Orestes was a member of the House of Atreus, one of the most famous and cursed families in Greek mythology. He was one of the doomed descendents of Tantalus, son of Zeus, who slaughtered, boiled, and served to the gods his own son, Pelops. In horror they restored his son and sent him to Hades, where he stands in a pool of water, which he may never drink from, and under fruit trees which he may never eat of. Pelops lived to become the only member of the house that was not marked by misfortune, and had two sons, Atreus and Thyestes. After they'd grown, Thyestes succeeded in getting Atreus' wife to break her marriage vows, and as punishment Atreus killed his sons and served them to him, as Uncle had once done. But instead of seeking revenge on Atreus, the gods made his children suffer, instead.
Agamemnon's story has two versions. Both end in death by way of his wife, but the reasons why he was killed differ. In one story, the one previously mentioned, Aegisthus was her lover and killed Agamemnon and his army while they dined. But in another, Clytemnestra killed him herself to avenge the daughter, Iphigenia, who Agamnenon had sacrificed in order to allow his ship passage on the way to the battle of Troy. When he returned she killed him in the palace, and together with Aegisthus they became rulers of the and sent away her son, Orestes, and made her daughter, Electra, miserable. After Orestes had grown, Electra prayed that Orestes would return, which he did, and along with his friend, Pylades, they killed the two traitors. After this Orestes was chased by the furies for years, until Apollo lead him to make his pleas for atonement to Athena. She accepted and the curse of the House of Atreus was ended. |
