Illustration
An illustration of the entangled family line of the House of Atreus from Greek mythology, which featured promptly amongst the ancient Greek Tragedies. The cursed House of Atreus is one of the most prominent examples of the concept of miasma (roughly translated as "pollution"), a contagious force with a life of its own - the belief that the crimes of one's ancestors are passed on through the bloodline. In the case of the god-defying Atreides, who trace their origins back to the infamous Tantalus, king of Sipylos, the curse sprang unspeakable crimes and brought additional bad luck and cries for revenge across the generations - brothers killing brother, father murdering son, father sacrificing daughter, son against mother...
The twisted tale of murder, betrayal, mayhem, cannibalism, and, not only once, just silly arrogance is one of the most enduring of all Greek myths. Like so many others, the story of the House of Atreus differs a lot between different sources, and there is not an accepted authoritative version.
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Cite This Work
APA Style
Netchev, S. (2023, March 01). The Cursed House of Atreus. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/image/17134/the-cursed-house-of-atreus/
Chicago Style
Netchev, Simeon. "The Cursed House of Atreus." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified March 01, 2023. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/17134/the-cursed-house-of-atreus/.
MLA Style
Netchev, Simeon. "The Cursed House of Atreus." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 01 Mar 2023. Web. 24 Mar 2025.
