Aegisthus

Scion of the Pelopid house — son of Thyestes by his own daughter Pelopia, begotten expressly to avenge the Thyestean feast. Reared unknowingly by Atreus; recognized by the kept sword, he kills Atreus and restores Thyestes. Lover of Clytemnestra and co-killer of Agamemnon (Homer makes him the prime mover, Aeschylus the secondary hand to Clytemnestra's axe). Tyrant of Mycenae for seven years until Orestes kills him in vengeance. The Odyssey's recurring paradigm of the usurper justly destroyed.

Parentage

• paternal: Thyestes
• maternal: Pelopia

Domains

• usurpation
• vengeance

Relations

• lover: ClytemnestraHom. Od. 3.262-272; Aesch. Ag. 1435-1447 (primary)
• enemy: AtreusReciprocal of greek_atreus.enemy — Aegisthus kills Atreus to restore Thyestes.Apollod. Epit. 2.14; Hyg. Fab. 88 (primary)
• enemy: AgamemnonHis father's enemy's son and his own victim — Aegisthus is co-killer of Agamemnon.Hom. Od. 3.262-310; Aesch. Ag. (primary)
• enemy: OrestesKilled by Orestes.Hom. Od. 1.298-300; Aesch. Cho. 838-934 (primary)

Sources

• existence: Hom. Od. 1.35-43, 3.193-310, 4.512-537; Aesch. Agamemnon, Choephoroi; Eur. El., Or.; Apollod. Epit. 2.14, 6.23-25; Hyg. Fab. 87-88, 252 (primary)
• parentage: Apollod. Epit. 2.14; Hyg. Fab. 87-88 (son of Thyestes by his daughter Pelopia) (primary)