Thyestes
Proper noun
Meaning
Thyestes
(Greek mythology) A king of Olympia; the son of Pelops and Hippodamia; and father of Pelopia and Aegisthus. He and his brother Atreus were exiled by their father for having murdered their half-brother Chrysippus.
Related terms
Examples
After eating his own sons' corpses, Thyestes asked an oracle how best to gain revenge.
As Thyestes finishes his meal, Atreus produces the hands and heads, revealing to the horrified Thyestes what he has done.
His first move was to pursue Thyestes and all his family - that is, his own kin - but Thyestes managed to escape from Mycenae.
He used the Spartan army to drive out Aegisthus and Thyestes from Mycenae and place Agamemnon on the throne.
However, when Thyestes returns, Atreus secretly kills Thyestes' sons, Pelopia and Aegisthus.
Menelaus succeeded Tyndareus in Sparta, while Agamemnon, with his brother's assistance, drove out Aegisthus and Thyestes to recover his father's kingdom.