Pelops

Lore & Background

Pelops was the son of Tantalus and either Dione, Euryanassa, Eurythemista, or Clytia; some accounts call him a bastard son or name his parents as Atlas and the nymph Linos, or Hermes and Calyce. Of Phrygian or Lydian birth, he left his homeland for Greece and won the crown of Pisa or Olympia from King Oenomaus in a chariot race, marrying Oenomaus's daughter Hippodamia. They had numerous children, including Atreus, Thyestes, and several daughters who married into the House of Perseus. By the nymph Axioche or Danais, he fathered Chrysippus.

In myth, Tantalus cut Pelops into pieces and served him to the gods; Demeter ate his left shoulder. The other gods restored him, replacing the shoulder with ivory made by Hephaestus. Pindar rejected this tale, instead relating that Poseidon took Pelops as a lover. After his resurrection, Poseidon taught him to drive the divine chariot, but Zeus later threw Pelops from Olympus. To court Hippodamia, Pelops raced Oenomaus, who had killed eighteen previous suitors. With help from Poseidon (who gave him winged horses) and Myrtilus (who sabotaged Oenomaus's chariot), Pelops won. He then killed Myrtilus, who cursed him, leading to the curse of the Pelopidai that plagued his descendants.

Reader's Guide

Pelops's significance lies in his central role in the founding myth of the Olympic Games, which became the most important expression of unity for the Hellenes. At Olympia, chthonic night-time libations were offered to 'dark-faced' Pelops in his sacrificial pit before daylight offerings to Zeus. His cult likely originated in Anatolia (Phrygia or Lydia) and was brought to the Peloponnese, which was named after him. The myth of his chariot race with Oenomaus became important at Olympia with the introduction of chariot racing in the twenty-fifth Olympiad. The curse he incurred from Myrtilus's death set off a cycle of atrocities in his family, including the murders of Chrysippus and later crimes by Atreus, Thyestes, Agamemnon, and others, eventually absolved by the Furies in court. Pelops's story thus intertwines themes of divine favor, betrayal, and the origins of a pan-Hellenic institution.

Did You Know?

• Pelops's name means 'dark-eyed' or 'dark face' in Ancient Greek.
• After being killed by his father Tantalus, Pelops was reassembled by the gods and given an ivory shoulder made by Hephaestus.
• The Peloponnesus region is literally named 'Pelops's Island'.
• The curse of the Pelopidai began with Myrtilus's dying curse on Pelops and affected generations including Atreus, Thyestes, Agamemnon, and Orestes.