House Of Atreus Greek Mythology Essay

The house of Atreus is a Greek myth known during what is known as the Heroic Age. It is known that Tantalus went against the gods, and his descendants were cursed for their whole lives. This story is an example of how Greeks believed that you could inherent guilt, and someone’s misfortunes could have to do with the crimes of an ancestor. In ancient societies, the wellbeing of an individual wasn’t as cherished as the wellbeing of the family unit, what belonged to one person belonged to the entire family as a whole. Over time, this belief that family is more important than the individual died out, but Atreus’ family was cursed. Atreus’ children, Agamemnon and Menealus participated in the Trojan War, them being well known. They were Greek princes who brought war to Troy. A priest within the army claimed that Agmemnon’s daughter, Iphigeina, must be sacrificed. Convincing his daughter, Iphigeina was promised that she would marry Achilles, yet upon arrival, she was seized and her throat was slit. “For her prayers, her cries of “Father! And for a young woman’s life, The war hungry leaders cared not at all.” (Aeschylus, Agamemnon 229-31) …show more content…
Later, Orestes returns home and finds his sister, Electra pouring ritual libations at their father’s grave. He vows revenge when he discovers his mother killed his father. Orestes fulfills his duty and murders his mom, Clytemnestra. The furies of the underworld are then awoken, and Orestes is taken to trial in Athens with Apollo as a defense counsel and Athena for his judge. In the end, there is a tie on the votes and Orestes is declared not guilty for killing his mother. Humanity is then, at last, released from the chains of hatred, ignorance, and