Page:Greek and Roman Mythology.djvu/114

 100 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY writers entangle the descendants of Tantalus in a series of terrible crimes. According to them Thyestes robbed his brother Atreus of his sovereignty and his wife, and brought about the death of his son. Atreus, however, after regaining the royal power, revenged himself by slaying the sons of Thyestes and setting their flesh as food before their unwitting father. For this, Atreus, in turn, was afterwards murdered by a son of Thyestes, Aegisthus, whom Atreus had treated as his own son and brought up as such. 131. Agamemnon and Menelaus, the real sons of Atreus, in due time dispossessed Aegisthus of the king- dom. The former became king of Mycenae, and the latter of Lacedaemon. Paris, the handsome son of Priam of Troia (' Troy '), eloped with Helen, the wife of Menelaus. In order to avenge this outrage, the two Atridae ('sons of Atreus') collected a mighty Grecian army, whose leadership Agamemnon assumed. When the hosts had assembled at Aulis, contrary winds prevented their setting sail, because their leader had offended the goddess Artemis. According to the decision of the seer Calchas, the goddess could be propitiated only by the sacrifice of Agamemnon's daughter, Iphigenia. There- upon the king sent a messenger to his wife Clytaemnestra at Mycenae, to tell her that she must send her daughter to the camp to be wedded to Achilles. When, however, in response to this deceptive summons, Iphigenia arrived, and was dragged to the altar to be offered, Artemis inter- posed and carried her off to Tauris (the Crimean pen- insula), and a hind was found standing at the altar in place of the maiden. Agamemnon, now, with many other heroes, proceeded against Troy. Meanwhile Aegisthus