Family Trees

The chief characters in the play belong to one family, as is shown by the two genealogies:⁠—

I

The first diagram depicts a simplified family tree of the House of Atreus. The family line starts with Tantalus, followed by one of his sons, Polops. The third generation only shows two of Polops’ many children, Atreus and Thyestes. Thyestes is the father of Aigisthos, who is Clytemnestra’s lover. Atreus had two sons: Agamemnon and Menelaus. Agamemnon and Clytemnestra had three children: Iphigenia, Electra, and Orestes.

(Also, a sister of Agamemnon, name variously given, married Strophios, and was the mother of Pylades.)

II

The second diagram depicts a simplified family tree of the House of Tyndareus. Tyndareus and Leda had a daughter, Clytemnestra. Leda and Zeus had three children: Castor, Polydeauces, and Helen.