king of Mycenae, brother of Atreus in Greek myth
Thyestes
Thyestes is a figure of Greek mythology, son of Pelops and Hippodamia and brother of Atreus, with whom he fought for the throne of Mycenae in one of the most notorious tales of revenge in classical tradition. His story became a lasting source for Greco-Roman drama, above all Seneca's tragedy.
The myth
According to tradition, Thyestes and Atreus killed their half-brother Chrysippus, urged on by their mother, and were exiled from Olympia by Pelops. The brothers took refuge in Mycenae, where King Eurystheus welcomed them; when he died fighting the Heracleidae, they took over the government, which became permanent.
The struggle for the throne centred on a golden lamb that had appeared among Atreus's flocks. Aerope, Atreus's wife and Thyestes's lover, stole it and gave it to her lover, who was crowned king. Atreus regained power through a trial proposed by Zeus, in which the sun reversed its course, and he drove Thyestes out.
Later, Atreus discovered the adultery, lured his brother back with false promises of reconciliation and served him a banquet of his own sons. Thyestes fled and, according to the Delphic oracle, could only take revenge by fathering a son with his daughter Pelopia. She bore Aegisthus, who years later killed Atreus. Thyestes died in exile in some versions, and the throne passed to Agamemnon and Menelaus.
Legacy
His story inspired Seneca's tragedy Thyestes, which shaped Renaissance theatre and the revenge tragedy genre. Shakespeare drew some plot elements from it for Titus Andronicus. The phrase "Thyestean feast" in English and Spanish names a meal of human flesh.
Ancient sources: Seneca is the best-known source; the myth also survives in classical texts and ancient scholia that give differing genealogies.
In art
Literature and theatre
- Thyestes · Seneca
- Agamemnon · Seneca