Tantalus son of Broteas

Tantalus, not to be confused with his more famous grandfather and namesake (Tantalus), who was also called Atys, was the son of Broteas . He ruled over the city of Lydia. He was the first husband of Clytemnestra and was slain by Agamemnon, King of Mycenae, a soldier in the Trojan War, who made Clytemnestra his wife. After he died, the Tantalid dynasty finished because Agron took the throne. He was a great-great-grandson of Heracles and Omphale, Atys's stepmother, and therefore, Tantalus II's second cousin once removed by marriage.

Agamemnon

Tantalus's second cousin was Agamemnon, the king of Argos and Mycenae, who killed Tantalus and married Clytemnestra. He fought in the Trojan War and was killed by Aegisthus, Clytemnestra's new husband, on his return. Agamemnon's son Orestes avenged him and killed Aegisthus.

Tantalus's family members

Tantalus is a member of a family that awful things have a history of happening to.

Tantalus

Tantalus's grandfather, also named Tantalus, sacrificed his son, Pelops, to the gods. Since the Olympians hated human sacrifice, they restored Pelops back to life and gave him a team of Poseidon's horses. They also killed Tantalus and he was tortured in the Underworld. Pelops would win a chariot race and win the right to marry a princess, named Hippodamia, with his team of horses.

Broteas

His father was Broteas, the ugly brother of Niobe and Pelops. Broteas carved the image of Cybele, a Phyrgian equivalent of the Titaness Rhea. The image was sacred to the Magnesians. Broteas, like his son, also ruled over Pisa. Since he was a hunter and did not honor Artemis, he was sacrificed on a pyre. It was similar to the punishment of Actaeon.

Niobe

Niobe was Broteas's sister. She had fourteen children and bragged about them at a ceremony dedicated to Leto, the mother of the gods Apollo and Artemis, boasting that Leto only had two children. To punish her, Apollo and Artemis killed all of Niobe's children.

Pelops

See main article: Pelops

Tantalus's uncle, see section on Tantalus (father of Broteas)

Manes

Manes, aka Tmolus, the father of Atys, was the first king of Lydia, which was then called Maeonia, after him. He married Omphale but gave birth to Atys with Plouto, a nymph and Oceanid. Manes was gored to death by a bull and Omphale became the queen. The list of Tantalid rulers of Lydia is: Manes, Omphale, Atys, Broteas, and Tantalus II.

Heraclids, or Tylonids

After Tantalus II was killed by Agamemnon, his second cousin twice removed by marriage, Agron, took the kingdom of Lydia. Agron was the son of Ninus, Ninus was the son of Belus, Belus was the son of Alcaeus, and Alcaeus was the son of Heracles and Omphale. This was the beginning of a new dynasty, called the Heraclids. Agron's son and successor was Ardys I.

ources

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Kings_of_Lydia