3. Tantalus
It began when Tantalus was able to convince the gods to attend
at banquet at his humble abode.
A foolish man, filled with vanity, he decided to “test” the
discrimination of the gods by serving them non-god food: his
son Pelops, killed, cut up, and cooked.
The gods, infuriated, condemned Tantalus to the underworld
where he would forever be tantalized.
16. Pelops cursed by Myrtilus
Pelops, a man now, wanted to marry Hippodamia. King Oenamaus of Pisa or Olympia,
her father, had killed thirteen suitors of Hippodamia after beating them in a chariot
race. He did this because he loved her himself or, alternatively, because a prophecy
claimed he would be killed by his son in law. Pelops came to ask for her hand, and got
ready to race Oenomaus. Worried about losing, he went to the seaside and invoked
Poseidon, his old lover. Reminding Poseidon of their love (“Aphrodite’s sweet gifts”) he
asked Poseidon for help. Smiling, Poseidon caused a chariot drawn by winged horses
to appear.
Still unsure of himself, Pelops (or alternatively, Hippodamia herself) convinced
Oenomaus' charioteer, Myrtilus, a son of Hermes, (by promising him half of
Oenomaus’ kingdom and the first night in bed with Hippodameia), to help him win.
The night before the race, while Myrtilus was putting the chariot together, he replaced
the bronze linchpins attaching the wheels to the chariot axle with fake ones made of
beeswax. The race started, and went on for a long time. But just as Oenomaus was
catching up to Pelops and getting ready to kill him too, the wheels flew off and the
chariot broke up. Myrtilus survived but Oenomaus was dragged to his death by his
horses. Pelops then killed Myrtilus because he had attempted to rape Hippodamia. As
Myrtilus died, he cursed Pelops for his betrayal. This was the source of the curse that
destroyed his family (two of his sons, Atreus and Thyestes killed a third, Chrysippus,
who was his favorite son and was meant to inherit the kingdom; Atreus and Thyestes
were banished by him together with Hippodamia, their mother, who then hanged
herself) and haunted future generation of Pelops' children, grandchildren, and great-
grandchildren including Atreus, Thyestes, Agamemnon, Aegisthus, Menelaus and
Orestes.
