythology. Agamemnon and his
immediate family belonged to it. It was an ill-fated
house, the cause of misfortunes was held to be an
ancestor, the King of Lydia, Tantalus. His descendants
also did wickedly and were punished.
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Tantalus and Niobe:
Tantalus was the son of Zeus and was honored by the gods more than
any other mortal child of Zeus; he was even allowed to taste the nectar and
ambrosia of the gods. All the gods of Olympus came to a banquet in his
place. In return for their favor, Tantalus had his only son Pelops killed and
served to the gods. Tantalus was driven by a passion of hate for the gods
which drove him to sacrifice his only son to show them the horror of being
cannibals. Tantalus thought that the gods would never imagine the manner
of food before them, but they did. They sent the sinner in a pool in Hades,
whenever he stooped to drink the water, the water level would decrease,
whenever he extended his arms to pick the fruit, the tree that bore the
fruit contracted. Pelops was restored to life.
Pelops had also wooed a dangerous lady, from which he had to win a
chariot race to acquire. The lady’s father had horses provided by Ares
himself, and the terms of the race were that the lady’s suitors, if defeated,
had to pay with their life. Through the help of the lady, Princess Hipodamia,
and horses provided by Poseidon, Pelops won. Some say that Princess
Hipodamia grew tired of her father’s ways and bribed the charioteer,
Myrtilus, to lose the race, who was later killed by Pelops. Some say that this
murder was the cause of the misfortunes afterwards for the family.
Niobe, daughter of Tantalus also suffered a terrible
fate. Her husband was Amphion, son of Zeus. She
thought herself strong enough not only to deceive the
gods as her father had tried to do, but defy them
openly. So she told the people of Thebes to worship
her, instead of Leto, because she had double the
amount of children. Hearing this, Apollo and Artemis
struck down all of the children of Niobe. Her tears
flowed and could not stop, so she turned into a stone
that was wet night and day.
Pelops had two children, Atreus and Thyestes.
Thyestes fell in love with his brother’s wife. For
vengeance of this act, Atreus cut up Thyestes’ two little
children and served them up to their father. Since
Atreus was king, Thyestes had no power against him.
Atreus had two sons, his first son Agamemnon, commander of
the Greek forces at Troy, and Menelaus, the husband of Helen,
whom he got back after the fall of Troy and lived happily ever after.
The story was quite different for his brother however. After the
fall of Troy, Agamemnon had sacrificed his daughter driven by the
army impatient for good sails. Ten years after the sacrifice of
Iphigenia, Agamemnon returns home and is killed by his wife,
Clytemnestra with the help of her lover Aegisthus. Atreus had two
more siblings, his son Orestes and daughter Electra. In this agony
of doubt, he was guided by the oracle at Delphi to kill his mother.
Orestes and his cousin and friend Pylades travel to the city and
meet Orestes’ sister Electra, and together they devise a plan to kill
their mother. After killing his mother and her lover Orestes is
taken over by guilt and goes to Athena for help. Athena accepts his
plea and the spirit of evil which had haunted his house for so long
was banished. The curse on the House of Atreus was ended.

Iphigenia among the Taurians:
In another version of the story, Iphigenia is rescued right
before she is sacrificed by Artemis. Artemis replaces her with a
dead deer to show that “she had accepted the sacrifice.” Artemis
took Iphigenia to the land of the Taurians and made her a priestess
in her own temple. Since the job involved sacrificing Greeks, she
was very reluctant. Orestes talks to the Oracle at Delphi, which
tells him that he must travel to the land of the Taurians and obtain
the image of Artemis from its temple. Once Orestes and his friend
and cousin arrive at the land of the Taurians, they are immediately
captured with intent of sacrifice.
Because of Iphigenia’s doubtfulness of her job, she spoke to
them in private and asks them where they are from. Upon hearing
Mycenae, she asks them to deliver a letter to her brother, whom
upon hearing his name reveals his identity. The three plan to
escape from the land and are pursued by the Taurians whom are
stopped by Athena who says that they are destined to escape.
The Royal House of Thebes
Europa’s brothers were sent by her father to go find
her because Zeus had stolen her away when he
turned himself into a bull
 Brother Cadmus went to the Gods for help (Apollo).
From there He was to found his own city by
following a heifer when he left and wherever she rest
he was to make the city there.
 Cadmus had to kill a dragon. He put the dragons
teeth in the ground (Athena told him to do so) and
from that sprung up warriors who killed each other.
Five of them survived and they became Cadmus’s
helper.
 City flourished, Cadmus and his wife Harmonia had
four daughters and one son (tragic stories).

Oedipus (Cadmus’s great-grand-son) was a part of an
oracle that said he would one day kill his father. While
wandering he comes to Thebes which was being held
captive by a sphinx and he answers her riddle of “What
creature goes on four feet in the morning, two in the
afternoon, and three in the evening?” (Answer: man)
setting the city free- he became ruler of the city.
 Oedipus married Jocasta whose brother is Creon.
Creon went to The Oracle at Delphi so that he could
seek the Gods help about a plague that had struck
Thebes. Creon reported that whoever killed Laius
(Oedipus’s dad) had gotten away with it.
 Eventually it is discovered that Oedipus killed his father
(random person on the road on his way to Thebes) and
married his wife (the widowed Jocasta) just like the
oracle had said! Fate!

Jocasta kills herself and Oedipus gouges out his eye
balls.
 Oedipus leaves the throne (passed on to Creon).
He doesn’t leave Thebes for a while but when he
does leave he goes with his daughter Antigone (who
guides him because he is now blind).
 He eventually dies peacefully (thanks to Theseus).
His daughter goes back to Thebes and his two sons
fight over the thrown.

Eteocles eventually wins the throne, but Polyneices
wants to retaliate by starting a war within Thebes
which Creon’s son dies, fulfilling the oracle that
Thebes will be saved if Creon’s son dies. Both of
Oedipus’s sons kill each other and they express
opposing wishes for their burials as they die. Their
sister does not honor these and ends up burring
Polyneices which she gets executed for.
 Thebes is unsteady from that point on and in the
end all that remained was Harmonia’s necklace that
she wore on her wedding day to Cadmus.

High-Level Questions?
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
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What are the similarities and differences
between the houses?
Why does punishing yourself, like Oedipus
did, serve you good, or is it unnecessary?
Explain.
What if you were forbidden to
properly bury your own brother, would you
still do it and why?
Allusions
In the book Harry Potter and the Goblet
of Fire (J.K. Rowling), Harry Potter is
riddled by a Sphinx in the maze of the
third task.
 Tantalus: Tantalize
